The Denver Broncos reached for Pat Bryant in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
Sean Payton and George Paton worked to address one of their biggest needs at wide receiver. That part makes sense.
What doesn’t is why they took Bryant when there were a handful of better players still on the board at No. 74.
The Denver Broncos reached for Pat Bryant, who lacks elite athleticism
Bryant, whom the Broncos took in the third round, was given a sixth-round grade by NFL.com and a fifth-round grade by ESPN.
What he has going for him are size, toughness, and good hands. Bryant is a 6’2″ 204-pound receiver who dropped only a single pass last year at Illinois. He enjoyed career highs with 984 yards and 10 touchdowns last year as the Fighting Illini’s star wideout. Bryant uses his big frame and physicality to make tough catches over the middle and high-point the ball over defenders.
But Bryant has some glaring weaknesses, too. Like his slow 4.61 40-yard dash time. According to prospect grade given out by NFL.com, he was 26th overall. That 5.97 grade guesses he will be an average backup or special teamer. His athleticism score, which adds in his 40 time with other physical measurements, landed him as the 32nd-best receiver.
So, why did Payton and Paton take him so early?
“There were so many things about his game that reminded me of Mike Thomas,” Payton said on Friday night. “With respect to Mike who became… I mean, holy cow. You don’t ever want to put pressure on a rookie like that, we’re just talking about traits.”
One only has to look up Michael Thomas’ NFL Draft Profile to see he was projected to be a better player than Bryant, and expected to be a starter.
Bryant, on the other hand, is a WR3/WR4 type guy.
This, from NFL.com’s analysis of the Day 2 picks:
A bit of a head-scratcher for me. Bryant‘s appeal is obvious: He’s a sneaky, savvy and tough receiver with a special-teams mentality that shows in his play style. That said, Bryant isn’t a dynamic athlete, profiling more as a WR3 or WR4 than a leading man.
Pro Football Focus agrees the Denver Broncos reached for Pat Bryant:
No. 74 Denver Broncos: WR Pat Bryant, Illinois (Big Board: 158)
The consensus board and the PFF board were nearly aligned on Bryant’s position. He brings a big body but lacks top-tier athleticism to be effective early in his career. He’s a plus-blocker in the run game, which might give him time to develop his route-running abilities to become a viable starter in the NFL.
8 higher-graded wide receivers were available when Bryant was picked
Consensus big boards are only guesses, so sometimes rankings are incorrect, but Bryant wasn’t close to the best receiver available at No. 74.
Three more receivers went in the third round after him, and each of them had higher grades. Jaylin Noel was the 48th-best player in the entire draft, but at 5’10” he wasn’t a fit for Denver. Marvin Mims plays that speedy, smaller role. But Savion Williams, the 6’4″ beast from TCU was there, as ESPN’s 99th-best player. Even Tai Felton, who went at No. 102 to end Day 2 had a much higher grade than Bryant at 75.
In fact, there are still five receivers on available as Day 3 kicks off that are better prospects.
Of course, like with Noel, just because there are higher-graded receivers available, it doesn’t mean they fit what Payton wants in a wideout. He’s shown he loves big-bodied guys, with five on the roster at the beginning of 2024 who were 6’2″ or taller.
Given those constraints, Tory Horton of Colorado State should’ve been the Broncos guy at No. 74. He’s 6’3″ and has phenomenal hands, plus he has the speed to return punts or run away from defenders after the catch. But it’s possible Horton’s knee injury last year scared Denver away.
It’s fine and dandy if Payton and Paton loved Bryant, but it seems likely they could have waited until the fifth or sixth round to snag him. And they should have used that third-round pick for a more highly-valued player.
Here’s hoping he works out for Denver, because they desperately need depth and playmaking ability at receiver.
What they really need for 2025 is a No. 2 receiver, and they’ll have to hope Troy Franklin or Devaugn Vele steps up into that spot.
Denver Broncos reached for Pat Bryant in 3rd round, many better receivers were available Mile High Sports.
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