The Denver Broncos could end up being one of the only teams interested in trading up for a player in the 2025 NFL Draft. Luckily for them, that might actually end up driving down the value.
There are rumors running rampant in the days leading up to the 2025 NFL Draft that the Broncos might have interest in moving up the board. The rumors started when ESPN's Adam Schefter put in his Monday column that the Broncos were calling around, looking at what it might cost to move up.
Broncos GM George Paton acknowledged at his pre-draft press conference that the Broncos have already reached out to just about every team in the league regarding trading up or trading down, but that more "serious" talks begin this week. That certainly makes the timing of these rumors interesting, but there's really just one reason why rumors are swirling about the Broncos wanting to trade up right now.
Because Sean Payton wants that information out there.
On The Insiders, we played Fact or Fiction, tackling some of the NFL Draft’s top questions:
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 21, 2025
— Will Jeanty be the top skill player taken?
— Will the Broncos trade up for a WR?
— Will 3 OTs go in the Top 10? pic.twitter.com/2vDOSYzwmc
Broncos HC Sean Payton likely playing chess with Draft trade rumors
Last year around this time, the rumor mill was swirling that the Broncos were considering a bold move up the board in the 2024 NFL Draft to get JJ McCarthy. There was a report out there that Sean Payton was enamored with McCarthy and was so smitten that he would be willing to trade valuable capital to go and get him.
But the Broncos stayed put at 12 and took Bo Nix, who was Payton's guy all along. Later that night, after the Broncos selected Nix, Payton alluded to the fact that he basically baited the Vikings into moving up for Nix because he put information out there that turned out to be misinformation.
If everyone around the NFL thinks that the Broncos are wanting to trade up, the only reason that information is circulating is because Sean Payton wants it to be circulating. That's it, end of story.
NFL reporters don't even know when the Broncos hire assistant coaches, much less what this team wants to do in the first round of the NFL Draft. The Broncos want to keep people on their toes, and Payton doesn't let information out of the building that he doesn't want out there. The misinformation with McCarthy last year was a smokescreen to lead people to believe the Broncos had missed out on their guy when they actually played everyone to have their guy fall right into their laps.
Teams are all playing mind games right now, the Broncos included. The Broncos have been one of the most tight-lipped organizations since George Paton came around in 2021, and Sean Payton has helped them run an even tighter ship. That's not to say that every single report out there is misdirection, but when so much is floating around, it's going to be hard to know what is or isn't true.
And that's exactly how Sean Payton wants it.