Hindsight is always 20/20, especially when it comes to the NFL Draft. It's torturous to go back and look at what players went after your team selected, but it's especially torturous to go back and cherry-pick the best ones. Circumstances, coaching, and fit are all major factors when it comes to draft picks working out at the NFL level, but it's possible that a 1-5 team like the Denver Broncos could already be regretting some of the decisions they made in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Heading into Week 7 of the 2023 NFL season, the Denver Broncos' 2023 rookie class has not been nearly as impactful as this team has needed them to be. Some of that is their own doing (Marvin Mims not getting enough playing time) and others are simply the fact that players were raw coming out (Drew Sanders) or got hurt (Riley Moss).
But what players did they miss out on?
3 picks the Denver Broncos may have whiffed on in the 2023 NFL Draft
1. Took Drew Sanders, could have had pass rusher Byron Young
I will admit, I was not exactly on board for the Denver Broncos using a high pick in the 2023 NFL Draft on the EDGE position. But when they took a linebacker (Drew Sanders) with the 67th overall pick, I guess at that point you can't help but wonder why they wouldn't just go after a more traditional pass rusher? I wasn't on board for EDGE, but I certainly wasn't on board for an off-ball linebacker.
Drew Sanders received some first-round hype last season, where he was an All-American at Arkansas, but the Broncos had Byron Young in the building for a pre-draft visit and perhaps could have significantly upgraded their pass rush depth, avoiding the Frank Clark fiasco altogether.
Byron Young is an older rookie, just over 100 days away from being 26 already, but he's made an impact on the Rams with three sacks, a forced fumble, and 11 QB hits. Sanders has been limited in his playing time, but ultimately there's hope he can take over a full-time starting spot as soon as later this season, if the team were to trade Josey Jewell.