The Denver Broncos could end up using the 2025 NFL Draft to truly put the league on notice. Let's whip up a mock draft for next April. The 2024 season does hinge on QB Bo Nix. If he shows enough this upcoming season, the Broncos are in business for the long-term and can go all-in around Nix.
This could spill into the 2025 NFL Draft where there are a ton of high-end prospects that could help Denver. Let's cook up a 2025 NFL mock draft for the Denver Broncos where the team loads up to put the league on notice.
Broncos 2025 NFL mock draft: Team loads up to put the league on notice
4th Overall Pick - Mason Graham, DT, Michigan
Defensive tackle DJ Jones is a free agent at the end of the 2024 NFL Season, and newly-signed DT Malcolm Roach would have just one more year left on his deal. For the foreseeable future, Zach Allen and John Franklin-Myers will hold down each defensive end spot, which is great, as both are very good players and could be a formidable duo in 2024 and beyond.
However, Denver needs to find some type of "alpha" along the defensive interior, and while I am very, very high on Zach Allen for 2024, games in the NFL are still won and lost in the trenches, so even if Allen or JFM for that matter play out of their mind in 2024, the need for a stud defensive tackle is still there, so Mason Graham ends up being the pick for the Denver Broncos in this NFL mock draft.
36th Overall Pick - Parker Brailsford, OC, Alabama
The Denver Broncos let former center Lloyd Cushenberry walk in free agency, and I have a feeling that was the plan all along, as Cush was able to score a $50 million deal from the Tennessee Titans, and I don't see any sort of scenario where the Broncos would have come close to matching that.
The team signed veteran Sam Mustipher in free agency, and he as been competing with incumbents Alex Forsyth and Luke Wattenberg this offseason. As of now, the Broncos may have one of the worst center situations in the NFL until proven ottherwise.
Denver might be in a great position to add a top center in the 2025 NFL Draft, and with their second-round pick, they land Parker Brailsford from Alabama. He transferred from Washington, a college that has seen a ton of their football prospects get taken in the recent NFL Drafts, so that could bode well for Brailsford.
He played a bit of guard at Washington but is primarily a center, so this could be a nice move for the Broncos.
68th Overall Pick - Luke Lachey, TE, Iowa
Luke Lachey just might be the best tight end in college football approaching the 2024 season. He was limited to just three games in the 2023 season, but the progression was there from 2021 to 2022, so he was likely going to play quite well in 2023.
As we all know, Iowa has a pretty good record with tight ends making it to the NFL. Guys like George Kittle, Noah Fant, and TJ Hockenson all game from Iowa. Being that the Broncos do not currently have a proven tight end on the roster, they could look to find one in the third round of this mock draft.
Ideally, third-year tight end Greg Dulcich does enough in 2024 to lock the position down for years to come, but that might not be likely.
101st Overall Pick - Tyler Baron, EDGE, Miami (FL)
Tyler Baron had 10.5 tackles for loss and six sacks for Tennessee in the 2023 college football season. He's on Miami (FL) for his redshirt senior season. The Broncos may need to continue getting their defensive line situation, as both Jonathon Cooper and Baron Browning are free agents following the 2024 NFL Season.
And I have a feeling that Denver may only bring one of them back. The team does not have an alpha off the EDGE, but they do have some bodies at the moment. Rookie Jonah Elliss and third-year player Nik Bonitto are the other two notable players in this unit. Right now, Denver's depth seems to be solid, but they must continue bringing players in at this position.
163rd Overall Pick - Elijhah Badger, WR, Florida
Elijhah Badger has caught 142 passes for 1,640 yards and 10 touchdowns for Arizona State, but he will play the 2024 season at Florida. Like the EDGE room, the Broncos wide receiver room also seems to have a ton of bodies, but there is no alpha there. The locks for the WR room in 2024 figure to be Courtland Sutton, Marvin Mims Jr, Troy Franklin, Josh Reynolds, and Devaughn Vele, but no one here seems to be the true WR1 that Denver needs.
They could take a late-round swing on someone like Elijhah Badger to try and find that WR1 and to also continue adding younger bodies to this room.
185th Overall Pick - Anthony Belton, OT, NC State
With the Denver Broncos final pick in this 2025 NFL mock draft, the Broncos draft tackle Anthony Belton from NC State, and he has the distinct honor of being the first tackle drafted by the Broncos since Garett Bolles in 2017.
This is a huge position of need for the long-term for Denver, especially if the team does not re-sign Bolles after this season. Belton is a late-round pick here, but you just never know if he could end up being a hit.
There you have it, a Denver Broncos 2025 NFL mock draft.