B-
Denver Broncos
The Broncos worked the phones like thieves and earned a B-.
by 13475817 ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 13 picks
· 5 steals
· 4 reaches
Whoever sat across the table from the Broncos should ask for a receipt. They cleaned the room out, prying loose far more value than they gave up, and it was the quiet MVP of their weekend. No fireworks, but a solid B-.
A whole weekend of picks and linebacker is somehow still a want. The Fa'amoe reach is the anchor dragging on the value grade. The Kilgore pick reads as want over need, and the roster will feel it at linebacker, edge rusher and other spots.
Lane falling to them is the kind of break a good board is built to catch.
Good work on the whole, with linebacker the one box left unchecked.
Pick-by-Pick
They read the board right and Eli Stowers was the payoff at pick 62. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Fair-plus on Malik Muhammad, a quiet win that adds up over a draft. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
A quiet steal in the 111th pick: Ja'Kobi Lane for less than the market said. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Parker Brailsford at slot 115 is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They zigged when the board said zag, taking Jalon Kilgore at cornerback with linebacker, edge rusher and other spots open.
Value with a capital V on Keylan Rutledge in the 120th overall pick, a genuine coup. The roster fit checks out.
A premium they did not need to pay, Skyler Gill-Howard a notch or two before his time. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
No edge and no loss on Louis Moore in No. 160; it is a wash and a sensible one. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
Zane Durant in the 170th overall pick is fair value, right on his grade. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Fa'alili Fa'amoe in slot 211 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Diego Pavia slipping to pick 246 is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. It fills a real need, too.
Trey Zuhn III in the Round 7 slot is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
They went early on DJ Harvey in Round 7, Pick 41, and the value did not follow. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.