Denver Broncos Draft: George Paton likes 8 players at pick 40
New Denver Broncos general manager George Paton made Alabama cornerback Patrick Surtain II his first pick ever as an NFL GM. What will he do next in the 2021 NFL Draft?
After the Denver Broncos were done in the first round of the draft with the selection of Surtain, Paton addressed the media and said that there was a player that the Denver Broncos were monitoring for a possible trade up if he had fallen into the mid-20s, but that didn’t happen.
Even after the top 32 picks, there are still some really good players on either side of the ball that Paton could be targeting with the 40th overall pick. As a matter of fact, Paton said there are “eight” players he likes for that 40th pick, which is hilarious considering the Denver Broncos have the 8th pick.
Paton already knows how to work the media, doesn’t he?
Still, he admitted to having three or four players left on his board that had first-round grades. We’ll see if he ends up getting one at 40 overall, but who could those players be?
It has been reported that North Carolina running back Javonte Williams was the RB1 for some teams. I do not know that the Denver Broncos were the team that had Williams as RB1 because I have a hunch that they really liked Alabama’s Najee Harris, but you never know.
The meat of day two looks to be on the offensive line. The Denver Broncos could pursue some options to eventually replace right tackle Ja’Wuan James if they are not set on him being the starter at the position beyond 2021.
One player, in particular, who is surprisingly available when it comes to offensive line, is Oklahoma State’s Teven Jenkins. Liam Eichenberg and Dillon Radunz have also gotten some round one hype in recent weeks, and Northern Iowa’s Spencer Brown is considered to be a starter at either tackle position going forward.
There are three top 20 players from Dane Brugler’s draft board still available entering day two of the 2021 NFL Draft, including Georgia pass rusher Azeez Ojulari, Notre Dame linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, and Alabama defensive lineman Christian Barmore.
Any of those three players would be home run selections for the Denver Broncos in the second round, as would TCU safety Trevon Moehrig, the 2020 Jim Thorpe Award winner, given to the best defensive back in the country.
It’s always difficult to know exactly where teams have players pegged but everyone was pretty unanimously surprised by the drop out of the first round for Owusu-Koramoah and Teven Jenkins along with Barmore. The only reason Ojulari is falling is due to medical concerns from teams, but in the second round, is he a risk you’re willing to take? He could be the best pass rusher in the class.
It’s no wonder that Paton has eight guys he likes.