Denver Broncos may regret drafting Pat Bryant in third round of NFL Draft

The Denver Broncos drafted Illinois WR Pat Bryant with the 74th overall pick in the third round, and Sean Payton has spoken highly of him after the pick.

He compared him to a receiver that he loved near and dear in New Orleans, Michael Thomas.

"Obviously , he’s physical, but the player comp for me—forget the jersey number—just a lot of traits that Mike [Thomas] had, especially at the line of scrimmage."

Sean Payton on Pat Bryant

Comparing Bryant to Thomas was a big deal due to how great he was with Payton in New Orleans. He was his primary target with the Saints and had an excellent career with him as his head coach.

Bryant appears to be a great man off the field. He was a captain for Illinois and a leader for that team (something Payton loves, as evident by his draft record). At 6'3 and a little over 200 pounds, he provides another big body receiver to Denver's room.

If you would of told me that the Broncos drafted him on day three, I would of been intrigued.

But for Bryant to be a day two selection and picked with the 74th overall pick was a bit mind-boggling to me, especially given the pool of receivers that were still available.

Nothing is concrete until we see him perform in the offseason workouts and training camp, but for now, Denver may have made a mistake with a top 75 pick.

Pat Bryant is a massive reach for the Broncos in the third round

For reference, let's start with a general public consensus on Bryant from draft analysts. PFF viewed him as the 158th best prospect on their big board, and NFL analyst for NFL.com, Lance Zierlein, had his draft projection in round six.

Agree or disagree, but that was the general baseline for Bryant going into the draft. And yes I know, who cares what they think, George Paton thought otherwise. While I agree with that, too, let's dive a bit deeper though with the selection.

The stats above represent Bryant's senior year, and the numbers aren't bad whatsoever. He was the focal point of the passing game for Illinois and recorded 18.2 yards per reception.

With this being said, when you add what the Broncos already have in the wide receiver room, plus Bryant's weaknesses that outweigh his strengths, it's not great for a top 75 pick.

Illinois played five top 25 teams in the country last season in Oregon, Michigan, Penn State, Nebraska, and Kansas (at the time when they matched up).

Against the top tier of those ranked teams, Bryant recorded:

• Oregon – 3 receptions for 26 yards

• Michigan – 4 receptions for 32 yards

• Penn State – 3 receptions for 39 yards

That is an average of 3.3 receptions and 32.3 yards per game. For being the 74th overall pick of the NFL Draft, this doesn't cut it for me, especially against the powerhouse teams of college football.

Against the lower tier of ranked teams he played (Nebraska and Kansas at the time), he recorded:

• Nebraska – 5 receptions for 74 yards and 2 TDs

• Kansas – 3 receptions for 70 yards

That is a much better stat line but still averages out to 4 receptions and 72 yards per game. Is that good enough to draft with a top 75 pick?

In my opinion, no.

Just take a look at Cooper Kupp, AJ Brown, and Chris Godwin's stats when they got selected inside the top 75 of their draft classes. Their numbers compared to Bryant's are not even close.

Now I'm not saying Bryant has to turn out like those All-Pro wide receivers, but you can find talent like that in the draft with a top 75 pick, and the numbers don't suggest he'll be even close to that.

Despite not showing up in games that were big for Illinois, he doesn't have the acceleration and vertical speed to take the top off the defense. You may argue that we have Marvin Mims Jr. and Troy Franklin for that. And yes we do, but now our wide receiver room has become even more predictable when they are out on the field.

Bryant lumps himself into the category with Courtland Sutton and Devaughn Vele. Bid body receivers that don't have the speed to keep the defense honest and create separation consistently, but provide a big catch radius.

It's nice that he can go up and grab contested catches, but we have Sutton and Vele for that already. Bryant is a good (not great, just yet) blocker, and that's what really separates him from the others in the wide receiver room in Denver.

But if a top 75 pick is used because of that, that's a problem in my opinion.

Bryant does know how to create leverage and utilize it in his routes, which is a valuable skill. He just doesn't quite have the burst to separate consistently and have that natural ability. He'll get exposed by good defensive schemes in the league if he doesn't improve with that, since he is not a natural route runner at 6'3.

And once again, what this wide receiver room is lacking is playmaking after the catch, and Bryant does not offer that.

The Rutgers clip of Pat Bryant scoring the game-winning touchdown that circulated around on draft day had many people clamoring for it and highlighting his yards after catch. They fail to realize the awful Rutgers defense, taking bad angles, and trying to get Bryant down, thinking his playmaking abilities are something they're not.

From what I have seen (and other analysts concur), he lacks creativity in his playmaking abilities and doesn't have the speed, burst, or agility for it. Which is fine, but the Broncos are in need of that.

And again, I understand that we have Mims and Franklin for that, but the room is too predictable right now for Bo Nix and the offense. There are tall receivers who are fast and can create separation and make a play after the catch.

The Broncos refuse to just get one.

I'd be remiss not to mention that Bryant ran the second slowest 40-yard dash of all the wide receivers (4.61) and scored a 68 on the Athleticism Score (ranked 32nd for WRs) via Next Gen Stats.

I hope he pans out to be a good and makes me a believer during rookie minicamp and training camp. But for now and what we know about Bryant's on-field abilities, the Broncos are going to regret using a top 75 pick on him.

And if I'm being quite honest, I don't think he is even better than AT Perry, who the Broncos picked up last year and have on the practice squad.