With the Denver Broncos being officially eliminated from the playoffs this past weekend, many fans have switched their focus to the NFL Draft. The Broncos are projected to have the 14th overall pick, which they can go in multiple directions with. While they don’t have a second round pick, they do hold a third, a fourth, two fifths, and a seventh round pick.
Out of all the potential avenues the Broncos can go down this offseason, there are some options who will be playing this Monday in the College Football National Championship game between Washington and Michigan. This game is filled with talent, but here are the players that Broncos fans should be paying extra attention to.
Michael Penix Jr.
The Washington quarterback, Michael Penix Jr., is coming off a masterful performance against Texas, where he threw for 430 yards and two touchdowns. This is something Penix has done routinely this year for the Huskies offense. He led college football in passing yards with 4,648 while also adding 35 touchdown passes, which is tied for third most.
Penix throws an amazing deep ball and doesn’t have a glaring weakness in his game. The concern comes from his injury history and age. Penix has had two season ending ACL injuries on top of a season ending knee injury, which may have kept him in college for more seasons than necessary. By the time the next NFL season begins, Penix will be 24 years old, which isn’t as much of a concern at the quarterback position, but teams still prefer younger players.
If Penix has another great performance on a big stage and is available at the Broncos selection, it would be hard to pass on him regardless of injury history and age.
J.J. McCarthy
Sticking with the quarterback position, J.J. McCarthy has also risen up teams draft boards this year. However, in this case, it isn’t because he is lighting up the stat sheet. During the season, he threw for 2,851 yards and 22 touchdowns. He too is coming off a great game in the Rose Bowl, where he had 221 yards and three touchdowns against a great Alabama defense.
Unless the Broncos are going to trade into the top four picks of the draft, they aren’t going to end up with a chance to get Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, or Jayden Daniels. However, there is a good chance that Penix and McCarthy are available, and the Broncos can have the choice of either. So if you believe the Broncos should draft a quarterback, this is the perfect game for you.
Rome Odunze
Part of the reason Michael Penix Jr. has been so good this season is the weapons he has at wide receiver, including Rome Odunze. Washington has a trio of fantastic receivers in Ja’Lynn Polk, Jalen McMillan, and, of course, the best of the bunch, Rome Odunze.
After the season that Courtland Sutton had for the Broncos, it would be hard for them to move on from him. Unless a receiver needy team gives the Broncos a good offer for Sutton, he will likely be returning next season. On the other hand, if the Broncos decide to move on from Jerry Jeudy this offseason in order to restock on some draft picks, that would leave a need at receiver.
Although not the most important position of need, whoever the quarterback may be next season will need someone to catch their passes outside of Sutton, and Odunze happens to be extremely good at that. He is 6-foot-3, can make any catch, and does damage after the catch.
This is a really talented receiving class that includes Marvin Harrison Jr. and Malik Nabers, but you could argue Odunze is the best of the three.
Honorable Mentions
As stated earlier, the Broncos can go any direction in this draft as there are multiple needs the team has. Here are a few honorable mentions that the Broncos could select in the top four rounds of the NFL Draft:
- Washington Cornerback, Jabbar Muhammed
- Michigan Defensive Lineman, Kris Jenkins
- Michigan Offensive Lineman, Zak Zinter
- Washington Edge Rusher, Zion Tupuola-Fetui