ESPN Projects Broncos to Make 'Bold' Trade-Up to Draft RB Ashton Jeanty

The Denver Broncos have a long to-do list this offseason, with many personnel boxes to check. Aside from deciding on their own 19 free agents, the Broncos are projected to have roughly $41M in salary-cap space and are sitting on a full complement of draft picks, including the No. 20 overall selection.

Broncos head coach Sean Payton has publicly prioritized acquiring some weapons for Bo Nix this offseason. But the team also has some holes to fill on defense.

With the stage set thusly, ESPN's Aaron Schatz went around the league to project a "bold move" for each of the 32 teams, and for Denver, he forecasted a possible trade up the NFL draft board to land the most prized running back in the class in Boise State's Ashton Jeanty.

Indeed, since the offseason began, the rumblings surrounding Jeanty have centered around the Dallas Cowboys likely being the biggest threat to taking the Heisman Trophy runner-up before the Broncos go on the clock No. 20. However, with news that long-time All-Pro guard Zack Martin is hanging up his cleats, it could reshuffle the Cowboys' roster priorities, including their draft approach.

Still, Dallas remains the big threat for Jeanty. Last year, Payton entered the draft looking to "fall in love" with a quarterback and he did just that, landing Oregon's Bo Nix in Round 1. But Payton didn't have to move up in the draft to secure Nix.

Supposing Payton were to become similarly enamored with Jeanty, there'd be no way for the Broncos to guarantee landing him, but getting in front of Dallas at No. 12 would maximize the odds. The cost of such a move up the board wouldn't be cheap, but if Payton viewed Jeanty as the key to unlocking Denver's rather pathetic running game and busting through the current offensive ceiling with Nix, perhaps he'd consider the cost.

As Schatz writes, the Broncos' offensive line was among the best in the NFL last year. Even Pro Football Focus concurred, ranking Denver as the No. 2 overall O-line.

The Broncos ranked first in run-block win rate, and yet, they finished as the No. 16 rushing offense in the NFL, averaging 112.2 yards per game. When it comes to Schatz's football metric, DVOA, the Broncos finished 24th, and he attributes it to the ball-carriers.

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Remember, Nix rushed for 430 yards last year (third on the team), so imagine if he hadn't been as productive on the ground as a scrambler and off-schedule creator... The Broncos would have fallen well below the 100-yard-per-game mark.

It speaks to a deficiency at running back. And this vulnerability was heavily exploited by the Buffalo Bills in the Wildcard Round of the playoffs.

Denver's 2024 starter and leading rusher, Javonte Williams, is poised to hit free agency and isn't expected to be re-signed. That leaves Jaleel McLaughlin, Audric Estime, Tyler Badie, and Blake Watson in the running back stable. Not exactly a group to write home about.

Schatz describes the Broncos as the "perfect" team for Jeanty. But the draft is a crapshoot, and unless a team holds the No. 1 overall pick, there's no way to guarantee landing him. The last time a running back was selected No. 1 overall in the draft was in 1995, and it didn't pan out well for Ki-Jana Carter and the Cincinnati Bengals.

Jeanty is coming off an insane season at Boise State, rushing for 2,601 yards and 29 touchdowns, with 23 receptions for 138 yards and another score. His prodigious production will cause many teams to covet him, but over the years, the running back position has been devalued in the NFL.

However, with how greatly last year's big free-agent running backs — Saquon Barkley, Derrick Henry, and Josh Jacobs — impacted their respective new teams' fortunes, we might see the pendulum start to swing back in the position's favor.

If it becomes too treacherous to position for Jeanty, or if he's selected well before No. 20 overall, the Broncos will have many other excellent options at running back to consider. It's a very deep class, although the number of first-round-caliber prospects is understandably small.

But keep an eye on running backs like North Carolina’s Omarion Hampton, Ohio State's TreVeyon Henderson, Arizona State's Cam Skattebo, Tennessee's Dylan Sampson, and Kansas' Devon Neal. All of these backs are projected as Day 2 picks, putting them in range of the Broncos' No. 51 overall pick in the second round.

The Takeaway

Schatz's projection certainly is "bold," and while Payton has never been shy about moving up and around the draft board to get his guys, the Broncos will have to weigh the pros and cons of giving up massive resources to trade up for a player at a position that's as deep as running back is in the 2025 draft class.

The Takeaway

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