Broncos Watch Saints Take DL Bryan Bresee With 1st-Round Pick
On Thursday night, the 2023 NFL draft kicked off, and the Denver Broncos had to sit out the first-round proceedings. The pick the Broncos' earned, based on their five-win 2022 season, was No. 5 overall, and the Seattle Seahawks took Illinois cornerback Devon Witherspoon with the selection.
In the wake of the Charles Cross pick last year (No. 9 overall), the Witherspoon pick ended up being the second top-10 draft pick the Broncos relinquished to Seattle in exchange for Russell Wilson. Later, with the No. 29 overall pick in the 2023 draft, the New Orleans Saints drafted Clemson defensive tackle Bryan Bresee.
The 29th pick originally belonged to the San Francisco 49ers, who traded it to the Miami Dolphins. The Broncos acquired the No. 29 pick in the Bradley Chubb trade last fall, parlaying the selection, along with a 2024 second-rounder, into acquiring Sean Payton's coaching rights from the Saints.
Obviously, the king's ransom Denver sent to Seattle for Wilson hasn't panned out yet, but that's a big reason why the team sent even more premium draft capital to New Orleans to hire Payton as head coach. If anyone can turn the Wilson ship around and provide the Broncos with a return on their investment, it's Payton.
Although Day 2 of the draft kicks off on Friday night at 5 pm MDT, the Broncos will still be sitting on their hands for a bit. Lacking a second-rounder this year (the final wages of the Wilson trade), the Broncos don't go on the clock for the first time until pick No. 67 in the third round.
But at least the Broncos get back-to-back selections to open up their 2023 draft.
"When you're picking where we are—the unique thing, which I think we both really like, is that we have back-to-back picks there," Payton said a week ago alongside Broncos GM George Paton.
Paton and Payton — Denver's new brain trust — will be looking to make some hay on Friday night. Mile High Huddle will be live-stream podcasting throughout Day 2 and Day 3 of the draft, so be sure to catch the broadcast beginning at 5 pm MDT on Friday evening.
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