Denver Broncos biggest winners after Day 2 of the 2023 NFL Draft

3. The EDGE rusher group

One of the few hills I was dying on before the 2023 NFL Draft started was that the Denver Broncos wouldn't be able to get anybody at the EDGE position in round three (or within reasonable trade up range) that would be a better alternative to the young players they already have.

In addition to veteran and former high-priced free agent Randy Gregory, the Broncos got a good year out of Baron Browning in his first year transitioning to playing the edge on a full-time basis. They used a second-round pick last year on Oklahoma's Nik Bonitto, and brought in his college coach (Jamar Cain) as a pass rush specialist coach this offseason.

They already have guys like Jonathon Cooper, Jacob Martin (who was acquired in a trade last year), and guys like Aaron Patrick and Christopher Allen coming off of injury. Of course, you can always find talented players in the draft worth taking, but in terms of having guys with upside, they're already on the roster. The Broncos didn't need to go after pure EDGE guys, and they didn't.

Drew Sanders can play off the edge, but Sean Payton said that the team envisions him playing inside linebacker and crossing into that pass rush realm, not the other way around.

You can never have too many good pass rushers, and it's not like the Broncos have a bunch of proven assets. But they do have a lot of talent worth pouring into, and those guys were big winners after Day 2 because the team (correctly) passed on guys with Day 2 picks who are a bit limited.