The Denver Broncos are preparing for the upcoming National Football League Draft without a first-round selection, following their acquisition of wide receiver Jaylen Waddle from the Miami Dolphins, according to an April 16 announcement by Head Coach Sean Payton and General Manager George Paton.
Despite not having a first-round pick, both Payton and Paton said their expectations remain high as they approach their fourth draft together. The team is scheduled to make its first selection in the second round at pick number 62. “Our expectations are the same – they’re high,” Paton said Thursday. “We think there are good players in this draft. We think there are good players where we’re picking at [No.] 62.”
Payton said that preparation for this year’s draft has not changed significantly due to the lack of a first-round pick. “The preparation is trying to properly grade each player that’s in the draft. Certainly, there are some obvious ones, but nonetheless, you’re trying to do that… Then certainly later in the process, you obviously address where you’re selecting… I don’t know that [the situation] changes any, relative to the preparation for the draft,” he said.
Paton emphasized that roster building focuses on acquiring top talent regardless of position or existing depth: “We’re always going to take the best player available, within reason… You always want to build on a strength. I think we’ve done that since we arrived, and it has worked.” He also pointed out previous successful second-round picks such as Nik Bonitto, Marvin Mims Jr., and RJ Harvey.
Discussing player development timelines and scouting vision during drafting decisions, Payton explained: “A lot of it is the last line [of the scouting report], [which] is vision… It’s the vision within this roster.” Paton added that some successful selections have been so-called “high-trait players” who took time to develop but eventually contributed meaningfully.
With two fourth-round selections, one fifth-rounder and three seventh-round picks remaining along with their second rounder this year, Paton said moving up within rounds remains possible though returning into round one is unlikely: “We like it… We don’t mind it, and we know we still have flexibility with the seven picks to move up or move back and get more picks. We have experience with this. We’ve gotten good players with lesser picks so we feel good.” As preparations continue leading up to next week’s draft event Payton concluded: “If the draft were in three weeks we’d still be watching more tape up until that process just to make sure we got it right.”
