The Denver Broncos already had one of the best defenses in the entire NFL last season, but they knew that they could load up and strengthen a strength in a big way in the 2025 offseason. They signed Dre Greenlaw and Talanoa Hufanga early in NFL Free Agency, and now they've used a 1st-round pick on Texas cornerback Jahdae Barron.
Barron embodies both the toughness and versatility the Denver Broncos covet in their defensive players. That toughness is one of the prerequisites for the Denver Broncos, but playing in the slot is a complicated position. It's not as straightforward as just throwing a guy out there as an outside corner, there are additional responsibilities and baseline requirements when you look at throwing guys into that role.
And Barron has them all in spades. Sean Payton made sure to call those out, giving his 1st-round pick a ringing endorsement on Thursday after the pick was made.
Sean Payton gives ringing endorsement for Broncos top pick Jahdae Barron
“It’s (tackling) a prerequisite. There are two things that make it difficult if we’re talking corners, nickels. Bad ball skills… It’s tough because there’s no repercussions when you throw it their way. Then poor tacklers because offensively we can make them tacklers. It’s kind of like that’s one of the traits that you have to be able to check a box on.
You can improve some guys maybe, but this guy anticipates. Again, it was… We had the watch, and we were in a room of eight maybe, some of the scouts. I can’t recall, but there was this [moment] where we looked at each other and we were like, ‘Let’s keep watching more.’ The more and more we watched, it was like, ‘All right. Let’s be quiet.’ So tackling is important.”
- Broncos HC Sean Payton (via team PR)
It's not out of the realm of possibility to think the Broncos had a top-10 overall grade on Barron, at least in this draft class. The Broncos would have potentially traded down from the 20th overall spot but they had Barron too high on their board to pass on him.
Every year, there are only 12-15 players around the league who might be considered unanimous first-round talents. This year, Barron was one of those guys. It might not be the instant gratification of upgrading the offense, but there were lapses in the coverage over the middle of the field down the stretch last season, and depth issues at cornerback. It wasn't a pressing need, but it was an area that could be upgraded.
Now, the Broncos have upgraded their defense significantly in the middle of the field with the additions of not only Barron but Dre Greenlaw and Talanoa Hufanga. Those players are all the embodiment of toughness and appreciable upgrades over what the Broncos previously had.