NFL and Bronco Draft History

So it’s a very safe bet that the first overall pick will be a QB, particularly since the Raiders are in dire need of one.

The Denver Broncos do not have a pick in the first round after trading that pick to get Jaylen Waddle, which is a smart move since the chances or finding an elite WR at 26 are slim. The last time the Broncos didn’t have a first round pick was 2023. Our first pick in that draft was Marvin Mims at 63. The Broncos didn’t have a first round pick in the previous draft as well. In that draft we landed Nik Bonitto with the 64th pick. That’s two really good second round picks after years of making terrible picks in the second round, which I wrote about in the past. Here are a few of the failures that the Broncos took in the second round, not in chronological order.

1. Adam Gotsis
2. Cody Latimer
3. Brock Osweiler
4. Alphonso Smith
5. Tim Crowder
6. Tony Scheffler
7. Tatum Bell
8. DeMarcus Walker
9. Ty Sambrailo
10. Montee Ball
11. Darcel McBath
12. Richard Quinn
13. Darius Watts
14. Terry Pierce
15. Paul Toviessi

The Broncos currently have seven picks this year with one in the second, two in the fourth, and three in the seventh. The Broncos have ended up with seven picks in the last two drafts after having only five in the 2023 draft.

This is a very deep draft so there should be some good talent available for the Broncos in the second and fourth rounds. The Broncos need and IDL to replace John Franklin-Myers and a TE to replace any of them, as they were all poor in 2025.

According to the realistic draft pick values (Fitzgerald-Speilberger, F-S), the Broncos have the second least draft capital to spend in this draft with only 3134 points. Only the Falcons have less with 2909. The money needed to sign the Bronco rookies from this draft is the 3rd least in the NFL at $7.6MM. The Broncos have the least cap space available, but that will change when some expensive vets are released during or before camp.

The 26th pick that the Broncos traded to get Jaylen Waddle has an F-S value of 1349. F-S is a much more realistic pick value relative to the “Jimmy Johnson” chart (which he didn’t invent). The F-S chart assigns realistic value to second, third and fourth rounds picks which are grossly undervalued by the old/outdated chart. The approximate value by pick is shown on the right Y-axis.