Denver Broncos: 7-Round Mock Draft Heading Into the Bye Week
The Denver Broncos head into the bye week with a ton of questions for the future. In this mock draft, Sayre Bedinger and Patrick Chiotti look to answer some!
After a rough loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in which the Denver Broncos looked like they lacked overall effort, the bye week couldn’t come any sooner. For some fans and analysts of the Broncos, the 2022 NFL Draft couldn’t come any sooner. Predominantly Orange analyst Patrick Chiotti sat down with site expert Sayre Bedinger to complete a full seven-round mock draft in an attempt to fix the mess in Denver.
The Denver Broncos are clearly a middle-of-the-pack football team with a roster that looks like it could be a playoff team on paper. Going into the bye week, this team is sitting at 5-5 and in last place in the AFC West. The team looks uninspired from week to week (outside of their glorious win against Dallas) and a coaching change is getting closer.
As we take this week to rest and recharge for the final push of the season, PO site expert Sayre Bedinger (@SayreBedinger) and I sat down to think about potential draft picks in 2022 that might help rebuild this broken team.
For this mock draft, we utilized the mock draft machine over at www.risendraft.com, where you can also find a complete draft database and draft prospect analysis!
Denver Broncos mock draft – 1st round picks
Patrick: Drake Jackson, EDGE USC
Von Miller is gone, Bradley Chubb is injury-prone and has yet to prove he can be “the guy”, and the team simply can’t rely on a seventh-round pick and an undrafted guy to be their main source of pressure.
Not to knock on Jonathon Cooper or Malik Reed because they’re both extremely talented but in a league where getting to the quarterback is becoming increasingly more important, the Broncos just need more.
With no QBs on the board that I truly love here, Jackson would give the Broncos a solid edge rusher to attempt to replace Miller. I would like to see if he ends up running his forty-yard dash in the high 4.5’s or low 4.6’s.
Sayre: Kenny Pickett, QB Pittsburgh
I was going to agree with Patrick on this one because Drake Jackson would be a fine selection here, but the Denver Broncos’ QB position is unresolved until it’s not.
Both Kenny Pickett and Carson Strong were on the board here and we know George Paton just got to go see Pickett in person.
His hand size is a potential cause for concern at just over eight inches (Pickett rocks the two-glove look just like Teddy Bridgewater to compensate) but his improvement and productivity over the last two seasons are impossible to ignore.
Pickett has shown the ability to drive the ball and make accurate throws to all levels, and he’s also solid at moving around and making plays with his legs if need be.