The NFL Draft is a crapshoot, but Denver Broncos GM George Paton and head coach Sean Payton have historically been pretty darn good at it. Despite that fact, many Broncos fans are outraged at the team's strategy and process in making their picks for the 2025 NFL Draft, even going so far as to wish they could trade places with division rival teams.
Every team is working with different NFL Draft capital, but the Broncos were the third-place team in the AFC West and therefore were second-highest in the order. The assumption (which is the root of the problem) was that the Broncos were poised to use all of their primary capital in the 2025 Draft on playmakers offensively to support stud quarterback Bo Nix.
That hasn't happened exactly according to plan.
Many Broncos fans struggling with unmet expectations in 2025 NFL Draft
The Broncos used their first-round pick to strengthen a strength at the cornerback position, although it could be argued that corner was a bigger need than anyone realized. The Broncos had to upgrade in the slot over Ja'Quan McMillian and Barron was arguably a top-10 player in the draft overall.
On Day 2, the Broncos maneuvered around the board and wound up with two offensive weapons who didn't show up on many (if any) of the billion Broncos mock drafts published to the internet. UCF running back RJ Harvey and Illinois wide receiver Pat Bryant were the 60th and 74th overall picks, respectively, but nobody in Broncos Country loved those guys coming out of the draft, so they are lamenting the players other teams in the division ended up getting.
The orange and blue faithful have turned green with envy.
Not everyone is upset about the Broncos' draft class, nor is everyone assuming the players selected will be bad, but you can see why folks would be at least a little upset over what the division rival teams are doing.
The Los Angeles Chargers have been making a concerted effort to upgrade their offensive weaponry, getting Omarion Hampton in the 1st round and Tre Harris in the 2nd round. That's after getting Ladd McConkey last year as well as signing running back Najee Harris this offseason.
The Raiders landed Ashton Jeanty with the 6th overall pick, the consensus #1 running back in the draft, and they followed that up by doubling up at receiver with Jack Bech in the 2nd round and Dont'e Thornton in the early 4th round.
The Chiefs got a left tackle and arguably one of the top steals of round one in Josh Simmons before snagging wide receiver Jalen Royals on Day 3, a pre-draft favorite of many Broncos fans.
Compared to some of the picks division rivals are making, many in Broncos Country are sounding off on Twitter/X and letting it be known that they feel like the team is forsaking Bo Nix in the weapons department. And frankly, that may be the case. The Broncos have put a lot of faith in their in-house player development this offseason along with getting "cute" in the NFL Draft.
That's not to say they have made bad picks, but it all comes down to unmet expectations. The anticipation was that the team would be extremely aggressive all offseason in supporting Bo Nix with better weapons offensively, but the Broncos have instead invested in their defense and they've been drafting strength on top of strength.
Taking a cornerback was unexpected. Going after an EDGE player (Que Robinson) with their top pick in Day 3 was a surprise and disappointment to many who were hoping for a dart throw on the offensive side of the ball. Folks fell in love with other prospects at running back and wide receiver, and watched the Broncos pass on nearly all of them.
Time will tell what this year's draft class brings, but the front office duo of Paton and Payton has undoubtedly earned the benefit of the doubt at this stage. The Broncos certainly have had their share of duds in the past but they've drafted so well in recent years -- even without 1st-round picks in 2022 and 2023 -- that their roster was set up to take the best player available in a lot of situations.
The perception of the roster from inside the organization has undoubtedly not matched the fan perception, which has led to a lot of frustration being vocalized. We'll have to wait until these guys get out on the field to see what they can do.
