D+
Denver Broncos
Grand theft in the Round 3 slot: the Broncos steal Hunter and grade out a D+.
by Todd ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 3 steals
· 6 reaches
There is conviction, and then there is this. The Broncos took Taylen Green a full 37 picks ahead of where the board had him, an overdraft steep enough that it colors the whole weekend.
Overpaying at the table undid a lot of the good work elsewhere. The edge rusher spot stays a question, and it was the one they most needed an answer at. If one pick saves this weekend, it is Hunter.
In short, the board sent warnings, and they will be hoping it was wrong.
Pick-by-Pick
They paid a round early for Jacob Rodriguez in Round 2, Pick 30, more than the board wanted. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Mike Washington Jr. at No. 87 is the proof. It fills a real need, too.
Lee Hunter at the 94th overall pick is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Jude Bowry at the Round 4 slot is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
You do not let a wide receiver like Ted Hurst reach pick No. 111 and blink. They did not. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Taylen Green in the Round 5 slot is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for VJ Payne. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
They reached a country mile for Jack Kelly at slot 227, and the board is aghast. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Adam Randall at pick 238 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.