Broncos Draft Class vs. Consensus Big Board: Steals & Reaches

The Broncos have received mixed grades for their draft class, but how did they measure up against the Consensus Big Board?

October 25, 2025, Seattle, Washington, USA: Washington Huskies running back Jonah Coleman (1) scores during the game between the Illinois Fighting Illini and the Washington Huskies in the 2025 Big 10 Conference game at Husky Stadium, Seattle, Washington. | Tom Jones / IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire

The Denver Broncos had a good 2026 draft haul, even though the grades from around the NFL media landscape may not reflect that. Part of the problem with draft grades is that they heavily favor first- and second-round picks, but the Broncos didn’t have either.

After trading their first-round pick to the Miami Dolphins for Jaylen Waddle in March, the Broncos traded down from No. 62 overall in the second round to No. 66 in the third. The lack of high-profile top-100 picks makes it easy for national media to give Denver's draft class a surface-level once-over and grade it unimpressively.

To measure how the Broncos did in the draft, I've taken some of the subjectivity out of the equation. There are public big boards before every draft, some more credible than others, but the Broncos had their own board that nobody outside of the team headquarters was privy to.

Coming out of the draft, there are a lot of conversations about teams either reaching against the Consensus Big Board, or finding major value, aka 'steals.' Some of the biggest busts over the past 5-10 years have been major reaches against the Consensus Big Board.

So, how did the Broncos do against the consensus compared to the rest of the NFL? I'm going to break that down, but I'll also examine how Denver did compared to my own big board, which I publish annually before each draft, dating back many years. 

So the process is simple: all the picks a team made are added up, and the overall pick numbers are matched to where the players they selected ranked on the Consensus Big Board. A positive number means the Broncos got a steal, while a negative means they reached for the player. 

The Picks vs. the Consensus

Texas A&M Aggies defensive tackle Tyler Onyedim (11) celebrates against the Miami Hurricanes. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

For the Broncos, the sum of their overall picks was 1,196, while the players they drafted had a sum ranking value of 1,250, meaning they reached by 54 total spots in their class. Third-round defensive lineman Tyler Onyedim was a reach of 79 picks against the consensus, fourth-round offensive lineman Kage Casey was a reach by 21 picks, and seventh-round safety Miles Scott was a reach of 114 picks.

The rest of Denver's selections were steals, with fourth-round running back Jonah Coleman being a steal by 15 picks, and seventh-round tight end Dallen Bentley being a steal by 58 picks.

Against the consensus board, the Broncos ranked 11th in terms of reaching. That also ranks third in the AFC West, as the Kansas City Chiefs were second, thanks to the fall of quarterback Garrett Nussmeier and his mysterious abdominal injury.

The Las Vegas Raiders ranked 10th, though they were helped by the fall of cornerback Jermod McCoy, due to his very concerning knee injury. The Los Angeles Chargers ranked a couple of spots behind the Broncos at 13th.  

Nussmeier was a ‘steal’ by 168 picks for the Chiefs, while McCoy was one by 87 for the Raiders. One flaw with the Consensus Big Board is that it's difficult for those outside NFL teams to fully know the extent of injury concerns on a given player.

That privileged information teams glean during Combine meetings and top-30 visits can drop a player's draft stock precipitously without the media knowing. So teams that wait on such a player get boosted against the consensus, due to bad medicals for a player that many, myself included, didn’t factor in due to ignorance. 

The Picks vs. My Board

Northern Illinois ETHAN HAMPTON (2) runs as Buffalo's RED MURDOCK (2) defends. | Rich Bamman / IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire

Now, against my board, things are rather different. The Broncos still have a total of 1,196 when adding their overall picks, while the players they selected have a total ranking of 1,027, meaning they were projected to go earlier than the Broncos took them by 169 spots.

That was the second-most this year. The Broncos ranked behind only the Cincinnati Bengals, who ranked fourth against the Consensus Big Board. 

