Denver Broncos mock draft making all off-the-wall picks

The Denver Broncos only have five picks in the 2023 NFL Draft, so why not have some fun with the picks, right? Things might get a little weird for the Broncos in the 2023 NFL Draft, given they are starting with so few picks. I think it would be a complete shocker to see them end with just five picks, but for the time being, what if we consider some off-the-wall types of possibilities?

In fact, what if we just put together a draft class full of off-the-wall options this team could look into? I think there are even more scenarios that you could look at with this team in terms of mock drafts that think outside the box, including scenarios where we see the team go with a QB at one of its top two selections.

This mock draft scenario won't explore that extreme of a scenario, but we are going to look into one scenario with picks that might disgust the masses but could still actually make a lot of sense for the Denver Broncos. With how unpredictable the NFL Draft is, you never know...

Unpredictable, outside-the-box Denver Broncos mock draft

Pick 67: Tucker Kraft, TE, South Dakota State

Would the Denver Broncos really go with a tight end atop their 2023 NFL Draft class after what we saw from Greg Dulcich in his 2022 rookie season? I guess after hearing Sean Payton speak at the annual NFL meetings, I don't know how truly shocking this would be.

Payton gave anything but a glowing review of Dulcich when asked specifically about him...

"“We’ll see. We haven’t gone through every player relative to the evaluation process. Some of it was hard—the evaluation. Some of it was hard.”"

Sean Payton (via Broncos PR)

Alright, so what gives? Greg Dulcich was one of the Denver Broncos' most promising offensive players a season ago. Although Dulcich did struggle for the better part of six months last year with a hamstring issue and was limited to just 10 total games, he ended up third on the team with 55 targets. Perhaps the vision for him in year two under a new coaching staff is not to play an every-down role.

We know Dulcich does struggle playing in-line with his blocking. He's more of a receiver than he is a true in-line tight end. With that being said, he can still have an impact, but Tucker Kraft is more of the complete package at the position. He fell to this selection in the mock draft simulator I was using, but who knows if that will happen in the actual NFL Draft?

You've got to at least prepare for the scenario...The Broncos certainly would benefit from having an every-down threat at that position. Although Duclcich really excels in the passing game, someone like Kraft could come in and keep you balanced every down with his elite athleticism and ability to play in-line. The Broncos want to run the ball and be physical, and a player like Kraft is much more on-brand in that regard with the added bonus that he's an absolute baller when you throw the ball his direction.

Tight end is not high on everyone's list of Denver Broncos priorities, but given the statement Sean Payton made when asked about TE1 Greg Dulcich, there might be a new TE1 in Denver sooner rather than later...

Pick 68: Tyjae Spears, RB, Tulane

As far as being "off-the-wall" or "outside the box", this is pretty conservative I would say. Depending on who you ask, I think the general NFL Draft community is very high on Tulane running back Tyjae Spears and a lot of Denver Broncos fans absolutely love him as well.

Spears runs hard, he is a tremendous receiver, and he has outstanding contact balance. The idea of he and Javonte Williams, along with newcomer Samaje Perine, all in the same backfield? I mean, it probably doesn't get much more physical than that at the running back position.

I suppose where this becomes "outside the box" type of thinking is more so in terms of what you are passing on. A lot of the perception right now is that the Denver Broncos need to draft offensive line even after spending a ton of money on Mike McGlinchey and Ben Powers. They very well could invest more in the offensive line, and I don't even doubt that they should do that.

But the team also needs offensive playmakers. This is an offense that has struggled to look even competent in recent years. Although the offensive line deserves its share of the blame for that, so do the skill players. The Broncos lost Javonte Williams last year and veteran Latavius Murray ended up looking like one of the team's biggest stars offensively.

With all due respect to Murray, that's an embarrassment for the Broncos and it's crazy it ever came to that. The Broncos thought they were good with the investments they made in Williams, Melvin Gordon, and Mike Boone. They ended up being the opposite of good. So what happens in 2023 if Javonte Williams can't start the season and Samaje Perine suffers some kind of injury?

Where do the Broncos turn then?

I think running back is more of a priority in this NFL Draft than meets the eye, and Tyjae Spears in round three might seem like a luxury for a lot of people but if the Broncos can't run the ball effectively, they are not going to be able to execute Sean Payton's plan. They need a loaded stable of backs to accomplish the plan, and if they all end up staying healthy, that's a good problem to have.

Pick 108: Jake Moody, K, Michigan

Alright, you had me going with the tight end thing. I can even accept the running back. But a kicker in the fourth round? Are you insane?!

