Broncos' draft room explored late-round trivia during long wait on Day 3

After selecting NC State tight end Justin Joly with the 152nd overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft, the Denver Broncos were not scheduled to go back on the clock until the 246th overall pick, nearly 100 selections later.

While they waited through the rest of the fifth round, all of the sixth round and into the seventh round, Denver's brass hoped teams would reach for prospects that the Broncos had ranked lower on their big board.

"Every year, you’re hoping as a team that players to the right of your board are getting taken to your left and pushing players that you want [down]," coach Sean Payton said after the draft. "You’re hoping that’s happening throughout the draft. That’s been pretty constant compared to maybe years ago. I mean, they gathered in a basement when there were nine owners. There were umpteen rounds. We were reading… We had some time today."

Denver general manager George Paton then chimed in: “[Rounds] 5 to 7, I don’t know how long that was. Three hours?”

While they waited, the Broncos explored draft trivia.

"So we read who’s the top seventh [round] pick of all time?" Payton said. "There were seven or eight Hall of Famers. The sixth round was easy, fifth round. Then someone in the room was filling us in on the 19th round. I can remember when I was in college, I think there were 13 rounds. So it’s certainly come a long way.”

These days, there are "only" seven rounds in the NFL draft, and despite making multiple trades, Denver exited the draft with seven new rookies, including three players picked in the seventh round. Those players will report for rookie minicamp next week (view the Broncos' offseason schedule).

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