Denver Broncos mock draft with a trade up scenario in round 2

The Denver Broncos should have at least one or two new players a week from the time you're reading this post. The 2023 NFL Draft is fast-approaching and scenarios are flying around all over the place. What are the Broncos going to do? Are they going to stay put at picks 67 and 68?

I'm not sold that will be the case. Sean Payton's history is such that if the team doesn't trade up at least one time, you should be surprised. Then again, GM George Paton's history is that if the Broncos don't trade down at least once, you should be surprised. Ultimately, it has everything to do with the players being targeted. The Broncos are flexible, even with just five picks in this class.

How could they move up? What would be a fair trade? How could they move up and still keep five picks? Let's explore a scenario...

Denver Broncos mock draft: Trading up into the 2nd round

Round 2, pick 43: Luke Musgrave, TE, Oregon State

Trade Details

Just so we can see how realistic trading up into the top 10-12 picks of the second round of the NFL Draft is, the Broncos have an extra selection in round 3 of the 2024 NFL Draft (as well as in rounds 4-5) that they could utilize to trade up. In this scenario, the Jets recoup a third-round pick which they lost in the Elijah Moore trade, and also get some future draft capital out of the deal.

The Broncos moving up would be fascinating to see. What positions would they actually trade up for? I think the tight end position is as likely as any. We have seen the Broncos doing a lot of visits with tight ends in the weeks leading up to the 2023 NFL Draft, which could indicate they are really trying to differentiate guys at that position group.

Luke Musgrave is one of the players they've had in on a visit, and he is the nephew of former Broncos OC Bill Musgrave.

Why would the Broncos trade up for a tight end? People have been asking why this keeps getting suggested because the team has Greg Dulcich, Albert Okwuegbunam, and they signed Chris Manhertz in free agency. Not that you can poke holes in every position group, because that could ultimately cause you to think every position group is bad or an injury risk, but I think at tight end, it's pretty fair.

The Broncos do like Greg Dulcich. At least, last year they did. Dulcich had a solid rookie season despite only playing in 10 games, which is part of the equation here. Dulcich was limited due to a hamstring issue, and the Broncos are one hamstring tweak away from having arguably the least-threatening tight end duo in the league in Albert O. and Chris Manhertz.

Manhertz was brought in to block. If he catches any passes, that's just dandy. Okwuegbunam might be traded on Day 3 of the Draft. It wouldn't be shocking to see the Broncos trade up for someone like Musgrave and then move on from Albert O. later on.

At any rate, Musgrave is a guy who can do a little bit of everything at the TE position, which is not obviously Dulcich's strongsuit. Dulcich is a receiver at the position. GM George Paton did indicate that he was pleased with the progression they saw from Dulcich as a blocker last season, but asking him to play in line and block guys off the edge is not where he's most effective.

Using Dulcich in tandem with someone like Musgrave could set the Broncos up to have a very dynamic duo of tight ends for the future, with Chris Manhertz doing a lot of the thankless work. This kind of selection would just continue to fortify Sean Payton's desire for the team to be physical in the trenches. He's had great success drafting and developing tight ends through the years, so if the Broncos feel like Musgrave can be the next in line, they should move up to get him.

3rd round, 68th overall: Jonathan Mingo, WR, Ole Miss

Although there were some definitive statements made about Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton earlier in the offseason, I'm a little less sold as the NFL Draft approaches that the Broncos are definitely not going to trade someone at that position group.

To be clear, I think Jonathan Mingo was also the best player on the board at this pick slot, so I wasn't reaching for a receiver, but if it just so happens that a receiver is the best player on the board...the Denver Broncos shouldn't hesitate.

Let's talk about this position group for a moment. Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy have been the subject of trade rumors all offseason. Tim Patrick is coming off of an ACL injury and is going to be 30 later this year. KJ Hamler is in the final year of his rookie deal and is recovering from a pectoral injury which could keep him out at the start of the season.

Other than those four guys, the Broncos did bring in former Saints Marquez Callaway and Lil'Jordan Humphrey, but would their presence prevent the team from drafting a receiver if the right opportunity presents itself? I doubt that. Not everyone is going to be in agreement with the positions targeted in this mock draft, and that could end up being the case in the Broncos' real draft as well.

For the current construction of the team, I think I'd rather the Broncos take a receiver early on than, say, an EDGE prospect, but some people will disagree with that. I think picking as low as they are, the Broncos should be drafting the most talented prospects and Mingo can bring something special to the table in terms of his size, athleticism, downfield blocking abilities, and big-play ability.

