B
Denver Broncos
The Broncos worked the phones like thieves and earned a B.
by Todd ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 2 steals
· 3 reaches
If you want a masterclass in dealing, watch the Broncos, who turned every swap into a profit this weekend. A dependable weekend that grades out a B.
Payne has a lot of ground to make up just to look fairly priced. They covered a lot of ground and still skipped edge rusher, which is a strange place to end up.
Good work on the whole, with edge rusher the one box left unchecked.
Pick-by-Pick
They took Jacob Rodriguez at par in Round 2, Pick 12, which is nothing to complain about. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A tidy little value on Eli Stowers in slot 62, a step better than break-even. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Jonah Coleman at the 103rd overall pick is money in the bank, a running back taken below his worth. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Value with a capital V on Bryce Lance in the Round 4 slot, a genuine coup. The roster fit checks out.
A reach for Billy Schrauth in the 111th pick; a little patience would have been rewarded. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
No edge and no loss on DeMonte Capehart in No. 140; it is a wash and a sensible one. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
VJ Payne in pick 170 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
A clean, defensible pick in pick No. 179 with a little surplus value in Bryce Boettcher. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A real head-scratcher, Eli Heidenreich in slot 228 is miles ahead of his ranking. It fills a real need, too.
John Michael Gyllenborg at pick No. 246 is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the tight end. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.