The Denver Broncos stunned the NFL community by making it to the playoffs in Sean Payton’s second run as head coach. The franchise hopes to build off the 10-7 finish that it had in the 2024-25 campaign.
General manager George Paton has been heavily evaluating the current NFL Draft class, and he’s poised to keep Denver in AFC contention with the right moves. But they have room to make a trade, as well.
The Broncos appear to be confident and expect to come away with another talented addition in April. They possess the No. 20 pick, a chance for Paton to take the first huge leap of the 2025 offseason.
“This draft, we’re still getting to learn and we’re still getting to know these players,” Paton said Tuesday, per Aric DiLalla of Broncos.com. “I don’t think there’s a big difference from [No.] 10 to 20 in the draft, really. I think you can sit at [No.] 20 and maybe get the same caliber of player. Again, it’s early, so I hesitate to say that, but I think it’s going to be good at [No.] 20.”
The question on everyone’s mind is, which position will be valued the most over the next month? And will it be on offense or defense, given how things have balanced out on both sides of the ball?
“It’s really beneficial,” Paton said of holding those two picks. “You can add blue-chip players throughout the draft; It’s a little bit more difficult. But it just gives you more flexibility. You can move back in the first, you can move back in the second, just get picks. It helps you work the draft board a little easier when you have a second. When you don’t have that second, it’s hard to move up in the first. It’s huge. The second round is a key area. We’ve done pretty good in the second, so it’s great to have it.”
Defense is going to be valuable late in the first round, which could lead to the Broncos addressing other areas before finding the missing pieces of their improved offense. Here’s what Denver could pursue in the coming weeks as NFL free agency nears.
Broncos fill tight end vacancy with familiar AFC weapon
The Broncos have a need for a tight end. Frankly, more than any other AFC team that appeared in the postseason. After a failed development of Greg Dulcich, and a lack of weapons remaining behind Adam Trautman, there’s no reason why the front office wouldn’t consider an upgrade, via a trade with the Baltimore Ravens for three-time Pro Bowler Mark Andrews.
Broncos receive:
Mark Andrews
Ravens receive:
2025 third-round pick
The Ravens haven’t openly expressed a desire to trade Andrews, but general manager Eric DeCosta hasn’t ruled it out, per ESPN’s Jamison Hensley.
“Mark is going to go down as one of our great players — he’ll be in the [Ravens] Ring of Honor someday,” DeCosta said. “I love having Mark on the team — he’s an amazing player. I know he’s going to have an amazing season. We’ll figure out all of the roster machinations over the coming weeks, but I can tell you, there’s no bigger fan of Mark Andrews than me.”
Under the circumstances – the Ravens’ salary cap constraints, Andrews’ expiring contract and the adoration of Isaiah Likely as a replacement – it won’t be shocking to see the Broncos add a talented veteran tight end like Andrews for Bo Nix heading into his anticipated second NFL campaign.
“We don’t have a lot of cap room,” DeCosta said. “We have [vice president of football administration] Nick Matteo working tirelessly to find some space for us. We call it ‘couch cushion coins.’ We’re trying to find 50 grand here, 75 grand there and a couch cushion.”
Trading for Andrews could be the last piece of the puzzle in Denver.
