CB Jaylon Johnson, Utah
The Denver Broncos will be an intriguing team to watch early in the second round. John Elway has been known to be aggressive (such as moving up last year to get Drew Lock and Dalton Risner in back-to-back picks) if there is a guy they covet that is still available. Moreover, they have the ammunition with three third-round picks.
However, with their first pick in the second round, I don’t expect them to make a trade up for a player for two reasons:
The first reason is there are still a significant amount of talented players on the board and they are in a prime spot to fill one of the above holes by just sitting back and not spending capital to move up.
The second reason is the Denver Broncos do not have a first-round grade on any remaining prospects, therefore, decreasing the urgency to try and get into the first few picks of the second.
Elway: No Round 1 graded-players left available on the Broncos' board.
— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) April 24, 2020
At this point, I think the Denver Broncos are going to work on solidifying the cornerback position by taking Utah’s Jaylon Johnson. I had Johnson originally mocked in the back-end of the first round but, with him falling to this spot, it would be another success for Elway.
Johnson has good size (6’0” and 193 pounds) and the skillset to be a strong cover corner in Vic Fangio’s defense. He’s a smart and instinctual player who can fit in a man or zone scheme.
Furthermore, it fills a need. Right now the Denver Broncos have AJ Bouye, Bryce Callahan, Devante Bausby, and Isaac Yiadom as their top four corners. That isn’t the weakest group in the NFL, but there are serious question marks with each of those guys.
Bouye was traded for a fourth-round pick after a down year in Jacksonville. Can he rebound as he approaches 30?
Bryce Callahan missed all of last year with an injury. Will he be healthy?
Bausby was a bright spot in an otherwise ho-hum 7-9 year, but can he do it again?
Yiadom joined the team as a third-round pick out of Boston College and has been inconsistent at best and a complete coverage liability at worst.
Picking Johnson gives the Broncos another potential day one starter and a guy Vic Fangio could potentially build his secondary around in conjunction with franchise-tagged Justin Simmons.
Other options here (or in this area) are Josh Jones, Lloyd Cushenberry, Ross Blacklock, Ezra Cleveland, AJ Epenesa, or Antoine Winfield Jr.