The Denver Broncos reportedly tried to trade up in the 2014 NFL Draft to select linebacker C.J. Mosley of Alabama. There were reports that they tried to trade up in the 2011 NFL Draft for Nick Fairley. In 2012, they were rumored to be candidates to move up for Robert Griffin III.
So apparently, this is the time of year when the Broncos like to leak that they might be interested in trading up.
Mike Klis of the Denver Post says he would be ‘surprised’ if John Elway doesn’t make every effort possible to trade up in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft.
“I would be surprised if the Broncos’ general manager doesn’t go beyond his unlimited text data in an attempt to trade up from his team’s No. 28 draft slot. With 10 draft picks, Elway has the ammunition to barter. And, as a team that won four consecutive division titles and is all in to win this season, the Broncos don’t have 10 spots available on their roster. Why waste all those draft picks?”
I’m not going to disagree with Klis that the Broncos could very well trade up in the draft, but I’d like to combat his last line there.
Why waste all those draft picks?
Well, last I checked, the Broncos just watched a mass exodus of players take off for greener pastures, and unless the Broncos have made 14 unknown additions to the roster, they aren’t yet at 90 players.
Now, obviously what Klis meant was the fact that it’s unlikely that 10 rookies will make the roster, and I will grant that, but we’re not talking about the Broncos having 10 draft picks they can do whatever they want with. Four of those picks, the compensatory selections, cannot be traded. The fourth round pick obviously the most valuable of the four, the Broncos are significantly limited with what they can trade (in terms of moving up in the first round) with only a second and third round pick as well as future picks to use in bargaining with other teams.
Therefore, I feel it’s much more likely the Broncos trade up in the 2nd round as they did last year than in the 1st round, because the picks simply are not there. The Broncos are going to once again be picking late in 2016, so their future picks aren’t as valuable to other teams, in all likelihood. Picks are picks, and they all have value, but with only six to haggle with, the Broncos don’t have much ammo to trade up in this year’s draft.
They might trade up in the 2nd or 3rd round, but it seems like it’ll take a bit of an over-pay for the Broncos to move up in the 1st round, and that’s something this writer is not particularly interested in, given the depth of the positions the Broncos will be targeting in this draft.
If they feel the need to move up eight spots to go and get the guy they want and they are fine with it costing them a third round pick and probably a future high pick, by all means, go for it.
I’m just not a fan of trading draft picks for the sake of doing so.