Jahdae Barron revealed that he is best friends with Matthew McConaughey. That was the most interesting thing about the Broncos’ draft.
And this is not “all right, all right, all right.”
Fresh off a 10-win season that ended a nine-year playoff drought, the Broncos were positioned to take big swings. So why is a picture of Michael Toglia flickering in my head?
Thinking back on the 2024 Broncos brings unbridled optimism. So much went right. But the conversation starts and ends with Bo Nix.
So what went wrong with the draft? That is a fascinating conversation, but it comes back to one person: Nix.
Thought the idea was to boost the offense around the franchise quarterback?
The Broncos addressed the problem, but did they fix it?
Coach Sean Payton and George Paton deserve the benefit of the doubt based on their recent drafts.
But this weekend requires suspension of disbelief. Sitting at No. 20 in the first round, the Broncos never found traction to move up. Payton denied they even tried, despite tight end Tyler Warren floating out of the top 10.
It is easy to understand why they selected Barron. They ranked him as a top-10 player, so taking the best player available was an auto-pick. His versatility made it easy — he can play outside, inside and in the box — as the Broncos became deeper with Jerry Jeudy’s legacy game still haunting their dreams.
Alas, Barron does not play running back, receiver or tight end.
The Broncos’ additions illustrate the dangers of risk — one for waiting, the other for acting quickly. Denver landed running back R.J. Harvey with the 60th pick, a bowling ball out of Central Florida who is skilled at making defenders miss.
Payton sees similarities to Darren Sproles, explaining that watching him run produced a series of “Wows!” But if the Broncos loved him, why trade back twice from the 51st spot?
Draftniks will extrapolate that those moves allowed them to land LSU defensive end Sai’vion Jones, whose importance could swell if John Franklin-Myers exits after this season.
But Harvey is not Ohio State’s TreVeyon Henderson or Quinshon Judkins, both of whom were drafted early in the second round. And Henderson could have been selected in the first without raising any eyebrows.
Harvey requires projection, namely that he will make a smooth transition into the passing game as a receiver and blocker. There is a path for this to work — his speed and decisiveness could cast him as this draft’s Bucky Irving — but it is narrower than preferred and makes a three-man Broncos running back committee unfortunately more likely.
With Warren off the board at No. 14, the Broncos finally took a tight end, sort of. The 6-foot-7 Caleb Lohner is a former basketball player at Baylor and BYU who played one season of football at Utah. He is a project.
Yes, they signed Evan Engram, a joker. But nobody will be smiling at the production from Adam Trautman, Lucas Krull and Nate Adkins if he gets hurt.
Another weapon would have helped. Payton’s confidence always extends, sometimes to a fault, to the roster he overhauled. He believes in his guys, but has been slow to realize how poorly some have performed (see: Javonte Williams and any tight end).
The Broncos wisely supplemented their receiver room. But the selection of Illinois’ Pat Bryant was a head-scratcher. Most talent evaluators projected him to go in the fifth or sixth round. Denver took him in the third.
Watching highlights, he bore a resemblance to Tim Patrick. And there was an educated guess that he represented Lil’Jordan Humphrey’s replacement. Then Payton blew minds by saying Bryant shared “traits” with Michael Thomas.
Can’t Guard Mike? That guy? If Payton is correct, this will be one of the greatest picks in Broncos history. But Bryant ran a 4.61 40-yard dash, a number that is hard to find over the last 20 years among receivers taken in the first 75 picks. This pick screams that Payton has big plans for Devaughn Vele.
The expectation is not that the Broncos should nail every pick. No one does, though Payton’s 2017 draft class is as good as it gets — Marshon Lattimore, Ryan Ramczyk, Alvin Kamara, Trey Hendrickson — even when edged out for Patrick Mahomes.
But this was the draft to provide props for Nix. It did not play out that way. Payton and Paton will insist they are not wrong. Looking at the offensive picks, it is hard to believe they are entirely right.
After three days, Vance Joseph was the big winner, not Nix.
Barron and Jones will make an ornery defense absolutely vicious. Denver has the best secondary in the AFC West, if not the conference, equipped to slow Mahomes, Justin Herbert and Geno Smith.
But those games will now become a referendum twice a season on this draft. The Raiders chose human pinball Ashton Jeanty and receiver Jack Bech. The Chargers added running back Omarion Hampton, the most mocked player to the Broncos, and the Chiefs bulked up their offensive line with tackle Josh Simmons and took fliers on receiver Jalen Royals and running back Brashard Smith.
The conclusion? Payton likes his running backs, tight ends and receivers way more than you do.
It is a fascinating bet. Why?
Because if they are just OK, the Broncos’ season will not be all right.
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