Three-round mock has Broncos going defense with first two picks

With the Russell Wilson trade, the Denver Broncos will not have a very busy Day 1 or even early on Day 2 in the 2022 NFL Draft. Their first pick comes at the end of the second round, but from there they will have two picks in the third and two picks in the fourth barring any trades.

Mel Kiper and Todd McShay of ESPN teamed up to provide a 3-round mock draft. For the Broncos, they surprisingly went defense early and avoided going for the offensive or defensive lines.

In the second round, Kiper mocked Nebraska safety Cam Taylor-Britt to the Broncos.

64. Denver Broncos (via LAR)
Kiper’s pick: Cam Taylor-Britt, S, Nebraska
Denver dealt away its premium picks to land Russell Wilson, and this one is from the Rams’ trade for Von Miller. Taylor-Britt’s 4.38 40 at the combine wowed scouts. He played a lot of corner in college, but I see his best position as free safety in the NFL.

Under new defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, the Broncos will likely run a lot more nickel and dime packages. However, they lack the depth currently to do so effectively. Picking up Taylor-Britt, who played cornerback and safety in college would give them some versatility in Evero’s scheme.

Courtesy of RAS.Football Kent Lee Platte (@mathbomb)

In the third round, McShay took a note from George Paton’s playbook and looked at RAS for this selection. Wisconsin inside linebacker Leo Chenal is a guy who is off the charts there.

75. Denver Broncos
McShay’s pick: Leo Chenal, ILB, Wisconsin
Chenal is the best player still on the board, and even though the Broncos re-signed Josey Jewell, he’d make a splash in the middle of the Denver defense with his sideline-to-sideline range.

An area of concern for Denver has to be depth at inside linebacker, so adding a guy like Chenal who can cover sideline to sideline who could find a role as a coverage-type linebacker. I would personally love this pick.

Courtesy of RAS.Football Kent Lee Platte (@mathbomb)

With their final third round pick, Kiper mocked Virginia tight end Jelani Woods to the Broncos.

96. Denver Broncos (via LAR)
Kiper’s pick: Jelani Woods, TE, Virginia
With Noah Fant shipped to Seattle in the trade for Russell Wilson, who’s going to play tight end in Denver? Woods wasn’t much of a receiver at Oklahoma State, but he caught eight touchdown passes after transferring to Virginia in 2021. He also has some intriguing physical tools.

Sticking with that RAS theme, the Broncos land another player ‘off the charts’ there in Woods. The 6’6” is big and fast. Tight ends usually need a year of development coming out of college, but Woods could be a good complement to Albert Okwuegbunam as he is a solid blocker in run support and has the athleticism to develop into a big time passing threat.

Courtesy of RAS.Football Kent Lee Platte (@mathbomb)

While the Broncos ended up with little support along both the offensive and defensive lines in this three-round mock draft, they seem to have landed quality prospects at positions that are still areas of need on this roster.

If this were to be the Broncos draft through their first three picks, I would definitely be looking at the big men in the fourth round with their two picks there. Running back is also an area of need behind Javonte Williams. Overall, I’d probably be happy with these first three picks or at least I could talk myself into being happy about it.

What do you think of this three-round mock from Mel Kiper and Todd McShay?