Broncos Way-Too-Early 3-Round Mock Draft

It's no secret how disappointing the 2022 season was for the Denver Broncos. A trendy pick as a playoff threat over the summer turned into one of the most embarrassing teams in franchise history as those expectations weren't met, with the team finishing the season with five wins and a top-five draft pick (which now belongs to Seattle).

The Broncos won't get to select that top-five selection due to the cost of acquiring Russell Wilson. The Broncos are also in the midst of searching for a new head coach as a rudder for a directionless ship.

Rather than looking at the past, it's time to look toward the future. In so doing, let's take a look at a possible scenario when it comes to the 2023 NFL Draft.

As it stands, the Broncos' first-round pick hasn't been officially announced, as it was acquired from the Miami Dolphins in the trade that sent Bradley Chubb to South Beach. Miami had acquired that pick via a previous trade with the San Francisco 49ers. Therefore, the official slot for this pick won't be known until the Niners are either eliminated from the playoffs or win the Super Bowl.

With that being the case, this exercise is being conducted through the Pro Football Focus mock draft machine to determine the first-round pick for the Broncos, as well as determining the players available for each selection.

In this scenario, the Niners lost in the NFC Championship game, giving the Broncos the 28th overall selection. The Broncos also have back-to-back selections at the top of the third round, thanks to a draft day trade with the Indianapolis Colts last year.

Even without a second-round pick, the Broncos can get a few quality players to add to the squad moving forward. Three picks in the top 70 is a great start to filling out some of the biggest holes on the roster.

Let's dive into this three-round mock draft.

Round 1, Pick 28: BJ Ojulari, Edge, LSU

Many fans are going to be pounding the table for the Broncos to draft as many offensive linemen as possible, including a first-rounder at the tackle position, but in this exercise, there wasn't a quality option available to select. Instead, the Broncos opt for an incredible player with a bunch of tools to bolster a questionable corps of guys on the edge.

With Randy Gregory and Baron Browning having massive injury concerns from this past season, as well as Nik Bonitto still developing, there are concerns about the depth of the unit overall. Ojulari has an incredible burst off of the line of scrimmage with the requisite length and bend to become a high-profile pass rusher at the next level.

His violent arms cause a lot of problems at the point of attack as linemen struggle to latch on and stall his speed around the edge. The biggest flaw in Ojulari's game is his strength at the point of attack when setting the edge, but he uses his length and twitch to disengage well enough to make plays in the backfield.

This is a solid player that can step in from day one and contribute as well as become a leader in the locker room. Ojulari wears the No. 18 for the Tigers, which is only given to players that show outstanding leadership off of the field.

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Round 3, Pick 67: JL Skinner, S, Boise State

While this may not seem to be the best usage of the Broncos' current draft capital, given the state of the offensive line, there is still a need to add quality players to the roster regardless of their respective position.

With that said, Skinner is a vicious player in the secondary with incredible size. Listed at around 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, Skinner has more than enough size and athleticism to play down in the box as well as in a double-high look in the middle of the field in open coverages.

Skinner's physicality as a tackler stands out immediately when you turn on the tape, and his play recognition frequently puts him in great position all over the defensive front. For a player with this incredible size, Skinner is also a plus-level athlete with enough range to thrive as a deep safety. His length accentuates his athletic ability, and his drive to the football is incredible.

With injury and development concerns to Caden Sterns, as well as the eventual departure of Kareem Jackson, adding a player that profiles similarly to Jackson is a need for the secondary moving forward.

Round 3, Pick 68: John Michael Schmitz, OC, Minnesota

Finally getting to the offensive line here, the Broncos land an absolute gem of a player to close out this mock draft. Denver has to find a quality replacement for Lloyd Cushenberry III to lead the offensive line. Graham Glasgow is likely going to be a salary cap casualty, and last year's sixth-round pick Luke Wattenburg has a long way to go in his development based on what we saw from this season.

Schmitz is experienced, powerful, and technical in his attack as a run blocker. He has above-average lateral agility and can climb to the second level with ease, making him a scheme-versatile player at the pivot point.

Schmitz's biggest issues in his play come as a pass blocker with contact balance, but those issues aren't nearly as fatal to the protection as they could be. He handles the bull rush quite well as he keeps his base low and has solid footwork to absorb contact and drive back into the defender. Twists and stunts are the issues because if he doesn't get square to the defender, he can get blasted into the backfield at times.

Most of the flaws to Schmitz's game are easily coachable in terms of the mental aspect of playing the position. He has the nastiness you like to see in an interior road grader, the athleticism you need to have as an interior pass protector, and the tools to succeed given a proper coaching regiment.

Bottom Line

There are several different ways the Broncos could look to go in this upcoming NFL draft based on the general construction of the roster.

While talent along the offensive line is insanely critical to rebuilding this team from the ground up, adding quality talent to the roster at every position is the most paramount procedure.

One could poke holes in nearly every position group on the roster. Whether it be through inexperience, injury concern, or overall lack of depth and talent in the room.

Mock drafts aren't a true prediction of what is going to happen but rather a simple projection of what could happen when the clock starts ticking in April.

If things go right throughout the beginning of the offseason and the Broncos find a way to fill the major holes in their roster heading into the draft, this outcome is one that fans should applaud when the dust settles.

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