After months of buildup, we have finally arrived at the NFL Draft! George Paton made Patrick Surtain II the first pick of his tenure as general manager. Who will he take to fill out the rest of the draft class?
What follows is a ranking of the players that I believe are the best fits for the Broncos roster. Obviously this is a subjective exercise. You probably won’t agree with every spot or even every tier. That’s okay. My hope is that this will help inform you as you enjoy the big event.
If you want to learn more about my first round players, you can do so here.
If you want to learn more about my second round players, you can do so here.
If you want to learn more about my third round players, you can do so here.
Tier 4: Best remaining players at positions of relative need
These are the best players remaining on my draft board.
9. Teven Jenkins - OT3
10. Azeez Ojulari - ED1
13. Trevon Moehrig - S1
15. Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah - LB1
Tier 6: Eye of the beholder Day One guys
I think these players offer first round upside.
25. Asante Samuel Jr. - CB5
26. Baron Browning - LB3
29. Liam Eichenberg - OT6
Tier 7: Second round guys with first round intrigue
There’s some question about fit, positional value, upside, and/or regarding risk that holds these players out of of the tiers above, but they offer exciting upside.
31. Jabril Cox - LB5
32. Javonte “Pookie” Williams - RB1
34. Dillon Radunz - OT7
36. Christian Barmore - DL1
38. Samuel Cosmi - OT8
39. Elijah Molden - CB6
40. Jevon Holland - S2
41. Ifeatu Melifonwu - CB7
43. Joseph Ossai - ED6
Tier 8: Best remaining players at positions of relative need
Questions about fit, positional value, upside, and/or regarding risk hold these players out of of the tiers above, but they could become good players on the Broncos.
45. Elijah Moore - WR5
46. Stone Forsythe - OT9
47. Aaron Robinson - CB10
Tier 9: Second round prospects
It’s impossible to deny that these prospects look like potential impact players, but they bring some combination of risk, downside, or fit issues that hold them out of the tiers above. For the sake of transparency, I chose to rank them as I see them for their position groups, but there are some major questions that need answering before I would consider drafting them.
- Landon Dickerson - iOL2 / OL8*
- Terrace Marshall Jr. - WR5
- Wyatt Davis - iOL3 / OL12*
- Kelvin Joseph - CB9
Tier 10: Third round guys who have early round intrigue
There’s concerns about fit, positional value, upside, and/or regarding risk that holds these players out of of the tiers above, but they offer exciting upside.
53. Spencer Brown - OT10
54. Jalen Mayfield - OT12 / OL15*
55. Levi Onwuzurike - DL2
56. Carlos “Boogie” Basham Jr. - DL3
Tier 11: Best remaining players at positions of relative need
Questions about fit, positional value, upside, and/or risk hold these players out of of the tiers above, but they could become good players on the Broncos.
57. Creed Humphrey - iOL4
58. Dyami Brown - WR5
59. Brady Christensen - OT13 / OL17
60. Amon-Ra St. Brown - WR6
61. Quincy Roche - ED8
62. Paulson Adebo - CB11
63. Richie Grant - S3
64. Tyson Campbell - CB12
65. Milton Williams - DL5
66. Elerson Smith - ED9
67. Pete Werner - LB6
68. Alim McNeil - DL6 / NT1
69. Quinn Meinerz - iOL6 / OL19
71. Josh Myers - iOL7 / OL20
72. Nick Bolton - LB8
73. Michael Carter - RB6
Tier 12: Third round prospects
It’s impossible to deny that these prospects look like potential impact players, but they bring some combination of risk, downside, or fit issues that hold them out of the tiers above. For the sake of transparency, I chose to rank them as I see them for their position groups, but there are some major questions that need answering before I would consider drafting them.
- Dylan Moses - LB7
- Walker Little - OT11*/OL13*
- Jackson Carman - OT14 / iOL5 / OL18*
- Kylin Hill - RB4
- Trey Sermon - RB5
- Rondale Moore - WR7
- Daviyon Nixon - DL4
- Pat Freiermuth - TE2
Tier 13: Day 3 fits who intrigue
Questions about fit, positional value, upside, and/or risk hold these players out of of the tiers above, but they could become good players on the Broncos. This far down the gap between prospects starts to shrink to the point where it’s pretty blurry, so I decided to break it down by position. There is a legitimate chance some of these players go undrafted.
These prospects are not presented in any specific order
Cornerback
- Rodarius Williams
- Marco Wilson (Nickel only?)
- Darren Hall (Safety)
- Avery Williams (Nickel)
- Keith Taylor
- Shaun Wade (Safety?)
- Shemar Jean-Charles
- Trill Williams
- Michael Carter II
- D.J. Daniel (Nickel only?)
- Brandin Echols
- Thomas Graham Jr.
- Deommodore Lenoir
- Nate Holbs
- Shakur Brown
- Olaijah Griffin
- Camryn Bynum
- Bryan Mills
- Jerry Jacobs
- Tre Brown
- Robert Rochell
- Benjamin St. Juste
- Zech McPherson
Safety
- Ar’Darius Washington (Nickel only?)
- Paris Ford
- Andre Cisco
- Richard LeCounte
- Damar Hamlin
- Talanoa Hufanga (LB?)
- Aashari Crosswell
- Caden Sterns
- Brady Breeze
- Joshua Bledsoe
- Mark Webb
- James Wiggins
- Darrick Forrest
- Christian Uphoff
- Shawn Davis
- Nahshon Wright
- Dicaprio Bootle (Nickel?)
- Jamar Johnson
- Divine Deablo (LB?)
- Hamsah Nasirildeen (LB?)
Linebacker
- Chazz Surratt
- Cameron McGrone
- Monty Rice
- Tony Fields
- Grant Stuard
- Justin Hilliard
- Garret Wallow
- Isaiah McDuffie
- Amen Ogbongbemiga
- Derrick Barnes
- Buddy Johnson
Edge/ Outside linebacker
- Jonathan Cooper
- Elerson Smith
- Patrick Johnson
- William Bradley-King
- Shaka Toney
- Jordan Smith
- Hamilcar Rashed Jr.
- Charles Snowden
- Janarius Robinson
Defensive Linemen
- Jay Tufele
- Adetokunbo Oundeji
- Marvin Wilson
- Isaiahh Loudermilk
- Marlon Tuipulotu
- Malik Herring
- Osa Odighizuwa
Offensive Linemen
- James Hudson
- D’Ante Smith
- Robert Hainsey
- Josh Ball
- Alaric Jackson
- Kayode Awosika
- Cole Van Lanen
- Troy Smith
- Kendrick Green
- Tony Kraemer
- Aaron Banks
- Deonte Brown
- Robert Jones
- Dave Moore
- Trey Hill
- Jimmy Morrisey
Wide receiver
- Nico Collins
- Dwayne Eskridge
- Jaelon Darden
- Ihmir Smith-Marsette
- Seth Williams
- Anthony Schwartz
- Marquez Stevenson
- Austin Watkins
- Shi Smith
- Josh Palmer
- Cornell Powell
- Dazz Newsome
- Cade Johnson
- Dax Milne
- Tamorrion Terry
- Josh Imatorbhebhe
Tight End
- Tre’ McKitty
- Matt Bushman
- Tony Poljan
- John Bates
- Luke Farrell
- Nick Eubanks
- Dylan Soehner
- Shaun Beyer
- Jack Stoll
Running back
- Kenneth Gainwell
- Khalil Herbert
- Javian Hawkins
- Rhamondre Stevenson
- Jermar Jefferson
- Chris Evans
- Kene Nwangwu