Making Due Without a First-Rounder
With no first-round pick in the NFL draft, the Broncos weren’t expected to get any household names this season. With that in mind, it becomes hard to guess who will be the best players to pick. Often, it comes down to very specific players that the team has analyzed more than anyone outside of the team’s staff. They look at things like how the player will fit in the system and even personality traits, sometimes more than just simply how talented the player is. The drafting process changes a lot from the first and second round. This makes it difficult to predict who the team will pick in the later rounds. Therefore, many Broncos fans may have been surprised with the Broncos picks of Nik Bonito, Greg Dulchic, and Damarri Mathis as the Broncos first three picks.
Nik Bonito-Oklahoma
Nik Bonito is a bit undersized at the outside linebacker position, but he has fantastic athleticism coming off of the edge. If he is able to overcome his lack of size (there are more and more “small” linebackers in the NFL these days with great success), he could be a great pairing to edge rusher Bradley Chubb on the other side (one of the Broncos best players). Chubb has been injury prone in his career thus far, so that could have impacted the Broncos’ decision to go with an edge rusher with their first pick. That said, it is a bit curious to many for the Broncos to pick a position they are already fairly strong in, as opposed to their lack-luster offensive line, interior defensive line-man, and interior linebackers. Of course, it is a popular opinion that edge rushers are one of the most valuable positions in football, and if teams see one they like they will often jump at any opportunity to acquire them.
Greg Dulcich-UCLA
The Broncos traded their top tight-end Noah Fant last season to the Seahawks. It has been said that the Broncos’ new offense uses the tight-end position a lot. Therefore, it was smart to pick up a new tight-end in the draft. Tight-ends often go overlooked in the draft, so the chance that Greg Dulcich becomes a great NFL tight-end was worth the risk that he doesn’t. Noah Fant is one of the better tight-ends in the league, so losing him definitely hurts the Broncos. With any luck, Dulcich can fill that void as soon as possible.
Damarri Mathis-Pittsburgh
In the 2021 draft, the Broncos selected excellent college cornerback, Patrick surtain. His rookie year did not disappoint, as he is one of the better cornerbacks in the NFL already. Again, it is surprising that Denver went with a cornerback with their third pick, Damarri Mathis considering this. At this point in the draft, perhaps Denver just went with any player that they saw something in, that would fit well with their team, despite position. Also, if he becomes a good corner, the Broncos would arguably have the best defensive backfield in the league which is always good.
However the fans or analysts feel about Denver’s picks, the Broncos feel very good about the players they chose. Since they did not have a first round pick, there’s really no way they would make much of a big splash. They picked players they had looked at harder than anyone outside
