ESPN Pounds Table for Ideal 'Fit' Weapon for Broncos at Pick 20

The Denver Broncos have crushed the offseason. With retaining defensive tackle D.J. Jones, adding former San Francisco 49ers teammates in safety Talanoa Hufanga and linebacker Dre Greenlaw, and along with “joker” tight end Evan Engram, the Broncos roster is talented and deep with very few positional exceptions.

Thanks to the college and pro scouting led by GM George Paton and the front office, the Broncos' keen eye for roles, development, and maximizing talent with Sean Payton, and the spare-no-expense ownership team of the Walton-Penners, this team could be entering another golden age in the Mile High City.

With the talent on the roster appearing so robust and even across different positional groups, any attempt to figure out just who the Broncos could take with the 20th overall selection in the 2025 NFL draft has become more and more challenging. That may frustrate some fans, but the multitude of viable directions is a symptom of just how solid the Broncos’ roster appears entering April.

Can the Broncos simply stay put and take the “best player available?” Who could that be with Denver's first-round selection?

ESPN's Matt Bowen recently compiled a list of players and his favorite team fits across the league. For the Broncos, adding further weaponry for Bo Nix is paramount. However, with so much discussion surrounding running back and tight end all offseason for Denver, perhaps a sliding wide receiver like Arizona's Tetairoa McMillan is worth pondering, should he fall to 20. Bowen likes the big 6-foot-4, 219-pound McMillan as the ideal fit for Denver.

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Scouting Report & How He'd Fit

McMillan is a physical receiver with solid fluidity for his size and has the versatility to play X, Z, or slot receiver spot for an offense. While not overly fast or explosive, with his 40-yard dash clocking in around 4.55 seconds, he's a physical player both at the catch point and after who could give the Broncos an additional option the offense could run through for years to come.

As Bowen points out, it's McMillan’s projection to play a “big slot” role that could help the Broncos immediately. While the league has gravitated towards bigger receivers with more mass, physicality, and length in the slot in comparison to the yesteryear types of Brandon Stokely and Wes Welker, Payton has been ahead of the game in that role, utilizing bigger receivers such as Marques Colston and Michael Thomas in the past.

Furthermore, as Coach Payton discussed in his owner’s meeting interview, having a tight end, running back, and a third receiver who can impact the interior "triangle" to target defenses is key to attacking in the pass game.

“McMillan can stretch the seams, run the deep overs, and create interior matchup advantages with his high-rising ability at the catch point and great ball skills,” Bowen said of McMillan.

Thanks to great work by the coaching staff and front office over the past few offseasons since Payton joined the organization, the Broncos have built up a stable enough situation to approach this April’s draft from an enviable position of “draft best player available."

Given the long-term questions surrounding Courtland Sutton entering the final year of his contract and the young but relative unknowns in Marvin Mims Jr., Troy Franklin, and Devaughn Vele, a wide receiver of McMillan’s ability should entice the Broncos — assuming he makes it to the 20th overall selection in just a few short weeks.

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