Denver Broncos: 2016 NFL Draft top selections set
With the Denver Broncos’ victory in the Super Bowl, the first three rounds of the 2016 NFL Draft have been set. Where will the Broncos be selecting?
Now that the Denver Broncos are Super Bowl champions, what’s next? Well, the aftermath of Super Bowl 50 should be a state of celebration for quite a while, but there’s no doubt the scouting department and front office are already looking toward how they can re-load this team for another title run in the 2016 season.
The Broncos are slated to pick 31st in the 1st round of the 2016 NFL Draft thanks to the New England Patriots having their top pick revoked due to their being convicted by the NFL of deflating footballs.
Not only do the Broncos benefit, but the Patriots cost themselves arguably their most valuable asset this offseason. Chalk that up as another huge win for Denver.
The Broncos will also pick 63rd overall in the 2nd round and 95th overall in the 3rd round, giving them the same slate of picks they had in 2014 when they selected Bradley Roby, Cody Latimer (traded up to get him) and Michael Schofield.
All three of those players played key roles in the Super Bowl victory, Roby on defense, Latimer on special teams, and Schofield playing right tackle (though he paved the way for Kony Ealy’s huge game)…
As of right now, those are the only picks for the Broncos that have been officially set for this up-coming NFL Draft. With so many free agent departures last offseason, the Broncos are projected by Over The Cap to receive three compensatory picks, one in each the 3rd, 4th, and 6th round. Last offseason, Over The Cap did a phenomenal job of projecting the compensatory picks, though they thought the Broncos might receive one more higher pick than they actually did.
This year, the Broncos stand a really good chance of adding a 4th pick among the top 100 thanks to the Jacksonville Jaguars’ signing of Julius Thomas. Thomas bolted for an average annual salary of over $8 million per season, and that — for the moment — appears good enough to net the Broncos an additional third round pick.
Orlando Franklin’s annual salary of over $7 million with the San Diego Chargers is projected to land the Broncos an additional fourth round draft choice, and the Redskins’ signing of Terrance Knighton is projected to net them an additional 6th rounder.
As it stands, the Broncos have picks in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 7th rounds, three picks in the final frame of the draft. That gives them seven selections prior to their receiving any compensatory picks, and they will receive at least two or three of those.
The 2016 NFL Draft is the final weekend in April.