Denver Broncos top NFL Draft picks since 2018

The 2023 NFL Draft is getting closer, a little bit more than two weeks to go! This year the NFL Draft will be in Kansas City, Missouri, from April 27 to April 29. Due to the Russell Wilson and Sean Payton trades, the Denver Broncos do not have a pick until the Third round of the Draft (67th Overall).

Let's recap the first pick from every of the past five Broncos' Drafts!

Remember that before the 2021 Season, the Denver Broncos changed their General Manager. 2018-2020 picks were made under John Elway as the GM. 2021-2022 picks were made under George Paton as the GM.

Denver Broncos 5 most recent top picks in the NFL Draft

2022: OLB/EDGE Nik Bonitto, Oklahoma

The Broncos selected Nik Bonitto with their first pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. He was a second-round pick out of Oklahoma. Bonitto had a quiet rookie season, but the Bradley Chubb trade to Miami got him more play-time. He still only had 14 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and 1 Forced Fumble in 15 games. He struggled in run defense but was good at pressuring the QB. Let's see if he can have a breakout year under the new coaching staff ...

2021: CB Patrick Surtain II, Alabama

The first Broncos' pick in the 2021 NFL Draft was a home run pick. Denver found a star in Patrick Surtain II, a lockdown corner, who is already a First-Team All-Pro and Pro Bowler. Surtain had a slow start in his rookie season, but since then, he has been a lockdown corner around the NFL. This past season, Pat was the second-best CB in yards allowed in coverage, he is simply a beast.

2020: WR Jerry Jeudy, Alabama

The first Broncos' pick in the 2020 NFL Draft was Jerry Jeudy, an insane route-running wide receiver that has had ups and downs over his young NFL career. Jeudy has had injuries, and the QB Play has not helped him, but he finished the 2022-23 season strong. He had two 110+ receiving-yard games in the last three games of the season. Let's see how the new Head Coach Sean Payton uses Jeudy in the Broncos' offense going forward.

2019: TE Noah Fant, Iowa

The Broncos traded down in the First Round with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2019 NFL Draft and got tight end Noah Fant with their first pick in that class. Fant spent three seasons in Denver, before getting traded to the Seattle Seahawks in the Russell Wilson trade package. During his time in Denver, Fant had 1,905 receiving yards and 10 TD's but missed some games due to injuries.

2018: DE Bradley Chubb, NC State

The Broncos drafted EDGE Bradley Chubb with their first pick in the loaded 2018 Draft class. Injuries have been a concern over Chubb's career, but when healthy he was a great pass rusher for the Broncos. He missed 15 games during his time in Denver before getting traded to the Miami Dolphins at the 2022 NFL Trade Deadline. Denver got a first-round pick in the Chubb trade, which was later used to get HC Sean Payton. Bradley had 26 sacks and 6 Forced Fumbles in 49 games with the Broncos, and was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2020 and 2022 (in 2022 he played only half season with Denver - traded to Miami)