Denver Broncos fans should be hoping and praying for an incredibly boring first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Not to say the Broncos should make a boring pick, but they should eliminate themselves from the first round altogether by trading down and out with some team (the Giants or Browns) that is desperate for a quarterback and not concerned about future NFL Draft capital.
Broncos general manager George Paton has, on multiple occasions, spoken about the depth of this draft class and his preparedness in the days leading up to it.
He stated before that he feels there are running backs you can get in rounds 2-6 who could be impact players in a variety of roles. He said that the war room was recently discussing a Day 2 defensive line prospect who could play immediately. He also stated that the continuity with the staff around him has made him more prepared for this draft than any other before it.
Everything Paton has been saying in the lead-up to the NFL Draft is indicative of one thing: This is the draft to collect picks.
Broncos GM George Paton should be desperate to trade down, collect picks
George Paton has only had two first-round picks as Denver Broncos general manager: In 2021 when the team took Pat Surtain and in 2024 when they took Bo Nix. The hit rate is high, but Paton's philosophy has always been that you "make your hay" in the draft on Days 2 and 3.
And he's found a lot of quality players there through the years.
Let's say the Broncos could trade down from the 20th overall pick and make a deal with the Giants or Browns. The trade value chart indicates that the Broncos would be able to get either pick 33 or 34 as well as pick 65 or 67 for pick 20, and that would be a baseline minimum where the Broncos are losing some value.
Add in the quarterback tax and a possible bidding war between two or more teams to jump ahead of the Steelers? It could bring up the value of Denver's pick substantially. If they were able to compile four picks (or more) inside the top 100 of this year's draft, it would be worth making the first round a boring event for everyone in Broncos Country.
The Broncos are no longer rebuilding their roster, but adding necessary pieces to get to the point of being able to legitimately compete in the AFC.
This draft class doesn't have many blue-chip players, but it does have exceptional depth at the positions the Broncos need the most. The combination of Paton's preparedness, the depth of this class at positions of need, and lack of blue-chip players could really push the Broncos into trade-down mode, even though that's not historically Sean Payton's preferred method in the draft.
He's almost always preferred to trade up more than anything else. Payton recently acknowledged that he's as guilty as anyone of pulling out the driver when he should be using another club. Having the good cop, bad cop relationship of Payton and Paton has done wonders for the Broncos in the rebuilding process the last two years.
There is a time when Payton's aggressiveness is what the team needs, and there are times when George Paton's to build the war chest is needed. This is one of those draft classes where collecting as many picks as possible and taking advantage of the depth is going to be in the best interest of the team, even if it means not picking in the top 32.