Yes, let's get a little crazy with this one. The Denver Broncos need to upgrade their special teams overall and I won't be surprised to see them go after a kicker from this year's rookie class. I'm not sure any of the rookie kickers outside of Jake Moody could simply beat Brandon McManus outright, but you never know.

Jake Moody is considered the best kicker in this class. He nailed a 59-yard field goal in a game last season and proved that he has outrageous range and leg strength.

Just look at how high the ball is by the goalpost here when it crosses over from 51 yards out. This kick wouldn't have had the accuracy, but certainly would have had the distance from 60-plus and likely much further.

The Broncos want to make sure they are efficient on special teams. They are clearly taking an approach in terms of building the roster that these little details matter. The kicking game can make or break your season and after last year, it was really tough to see McManus going through some struggles, not just in terms of the team asking him to make ridiculously long kicks at times but from inside 40 yards and on extra points.

You simply cannot afford to be inefficient from that range. You can go 50 percent from 50-plus, but when you are even semi-consistently missing kicks inside of 40 yards or missing extra points? Well, you ain't beating the Chiefs with those kinds of mistakes.

Pick 139: Clayton Tune, QB, Houston

Although their capital is limited, I do think you should pencil in the Denver Broncos drafting a quarterback at some point here in 2023. It might be more likely if/when they trade down to accumulate more picks, but I would start familiarizing yourself with the QBs in this class.

It wasn't overly common early in Sean Payton's time with the Saints that they made a relatively common practice of taking dart throws at the QB position, but from 2015 on, they did take some shots, starting with Garrett Grayson in 2015 (third round) and then Tommy Stevens in 2020 (seventh round) and Ian Book in 2021 (fourth round).

Again, it's not like Payton made it common practice to draft a QB every single year that he was with the Saints, but there was more of a willingness to take shots there later in his tenure. I think we could see a similar approach this year as there are some intriguing late-round QBs for the Broncos to consider, including Houston's Clayton Tune. Tune is one of the elite athletes at the QB position in this year's class, one of only two players with a RAS score of 9.8 or higher (Anthony Richardson being the other).

Everybody's looking for that "next" Taysom Hill right now and I get it. It seems like the Taysom Hill element was not only a great wrinkle in Sean Payton's offense, but it was also a "break in case of emergency" offense when things really went haywire at the QB position in terms of injuries.

The Saints won quite a few games with Hill operating things and I can't help but wonder if that's just going to be a mainstay for Sean Payton now that he's with the Denver Broncos.

Clayton Tune had 70 touchdown passes over the last two seasons at Houston. He started to run the ball a lot more in the last couple of seasons as well and obviously has a top-flight physical and athletic profile.

Pick 195: Jack Colletto, FB/LB/ST, Oregon State

If you really want to find the next Taysom Hill, it's this guy. Jack Colletto, the most accurate manifestation of a "Jack" of all trades in recent football history, did a little bit of everything while he was at Oregon State.

He can crack some helmets as a lead-blocking fullback, he can play linebacker, he was excellent on special teams, and he's a former quarterback. He won the Paul Hornung award in 2022, which is given to the most versatile player in college football.

And yes, Colletto is slated to take a top-30 visit to Denver to meet with Sean Payton and the Broncos. At 6-foot-3, 240 pounds, this guy is a tremendous athlete and someone who can upgrade not only your special teams but also your short-yardage situation as a runner or blocker.

They call him the Jackhammer. What more needs to be said?

I don't know if there's a late-round pick that I would get more excited about than this guy, at this point. It's not about having a "gimmick", it's about getting football players that can upgrade your overall roster and make you better in multiple phases when you're talking about day three picks.

Although these are extreme examples, guys like Colletto and Taysom Hill, or even Matthew Slater if you want to go back that far -- they are guys who make significant contributions to NFL rosters in different ways than you're used to seeing. It takes a creative coach like Sean Payton to envision how they can help consistently without necessarily having to rewrite your entire offense to fit them in.

Out-of-the-box Denver Broncos mock draft results

67. Tucker Kraft, TE, South Dakota State
68. Tyjae Spears, RB, Tulane
108. Jake Moody, K, Michigan
139. Clayton Tune, QB, Houston
195. Jack Colletto, FB/TE/ST, Oregon State

Ultimately, this kind of NFL Draft class could help the Broncos do one thing in 2023: Put more points on the board. It's not what everyone necessarily would want to see given the team needs depth at certain areas like offensive and defensive line, as well as receiver, but it's also not entirely out of the realm of possibility.