The Denver Broncos came away with an interesting 2025 NFL Draft class, but it is not always getting the top grades. Draft grades are subjective immediately after the NFL Draft, as it will likely take multiple years to see if a class pans out.
And even with the Broncos 2024 NFL Draft class looking great so far, there is always time for it to regress. Let's look at all of the team's picks in the 2025 NFL Draft:
Jahdae Barron, CB
RJ Harvey, RB
Pat Bryant, WR
Sai'vion Jones, DE
Que Robinson, OLB
Jeremy Crawshaw, P
Does this look like a good draft class in your opinion?
Do the Broncos deserve this?
Here is what Gennaro Filice of NFL.com had to say about the Broncos draft class, which he gave a B- grade and ranked 22nd in the NFL:
"For months, we wondered if Sean Payton would get a “Joker.” Ultimately, he did -- for Vance Joseph’s defense. Denver’s D emerged as one of the league’s elite units last season, with shutdown corner Patrick Surtain II taking home Defensive Player of the Year. And now the Broncos have added Jahdae Barron, who just won the Jim Thorpe Award as college football’s top defensive back. Barron excelled in numerous roles as a starter for Texas over the past three seasons, displaying the kind of inside/outside versatility that’s all the rage in today’s NFL. Immediately following this first-round selection that took many by surprise -- just given Denver’s perceived needs entering the draft -- Daniel Jeremiah compared Barron to Cooper DeJean. That’ll play! Another pick that took many by surprise: Pat Bryant. The Broncos had a need at the receiver position, but they drafted Bryant far earlier than most anticipated. For what it’s worth, Payton says the Illinois product reminds him of Michael Thomas."
The Broncos got a solid grade, but they were also only ranked 22nd in the NFL, so they were lower than most teams. I truly believe that the main curveball for the Broncos in this draft was Jahdae Barron falling into their laps with the 20th overall pick.
Had Barron not been there, we likely would have seen Denver taking RB TreVeyon Henderson at pick 20, or we could have seen them trading down a few slots with Henderson still in mind. Denver traded down twice in the second and third rounds and took two offensive weapons in RJ Harvey and Pat Bryant, who could both be immedialte contributors.
In an ideal world, RJ Harvey takes the RB1 role by storm and doesn't give Sean Payton a reason to ever take him off the field (that isn't realistic, but you get my point), and Pat Bryant carves out an immediate role as a wide receiver.
Jahdae Barron ideally settles into a slot CB role with the Broncos and is thrown all over the secondary in Vance Joseph's defense, and perhaps we also see Jeremy Crawshaw turn out to be one of the best punters in the NFL.
Sai'vion Jones and Que Robinson can ideally become top rotational pass rushers for the Broncos, only deepening their DL room. If this all happened, the Broncos 2025 NFL Draft class would be top-tier.