The Denver Broncos are not the only team that has made some draft mistakes in hindsight, but this one is pretty brutal.
I do have an educated guess that picking in the NFL Draft after the first round could be quite difficult, as there never seems to be 32 slam-dunk first-round picks in a given class. This does make the NFL Draft quite challenging for NFL front offices.
And while the Denver Broncos have done a nice job at building their roster through the NFL Draft, they have made their share of mistakes, and if we look at one in particular in hindsight, it's just brutal see.
Denver took Baron Browning over... Amon-Ra St. Brown in the 2021 NFL Draft
With the 105th pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, the Denver Broncos took Ohio State pass rusher Baron Browning. This was the last pick in the third round. Well, just seven picks later at the top of the fourth round, the Detroit Lions took wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, and in the following four NFL seasons, not only is Browning not even on the Broncos anymore, but St. Brown has turned into one of the best receivers in the NFL.
In four years for the Broncos, Browning amassed 9.5 sacks, 15 tackles for loss, and 22 QB hits. He was traded to the Arizona Cardinals during the 2024 NFL Season.
On the flip side, in four seasons, Amon-Ra St. Brown has caught 430 passes for 4,51 yards and 33 touchdowns. He's caught 22 touchdown passes over the last two seasons and is averaging 111 receptions, 1,250 yards, and nine touchdowns over a 17-game season.
St. Brown is a three-time Pro Bowler and a two-time All-Pro as well. Now yes, this might not be fair to criticize the Broncos for this, but when you look at the grand scheme of things a few years later, I am sure even Paton himself would call this a mistake on his end.