Denver Broncos 2020 mock draft with AJ Bouye in the fold

The Denver Broncos made a trade for veteran cornerback AJ Bouye of the Jaguars. How could they wrap a 2020 NFL Draft class around him?

For the second consecutive year, the Denver Broncos have traded one of their top day three draft picks for a veteran player in hopes of filling one of the team’s top needs.

The Broncos sent their second of two fourth-round draft picks to the Jacksonville Jaguars for cornerback AJ Bouye, a former Pro Bowler who signed a big free agent contract with the Jaguars in 2017.

Bouye has two years left on his current contract, and for the time being fills one of the biggest needs the Broncos had going into the 2020 offseason.

The Broncos will undoubtedly still look to add depth at the cornerback position and perhaps even another starting option through free agency or the 2020 NFL Draft, but this move — and the rest of free agency for the Broncos — should provide the team with ample flexibility when it comes to the 2020 NFL Draft.

At this point in time, it feels like the ‘consensus’ top three receivers in the 2020 Draft — Alabama’s Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs along with Oklahoma’s CeeDee Lamb — will be off the board by the 15th pick. The Broncos should, at the very least, be thinking about scenarios in which that is the case.

The Broncos could also be looking at the very real possibility that none of Iowa’s Tristan Wirfs, Louisville’s Mekhi Becton, or Alabama’s Jedrick Wills (the top tackles in this year’s draft) will be available.

So what the heck are the Broncos going to do in the 2020 Draft? Should they look to trade down and pick up future picks again?

That’s not a bad idea.

Should they trade up for a guy like Ruggs, Jeudy, or Lamb?

At this point, it’s interesting to think that there’s a true ‘consensus’ board out there. None of us knows where teams actually rank these players and how they will prioritize them, but there seems to be a school of thought out there that if the Broncos don’t get one of these certain handful of players that their 15th overall pick is worthless or that they’re going to have to reach too far down their board for a guy whose abilities don’t match the value of that selection.

With all of that being said, I think the Broncos can put an outstanding class around a guy like AJ Bouye, who will certainly be one of the most high-profile guys to join the Broncos this offseason.

Let’s take a look at how they could surround this move with their 2020 draft class.