Broncos GM Hints at Shortlist of 6 Targets for Pick 62

Since the NFL owners meetings at the end of March, Denver Broncos GM George Paton and head coach Sean Payton have mostly been sequestered in the draft "dungeon" at team headquarters. This draft will be the last one in the current War Room, as the Broncos will be tearing it all down and moving into their new headquarters in June.

Bittersweet though that is, Payton and Paton have a job to do, and they've been hard at work. Without a first-round pick in this draft, the Broncos face a situation not unlike Payton's first year in Denver, where their second-rounder will be the club's first selection of the class.

The Broncos feel like they have a pretty good feel for picking late Round 2, especially when it's their first pick of a given class. According to Paton, they've got six players circled as bona fide targets for that No. 62 selection.

"We still go through our process. We feel like we have six players we’re kind of focused on that could be there at [pick] 62," Paton said on Thursday alongside Payton in their pre-draft Zoom presser. "We feel good about those players. We’re going to keep working through them."

Been There Before

Nik Bonitto strip-sacks Trey Lance — Denver Broncos linebacker Nik Bonitto (15) strip sacks Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Trey Lance (5) in the third fourth at Empower Field at Mile High. | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

For Paton, it'll be the third such time he's faced not having a first-rounder since becoming Broncos GM. In 2022, his first pick of the draft was rush linebacker Nik Bonitto, and in 2023, alongside Payton, the Broncos made wideout/returner Marvin Mims Jr. their first pick of the class.

Both Bonitto and Mims are two-time All-Pros, so Paton and Payton are justified in their confidence in picking for the first time in the draft in Round 2. Even the Broncos' second-round selections that came in tandem with a first-rounder, like running backs RJ Harvey (2025) and Javonte Williams (2021), have paid dividends for the club, though the latter now collects his considerable paychecks from the Dallas Cowboys.

The Broncos' second-rounder is their only top-100 pick this year, but they have two relatively early in Round 4. Without a third-rounder this year, the Broncos will have to focus on picks 108 and 111 as if they're Day-2 selections.

"We feel good about 62. We feel good about the fourth round as well," Paton said. "That’s harder to predict, obviously. We like our process, we like how it’s worked, and we feel good with where we’re at.”

Circling Picks 45 to 75

The Broncos have done their due diligence on this year's first-round-graded prospects because, well, they've got to be ready for anything, and you never know which players might fall in the draft. But they have really specialized in picks 45 to 75 this time around.

It's an approach that served them well in 2022 and 2023 when Denver didn't have a first-round pick, thanks to the Russell Wilson and Payton trades.

“It’s very similar to what we have done. We are really homed in, let’s say from 45 to 75," Paton said. "Just really homed in on that group of players. Not that we haven’t gone through the process in the first round like we always do, but now this just gives us time to really focus on the players there and go through every scenario possible."

The Broncos do their own mock-draft scenarios to try and simulate how the board might fall on draft day. They've gamed the scenarios pretty hard and feel confident in those six players likely being on the board.

"If you are left with five of these players or six of these players or none of these players left, going through every possible scenario, so on draft day, you aren’t surprised," Paton explained. "We haven’t been surprised yet, and we’ve been happy with the results.”

The Takeaway

It would be great to know who the six players are. But the Broncos aren't going to divulge that information or allow it to leak.

We can look at the deep roster Paton and Payton have constructed and see that Denver has no super-pressing needs. But there are several spots — like running back, tight end, defensive line, offensive line, and safety — that could use reinforcements, specifically with an eye on the future.

Broncos fans won't be kept wondering for too much longer, as the NFL draft kicks off in one week, on Thursday, April 23 at 6 pm MDT. Mile High Huddle will be streaming live on YouTube throughout the duration — all three days — so subscribe to participate in the active conversations.

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