Mingo has big, strong hands. He can pluck the ball out of the air and use those mitts to win contested catch situations. In a draft class that is rather thin at receiver, he might be pricing himself well out of this range but if he's there in round three, the Broncos would be wise to grab him.

5th round, 139th overall: Riley Moss, DB, Iowa

Opinions about Iowa defensive back Riley Moss seem to be scattered all over the place in the days leading up to the 2023 NFL Draft. Some simulators have him all the way up in the third-round range, others have him lasting into the 4th round and beyond. I think the Broncos would be more likely to land someone like Moss if they still had a fourth-round pick, but these mock drafts are almost as much about projecting who the Broncos would take as they are about where they would take them, right?

We may be wrong about the round, but not the player, in other words.

At any rate, it's safe to say that Moss would be a fun fit in Vance Joseph's defense. We saw the Broncos target a few former Iowa Hawkeyes while Joseph was still the head coach of the team once upon a time, and they continued to target them in the years after that. Perhaps there's something about the Iowa program the Denver Broncos' scouting department has identified as a good fit for the culture they want to build.

One important thing is that if you are coming out of Iowa, you're typically going to have a lot of time on task against great competition, and you're probably going to have a high RAS score. Riley Moss has both of those things.

Moss can play the outside corner position and I think at the NFL level, he's a starter there and he's going to also impact your special teams units. The Broncos need competition and depth for Damarri Mathis and Moss could bring it in his rookie season.

5th round, 143rd overall: Nick Saldiveri, OL, Old Dominion

One of the areas I think we need to see the Denver Broncos address in this draft is depth at the tackle/guard positions, and preferably someone that could do both. If you follow a lot of NFL Draft accounts on Twitter, you've undoubtedly already heard of Old Dominion's diamond in the rough in Nick Saldiveri, a tremendous athlete who played right tackle and right guard in college and projects to be able to play either tackle or guard in the pros.

The Broncos lost a number of key players on the offensive line in 2023 NFL free agency:

- Dalton Risner, OG
- Cam Fleming, OT
- Billy Tuner, OT
- Calvin Anderson, OT
- Graham Glasgow, IOL

Losing that kind of depth at this position group is not ideal even if the line has stunk the last handful of years. Of course, the Broncos made their heftiest free agent investments in tackle Mike McGlinchey and guard Ben Powers, but with one eye on 2024, the Broncos may need a new starting left tackle. I'm not saying Saldiveri can be that, but if he ends up needing to play in 2023 and gets an audition, you might at least consider it.

6th round, 195th pick: Jake Witt, OT, Northern Michigan

I've been covering the NFL Draft for quite some time, and I thought that I had for sure covered every "directional" Michigan school there was. I had no clue Northern Michigan even had a program, much less a draftable prospect, but the more you read up on and watch Jake Witt, the more you can't help but love his story.

Witt was a college basketball player and tight end turned offensive tackle who has grown to 6-foot-7 and over 300 pounds, and posted a borderline legendary workout at his pro day.

Should the Denver Broncos be doubling up on offensive line with just five picks, especially after trading up? I would argue the answer to that question is yes. Could they perhaps look in different directions with their other picks for the sake of balance? Maybe.

I don't think this draft necessarily requires "balance". The Broncos have to invest in the most talented players, and I think they also have to invest in some of their best position coaches. I love the idea of giving former late-round pick Zach Strief a couple of late-round offensive linemen to develop. I love the idea of giving Christian Parker a talented player like Riley Moss for his defensive backfield.

That logic can apply to taking guys earlier as well.

Keary Colbert, the team's new wide receivers coach, is well-connected to Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin, a connection that could come into play if the Broncos have a chance to draft wide receiver Jonathan Mingo.

2023 Denver Broncos mock draft (with a trade up) results

1. Luke Musgrave, TE, Oregon State
2. Jonathan Mingo, WR, Ole Miss
3. Riley Moss, CB, Iowa
4. Nick Saldiveri, OL, Old Dominion
5. Jake Witt, OT, Northern Michigan

What is this draft missing? For some, it's going to be the lack of a center that makes this mock draft a "pass". For others, it will be the lack of a running back. The Broncos could try and add more capital in other ways (more player trades?) but I think if they came away with these five players, I would be rather pleased with the draft as a whole.