The Chiefs ranked sixth against my board, followed by the Chargers at ninth, and the Raiders at 12th to round out the AFC West. While the Chiefs and Raiders still got helped by Nussmeier and McCoy, the Chiefs were hurt by edge rusher R Mason Thomas, a prospect I was much lower on than the consensus, and I didn’t have Fernando Mendoza as my top player, even though I knew he was going No. 1 overall, as doing rankings that way is a cop-out.

The Broncos still reached for Onyedim, but only by 19 picks on my board. They didn’t reach for Casey, who I had higher than Onyedim, and Scott was also a reach by 90 picks.

Seventh-round linebacker Red Murdock was the steal of this class, as I had him 132 picks higher than he went (No. 257 overall), but an ankle injury caused him to fall. Back to my point about the health information teams are privy to, I didn't know about Murdock's ankle injury, which is another reason he ranked as high as he did on my board.

I have compared the Broncos' draft against the Consensus Big Board and my own for the past five drafts. Here is where the Broncos ranked in each of those drafts.

2022

Denver Broncos linebacker Nik Bonitto (15) before a Christmas Day against the Kansas City Chiefs. | Scott Winters / IMAGO / Icon Sportswire

The Broncos ranked 31st against the consensus. Against my board, and four years later, they would probably rank in the late-20s, as rush linebacker Nik Bonitto has turned into a star, center Luke Wattenberg has become a starter, and defensive lineman Eyioma Uwazurike has developed into a solid role player.

Still, the rest of that draft class was a disaster. The biggest reach against both boards that year was wideout Montrell Washington, who was out of the league within three years. 

2023

Denver Broncos cornerback Riley Moss (21) warms up prior to a game against the Las Vegas Raiders. | Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

This class was better as the Broncos ranked first against my board and fourth against the consensus. Cornerback Riley Moss was the biggest reach on both boards, but he has become a great starter.

Safety JL Skinner was the biggest steal against the consensus, and center Alex Forsyth was the big steal against my board, and both are depth pieces. 

2024

Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) runs with the ball against the Los Angeles Chargers. | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

The Broncos ranked seventh by the consensus and 11th by my board. Wide receiver Devaughn Vele was the biggest reach, and while he's no longer with the team, the Broncos got an excellent return on investment by trading him for a fourth and seventh-round draft pick.

Bo Nix was also a reach against both boards, but he has proven himself to be a franchise quarterback two years into his career. The biggest steal was wide receiver Troy Franklin, who came into his own last year, though drops remain an issue. 

2025

Denver Broncos punter Jeremy Crawshaw (16) punts the ball against the Las Vegas Raiders. | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

The Broncos ranked 30th against the consensus and 31st against my board. Punter Jeremy Crawshaw was the biggest reach against my board, but I don’t rank specialists, and tight end Caleb Lohner was the second-biggest reach, who also wasn’t on my board.

Lohner was also the biggest reach against the consensus, while Crawshaw was the second-biggest reach. Crawshaw was ranked on the Consensus Big Board, but specialists never rank high. Those two selections are what pushed the Broncos down so much, but Crawshaw looked the part of a franchise punter as a rookie. 

The Takeaway

The Broncos have mostly done well with not reaching against the Consensus Big Board, but even when they have over the past few years, it has turned out well for them. This was a weak draft class that saw teams trust in their own boards, which are vastly different from the consensus.

Even in a strong draft class, team boards won't match the consensus because team boards typically max out around 125 prospects, while the consensus board ranks over 600. There will always be reaches, but you can’t judge them the moment they're drafted.

You have to wait three seasons to reevaluate and truly see how these drafted players have developed. In that sense, how the Broncos did in 2022 and 2023 against the consensus and my board more accurately illustrates how they did drafting and avoid the reach.

Sign up for our free Denver Broncos On SI newsletter, and get breaking Broncos news delivered to your inbox daily!