NFL Insider indicates Broncos and other teams might be taking shots in the dark
By Kaden Staab
Daniel Jeremiah from NFL Network states that the draft could start to thin out after the top 40-50 picks are selected.
Most of the league agrees on the 40-50 top players in this class. After that, it becomes a flavor draft. You are going to see players go in the 50's that some teams have as 6th round players. The grades are all over the map.
— Daniel Jeremiah (@MoveTheSticks) April 26, 2024
A teams grade on player A or player B could vastly be different from another for a multitude of reasons. But, if most of the league agrees that there are a little over four dozen players that are widely viewed as top prospects, you could really start to see the draft fly open after that point. For example if the Denver Broncos see a player there at pick #55 and the team selecting there doesn't view any of the next ten or so picks are worthy of that selection, the price to move up might not be as drastic.
The draft operates very different after the first round concludes. Contracts, player control years, positional value etc. The other thing he notes is that the depth for offensive line, while its there, he notes that all 8 of the day one starters have been selected. So for a team like Denver who has a LT whose status is still up in the air, does Bolles value become increasingly higher than just 12 hours ago?
I thought there were 8 OT's in this draft capable of starting Week 1. All 8 are gone. The success of this next group will be determined by the quality of the development plan/coaching to get them ready to play.
— Daniel Jeremiah (@MoveTheSticks) April 26, 2024
Time will tell as we inch our way to the start of the second and third rounds of the 2024 NFL Draft. Could we see Denver trade away a couple of their long-tenured players in Bolles and Sutton to move up into the second round where they currently don't have a pick? If the draft does get increasingly thin after 50 I could see their value rising by the hour.
Most deals to trade up and down the draft boards obvious happen during the draft. The Denver Broncos probably fielded calls to move up and down when the draft started. With the first round out of the way, the stakes are still high, but not quite as high as Round 1.