Denver Broncos must avoid this one grave NFL Draft mistake

The Denver Broncos have a good bit of first-round needs, but there is at least one position that shouldn't be farther away from warranting using a first-round pick on. It would be a horrible mistake of epic proportions if it happened, and there are a plethora of mock drafts that are pegging the cornerback position at No. 12 for the Denver Broncos.

And I just do not get it, and there is not one single reason to make this selection. None. Lance Zierlein of NFL.com released his latest mock draft, and it's yet another mock where the Denver Broncos stay at the 12th selection and select a cornerback:

"The Broncos don't own a second-round pick, so they might have interest in moving back and adding more draft currency. If not, Mitchell has the athletic and cover traits to start early opposite Pro Bowl CB Pat Surtain II."

- Lance Zierlein / NFL.com

Charles Davis' 2.0 mock also pegs Mitchell to the Denver Broncos at 12. I just don't get it, and it'd be a huge mistake. The Broncos traded up for Riley Moss in the 2023 NFL Draft, and he hardly played during his rookie season. There's likely an expectation that Moss could start opposite Patrick Surtain II in 2024. Second-year CB Damarri Mathis was a disaster in 2023, and he got benched for Fabian Moreau about halfway through the year.

The team also has stud slot CB Ja'Quan McMillian in the picture. The Broncos do have a need at CB, but my goodness, not in the first round. Denver could actually add a free agent CB like they did with Moreau last year and shore up that unit for at least 2024.

Heck, the team could just target a CB in the later rounds of the 2024 NFL Draft, but with a burning, urgent need at QB and huge needs at WR and all along the defensive front, there is no justification for the Broncos using their first-round pick on a cornerback.

It'd be a massive mistake, and I personally hope that a CB at 12 is not even being discussed by Sean Payton and George Paton.