Denver Broncos 3-Round Mock Draft

It's time to mock the Denver Broncos' 2025 draft through three rounds.

Oct 14, 2023; Fort Collins, Colorado, USA; Boise State Broncos running back Ashton Jeanty (2) tried to avoid Colorado State Rams defensive back Dominic Morris (12) at Sonny Lubick Field at Canvas Stadium. / Michael Madrid-Imagn Images

The 2025 NFL draft is 75 days away. While a lot will happen between now and then with the Denver Broncos making moves in free agency and perhaps the trade market as well, looking at the roster it’s fairly obvious where the depth chart could use some young talent.

The reality for any team is that a roster almost always has more holes than can be fixed by one singular draft. Furthermore, outside of the first 20 to 40 picks, most draft picks (outside of running backs and niche special teams contributors) don't make a significant contribution in their first season in the league.

Free agency is about filling immediate gaps on a team whereas the draft is about maximizing value and the impact each pick can have as they grow and develop over the entire duration of their rookie contracts.

The Broncos' obvious spots on the roster that need to be addressed are running back (perhaps two), tight end (again, perhaps two), linebacker (times two?), safety, wide receiver, and interior defensive line. Without a stockpile of top 100 picks and a draft class with the current consensus that there aren’t many true first-round-graded players and a dramatic dropoff sometime between late Day 2 and early Day 3, Denver simply won’t be able to draft every position that could be addressed.

Some might view that as a negative but it also gives the Broncos flexibility and options come April, as we currently understand the team makeup prior to free agency. In hindsight, all that will really matter for the Broncos is if they hit on their picks, regardless of what position said players play.

With that being said, today kicks off my first three-round Broncos mock of the draft season. Let's dive in.

Round 1, Pick 20: Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State

The Broncos' most pressing need is, undoubtedly, the running back position. On the surface, the Broncos could honestly use two backs. The team does not seem overly infatuated with the current cast of players in the room.

In this mock, Denver winds up with the best back in the draft with Jeanty. He might not fall to Denver at 20 but if Dallas passes him at 12, there’s a chance he slips. And given the insane depth of running back talent in the 2025 draft, perhaps teams bypass taking Jeanty in hopes of options later on.

Denver stops the slide here by picking the 5-foot-9, 215-pound Heisman Trophy runner-up. What had been somewhat of a dream scenario for Denver seems to be at least within the realm of possibility as many prominent mocksters, such as ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. and The Athletic’s Dane Brugler, also had Jeanty sliding to Denver at 20.

Jeanty has incredible balance, burst, patience, pacing, and vision as a running back. With a well-built frame, Jeanty can hang in pass protection and should not need to be protected in terms of the volume of touches. He's also a very good pass-catching back, which was more so on display in 2023 as Jeanty hauled in 38 receptions for 546 yards and five touchdowns.

Running back may be a devalued position, but that is literally the only reason a player of Jeanty’s caliber is even possibly available for the Broncos at 20. Jeanty also has had a lot of usage at Boise State, accumulating 683 total touches over his last three seasons, so there will be questions about his shelf life.

That said, the Broncos are arguably in their window right now with a cost-controlled quarterback over the next four seasons. Jeanty completely changes the dynamic of Denver on offense and would breathe life into one of the most disappointing positional groups on the roster last season.

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Round 2: Darius Alexander, DL, Toledo

Dec 30, 2023; Tucson, AZ, USA; Wyoming Cowboys quarterback Andrew Peasley (6) throws a pass against Toledo Rockets defensive tackle Darius Alexander (9) during the second quarter in the Arizona Bowl at Arizona Stadium. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Is Jeanty an “elite” pass catcher out of the backfield to scratch the itch Payton has for a “joker”? What about a tight end here? Mock drafts are about discussing viable scenarios and pathways for a team and, once again, the further one gets from the first overall selection, draft picks are not about their rookie season but rather finding future starters for impending holes on the roster.

The Broncos’ defensive line was fantastic this season, but with D.J. Jones hitting free agency and every single one of Denver’s other top four snap earners on the interior entering a contract year, in Zach Allen, Malcolm Roach, and Jonathon Franklin-Myers, the Broncos must consider tossing a log on the fire to keep it roaring going forward.

Alexander was one of the standouts from Mobile at the Senior Bowl. The Toledo tackle measured in at 6-foot-3 and 305 pounds with 34-inch arms and wrecked offensive linemen in one-on-one drills from a wide nine alignment all the way to rushing from the nose.

Alexander is still a little raw with his hand usage as a rusher and can play a bit high out of his stance, but the athleticism and versatility to win across the front and either as a one-gap penetrator or two-gap anchor makes him extremely tantalizing.

Alexander would create a succession plan should the Broncos (inevitably) let a defensive lineman walk in the future and should also help release some of the burden from Allen, who played over 100 more snaps than any other interior player in all of football this past season despite missing a game. There are literally always snaps available across the two-deep for the defensive front.

Round 3: Demetrius Knight Jr, LB, South Carolina

Sep 7, 2024; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks linebacker Demetrius Knight Jr. (17) celebrates after a touchdown during the fourth quarter against the Kentucky Wildcats at Kroger Field. / Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

No tight end? No safety? No wide receiver? Not this time. Outside of running back one can argue the Broncos' biggest need on the roster is linebacker. However, there might not be a linebacker in the draft anyone should feel comfortable with starting day one.

The job of the linebacker might be as difficult as any on the defense. Given that the NFL is now in a two-high world playing sub-packages, linebackers have to cover more space than ever before.

With that shift, linebackers have gotten smaller and faster, with many looking like safeties of a previous generation. Opposing offenses have counterpunched by getting bigger with more heavy personnel and running the football. The pendulum swing of football strategy always swings back and forth.

Denver is going to have to find a linebacker to fortify the 2025 roster in free agency. One could argue it’s the most likely area Denver spends this offseason (outside of an Allen extension). But the Broncos are likely looking for linebacker depth as well.

Given Drew Sanders doesn’t appear to be on a path to start as an inside linebacker, Alex Singleton is entering the last year of his contract coming off of an ACL tear, the Broncos' obvious disappointment in the position last season with the firing of their linebackers coach, reports of preparing to bench Cody Barton prior to his New Orleans game, and the team reportedly trying to add linebackers before week one, Denver needs to find options here.

Knight is a really intriguing option at linebacker who could go anywhere on Day 2. He actually possesses good size at 6-foot-2 and 245 pounds and appears to have good length and strength on tape as well.

Knight has three-down potential as he has fluidity in space, explosiveness sideline to sideline, and strength to play downhill in the box. He's big and explosive enough that he can be deployed as a blitz weapon as well.

Knight is still developing his processing and sometimes takes the cheese from opposing offenses on fakes. An older player, he started his career at Georgia Tech, where he hardly played, then played two seasons ago for Charlotte before transferring up to South Carolina, where he had a fantastic season.

Knight has a chance to develop into a long-term starting backer for the Broncos and should contribute on day one as a special teams standout in punt and kick return and coverage units while giving Denver a successor for Singleton after next season.

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