With the 2022 NFL Draft just over one week away, let’s get into some bold predictions for the Denver Broncos.
The Broncos don’t hold a pick until late in the second round but with nine total picks at their disposal, they can still enhance the roster greatly in this draft.
How will the Broncos choose to attack this draft and who are the players on George Paton’s big board? There are still some holes to fill on the roster despite the offseason additions of Russell Wilson and Randy Gregory.
Despite the hefty price to pay to acquire Wilson via trade, the Broncos are thrilled to have finally solved their quarterback conundrum and will now look to add the smaller pieces to the roster to put themselves in a position to once again be a contender.
This draft is loaded with talent all across the board and Paton has shown himself to be a savvy general manager is a short amount of time.
With those things in mind, here are four bold draft predictions for the Broncos.
Broncos bold draft prediction No. 1: George Paton will move some of his picks
Paton seems to be a general manager that plans for the future well. Without a first-round pick or even a high second, he may look to move some of the picks he has in this draft in order to acquire some earlier choices in the 2023 draft.
Paton moved around the board in last year’s draft and one of those moves allowed him to select Javonte Williams in the second round.
Paton will likely see what he can do with the 64th overall selection and then the picks he has in the third round but if he starts to land players that he likes with those picks, look for him to move off of some of the other ones, particularly where the team holds back-to-back selections in round four.
Broncos bold draft prediction No. 2: James Cook will land in Denver
The Broncos should absolutely be in the market for another young running back behind Williams as Mike Boone is currently manning the No. 2 spot on the depth chart.
The team has already looked into a member of the reigning national champions in James Cook, who is also the younger brother of Minnesota Vikings star running back Dalvin Cook.
James Cook began to get recognized during his senior year with the Bulldogs in 2021, rushing for over 700 yards and seven touchdowns. He also caught 27 passes and added four touchdowns through the air.
Cook seems to be one of the sleepers of this entire draft class. With the kinds of skills he possesses, he could be an elite weapon at the next level. But his size (5-foot-11, 190 pounds) is going to push him down the board so he should still be available in round four.
The Broncos will elect to pull the trigger on him for a variety of reasons.
For one, he is an extremely versatile back that should be an above-average receiver at the next level and could even line up in the slot. He is the kind of player that the coaching staff could get quite creative with.
In addition, Paton was with the Vikings when they selected Dalvin in the second round of the 2017 draft.
This pick makes sense for a lot of reasons.
Broncos bold draft prediction No. 3: The team will take a QB
This is not a great draft class for quarterbacks but if Bailey Zappe is still available in round four or five, the Broncos should give him a shot. I have talked about Zappe being a perfect developmental quarterback for the Broncos more than once and it still makes sense.
Zappe will need to settle in for a bit at the pro level and may never be a starting caliber quarterback but he could be a terrific option off the bench in the case that the team needs someone in case of emergency during Wilson’s tenure.
Right now, all the Broncos have is Josh Johnson and Brett Rypien and of course, there won’t be any plans to ever play those guys outside of garbage time as long as Wilson is around but that is not the best backup situation.
After the Broncos signed Peyton Manning in 2012, they used a second-round pick on Brock Osweiler to learn and develop under him. There are many similarities in Manning and Wilson’s start in Denver and this could be another one.
Prior to trading for Wilson, the Broncos were looking at perhaps having to take a quarterback in this draft. Now, taking a guy like Zappe on day three is a low-risk move that could lead to something fruitful down the road.
Broncos bold draft prediction No. 4: Team will get Chad Muma or Trey McBride
Two of the best prospects in this draft happen to have local Colorado ties and could be available to the Broncos. Wyoming inside linebacker Chad Muma and Colorado State tight end Trey McBride. Both of these players would fill holes on the roster.
And go mark this down somewhere. The Broncos are going to draft one of these guys and who knows, they could potentially land them both.
Muma and McBride are more than just “feel good” stories.
The Broncos need a three-down inside linebacker and have needed one for about as long as anyone can remember without bringing up the “good ol’ days” of the team. Muma would be that.
He can drop back into pass coverage and he was the nation’s leading tackler in 2021 with 142 total stops.
McBride is a fantastic tight end who is pretty easily the top tight end in this draft. Because of that, he may be gone by the time the Broncos come on the board as any team needing a tight end will have him on their board.
UCLA’s Greg Dulcich could be a decent fall-back option but McBride would come in and provide instant offense in Denver working with the other main tight end on the roster, Albert Okwuegbunam.
In an interesting scenario, the Broncos could draft one of these players with the No. 64 overall pick and the other with the No. 75 overall choice. That would already be a major win for Paton.