B-
Denver Broncos
The Broncos let Golday fall and pounced. Final grade: B-.
by JKrodel ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 4 steals
· 2 reaches
Call it larceny. Jake Golday sat on the board until pick No. 108, and the Broncos did not need to be asked twice. Solid and sensible more than spectacular: a B-.
They will need Zvada to outplay his draft slot in a hurry to justify it. A whole weekend of picks and linebacker is somehow still a want.
In sum, a sturdy weekend with one asterisk, the linebacker spot they never got to.
Pick-by-Pick
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Eli Stowers at pick 62. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
You do not let an edge rusher like Jake Golday reach the 108th overall pick and blink. They did not. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A slide stopped in Round 4, Pick 18, with Darrell Jackson Jr. worth more than the price. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
By-the-book stuff, Aamil Wagner at slot 170 squarely in line with his ranking. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
They reached into another round for Kaelon Black, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
No edge and no loss on Thaddeus Dixon in No. 222; it is a wash and a sensible one. A minor need, but a need all the same.
Circle this one: Zavion Thomas at the Round 7 slot is a fall that decides a draft. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Logan Taylor in the 256th pick is exactly on the number, no argument either way. A need, and now a little less of one.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Dominic Zvada well ahead of where he belonged. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.