Broncos feel 'really good' about 2026 draft, in part because of Jaylen Waddle

The Denver Broncos picked seven players in the 2026 NFL draft last month. When you factor in a pre-draft trade, though, the Broncos really gained eight players from their 2026 selections.

Denver traded its original first- and third-round picks to the Miami Dolphins in March for wide receiver Jaylen Waddle (the clubs also swapped fourth-round picks). So, in a way, Waddle was the Broncos' first "pick" in this year's draft.

“I think we [GM George Paton and coach Sean Payton] both feel really good about the last couple days and the team in general," Paton said during his post-draft press conference. "I talked about it last night. We had seven total picks and yet, we also got Waddle. So feel good about the team, feel good about the weekend. I think we helped our depth; we helped our team in a lot of areas. We wanted to get younger in both lines. I feel like we did that. Wanted to get some offensive help as well, more explosion.

"I think we helped ourselves at running back and tight end and just depth across the board. So I think we got younger; I think we got better over the weekend. You factor in our first-round pick is a really good player, so [we] feel good about that as a whole. I think we got great make-up. You go down the list [and] there are captains on this list, and I could go through each of these players. We just added to a really good locker room.”