It's hard to find folks who did not like the Denver Broncos trading for Jaylen Waddle. The move was a perfect fit for the Broncos and where this team is right now. Waddle is a needle-mover on the offensive side of the ball, and his skillset fits in nicely with the talent Denver already has.
But there is a reason why Denver made this move - the resources they had invested into the receiver room over the years clearly was not good enough, so they had to pay a steep price. While adding a player of this caliber could thrust this offense over the edge, not having a pick in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft is not ideal.
And there might not even be a 1 percent chance that the Broncos have any shot at landing one of these three prospects due to the lack of a first-rounder.
The Denver Broncos won't have a chance to draft these three notable prospects in 2026
CJ Allen, LB, Georgia
CJ Allen was a very common player mocked to the Broncos early on in this process. Allen's intelligence is off the charts, and he's got a profile as a day one starter and great pro. He's not going to be a linebacker that makes a ton of splash plays, as he's more of a steady presence who is capable of wearing the green dot and communicating the play-calls to the rest of the unit.
With how complex Vance Joseph's defense is, Allen would have been an ideal fit for the Broncos, so it was not a shock that Allen was continually mocked to Denver. He's someone who could go in the latter parts of the first round, so any chance the Broncos could give themselves would force the front office to likely trade up at least 30 spots, which just does not happen often, if at all.
Kenyon Sadiq, TE, Oregon
Kenyon Sadiq, in a loaded tight end class, is the best prospect. He was teammates for one year with Bo Nix at Oregon in 2023, but Sadiq broke out this past season and could even go in the top-15 picks. Even if Denver had pick 30, they'd have likely had to trade up, but they could have put together a strong offer.
Sadiq is not only a high-end athlete and pass-catcher, but he's already a good blocker and is a complete tight end prospect. Him being the top prospect, pretty objectively, in a loaded class, is something that the Broncos are going to miss out on.
Sadiq is going to be an impact starter and will likely finish in the top-7 in tight end receiving yards immediately.
Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, S, Toledo
This was an interesting prospect who some mocked to the Broncos. Starting safety Brandon Jones is a free agency following the season, so there were mocks out there that had a hard-hitting safety in Emmanuel McNeil-Warren heading to the Broncos.
Given how many resources the Broncos have spilled into the secondary in George Paton's tenure, adding a first-round safety would have fell in line there. The Broncos have two first-round drafted defensive backs in Patrick Surtain II and Jahdae Barron. They have a third-round pick in Riley Moss, and they also have two free agency additions with Jones and Talanoa Hufanga.
I am not sure a McNeil-Warren selection would have been all that popular, but thankfully, for fans who did not want this to happen, they'll have nothing to worry about.