The Denver Broncos currently hold the No. 64 overall selection in the NFL Draft, but there is always the chance that a team will trade up to get the guy it wants.
The Broncos will have to wait until the end of round two to make their first selection of the 2022 draft. That is unless George Paton spots a prospect that he can’t live without and wants to deal some more of his draft capital.
With the way the draft fell in the first round, including a big run on wide receivers, there are still several top-level prospects available to be selected, including many with first-round grades.
With the Broncos trading away their first and second-round picks this year and next in order to acquire Russell Wilson from the Seattle Seahawks, there is a good argument to make that the team should sit back and let the board come to them in order to get as many players as possible.
But Paton may see things differently. He traded up in the second round last year in order to ensure he was able to get Javonte Williams. He may see another can’t-miss prospect on the board and feel that the price of moving up is worth it.
Teams make big jumps in the draft every year. In the first round, the Detroit Lions moved up 20 slots to take Alabama wide receiver, Jameson Williams.
The Broncos would have to move away up to get one of the following players but if any of these guys slip past the 40th pick, it could be a conversation to have. The Broncos have two picks in the third round as well as back-to-back selections in the fourth that could be seen as intriguing picks by other teams.
Broncos trade-up prospect: Nakobe Dean, LB, Georgia
There was a ridiculous amount of talent on Georgia’s defense last year and that was the biggest reason the Bulldogs won the National Championship. The NFL as a whole believes in that defense and that is why five members of that defense were selected in the first round.
But Nakobe Dean is as good as many of those players and it’s somewhat shocking that he is still on the board. If you watched the national semi-final game last year between Georgia and Michigan, you know how dominant Dean can be.
That helped inspire me to write about why the Broncos should take Dean with the ninth overall pick at one point when Denver still had a selection. Yes, I believed him to be that good.
Dean could become the defensive leader and enforcer in the middle of the field that the Broncos sorely need.
This guy is as explosive as it gets and he makes plays all over the field. He plays with a fierce intensity and can do a little bit of everything at an above-average level. He will also stay on the field for all three downs.
There are questions about his size and how he’ll be able to take on blocks at the next level but that may be the only knock on him.
In my opinion, Dean is the best player still out there and will likely hear his name called early on Friday, so it would likely cost a pretty penny for the Broncos to come up to get him.
Linebacker or edge rusher. Those should really be the only two positions the Broncos are truly focused on in the second round of this draft.
Arnold Ebiketie is an edge rusher who has seen his stock steadily rise in this draft process and a guy who would make a lot of sense for the Broncos.
Ebiketie is one of those prospects who decided to play football at a late age, not playing at an organized level until he was a sophomore in high school. But he blossomed quickly.
After starting his college career at Temple, he transferred to Big Ten powerhouse Penn State and registered nine sacks to go with 18.5 tackles for loss in 2021.
Ebiketie possesses incredible speed off the edge and would be a threat to reach the quarterback multiple times per game. He does still need to develop into an every-down player but early in his career, he would be perfect for passing downs to apply pressure.
Working behind a steady veteran combination in Bradley Chubb and Randy Gregory would also be ideal. If the Broncos choose not to re-sign Chubb following the 2022 season he could be a candidate to replace him as he very much has the ability to be a starter in the league rather quickly.
Boye Mafe out of Minnesota had some first-round appeal and should be one of the first names called on Friday night. Many analysts would have him ranked ahead of Ebiketie as well.
Mafe has more than one pass-rush maneuver and he shows great balance and control of his body coming off of the edge. He is not as long as many teams like their edge rushers to be but he makes up for that in athleticism and versatility.
At Minnesota, Mafe would rush from a stand-up position as an outside linebacker and with his hand on the ground as well. He also showed some ability to drop back into pass coverage and handle running backs in the flat.
In four seasons with the Golden Gophers, Mafe played in 31 games and had 15 sacks and 19.5 tackles for loss.
There will likely be several teams looking at him for his upside in the early portion of the second round so the Broncos would likely have to come up a long way to get him, giving up multiple picks to do so.
It doesn’t seem likely that you will find many lists talking about the Broncos and the 2022 draft in the same sentence without seeing the name of Trey McBride. I even included him here, though it’s not likely he is still on the board at No. 64.
That would mean the Broncos would have to trade up to get the best tight end in this draft. The question is, what would that cost?
Any team with a need for a tight end is going to have McBride on their board and they will likely prefer to just select him rather than taking whatever kind of package the Broncos are coming up with. So this is one of those moves Paton would have to get creative with, making sure he got in front of those tight end-needy teams.
Looking at the board, the first five teams that pick in the second round (Tampa Bay, Minnesota, New York Giants, Houston, New York Jets) could all use the services of McBride, so he likely won’t even get to pick No. 40.
If he somehow does, the Broncos could make a move with a team like the Detroit Lions for pick No. 46. That would put Denver ahead of the Washington Commanders, who don’t have the best situation at tight end.
That would be moving up 18 slots and would likely cost the Broncos pick No. 64, one of their third-round choices and perhaps even one in the later rounds.
It would be a steep price to pay but McBride in Denver could be a lot of fun.