Broncos Upgrade Offense & Defense in 3-Round Mock Draft

Here's how the Denver Broncos could approach the first three rounds of the NFL draft.

Dec 7, 2024; Atlanta, GA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs linebacker Jalon Walker (11) reacts against the Texas Longhorns during the first half in the 2024 SEC Championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The Denver Broncos find themselves in unfamiliar territory. After years of instability and underwhelming depth charts, the Broncos might actually simply be good again.

With the wealthiest owners in the NFL, sparing no expense, one of the best offensive minds in football and team builders running the football operations side of things in Sean Payton, a fantastic football talent evaluator who has seemingly redeemed himself in Denver in George Paton, and an exciting ascending quarterback in Bo Nix whom everyone is waiting to find out just how good he can become, the decade of occupying a “world of suck” appears in the rearview mirror. 

With that comes hopes, dreams, and flexibility in April and the limitless directions Denver could go with their draft selections. Everyone seemingly wants a running back in the draft at pick No. 20.

Boise State's Ashton Jeanty is a dream, but heck, just take someone at 20 and roll with it. Alas, in an exceedingly deep class at the position and the historical value of the running back, there are options aplenty for Denver throughout the draft that can let them add talent and still walk away with upgrades.

Perhaps a unique talent slips down the board that the Broncos gobble up at 20? Let's dive into this week's three-round mock draft.

Round 1, Pick 20: Jalon Walker, LB, Georgia

Is linebacker a luxury pick for the Broncos in the 2025 draft? Perhaps, but given the reality that both Broncos’ projected starting linebackers played a total of 224 defensive snaps over five games, on top of backup Drew Sanders missing a majority of 2024 after suffering an achilles injury, the room is certainly one to keep an eye on in 2025 in regards to health.

Furthermore, with Alex Singleton set to hit free agency after 2025 at age 32 and the positional waffling of Sanders, the long-term stability of the linebacker room is very much a question in Denver. Enter Walker, who is often found mocked in the early to mid portions of mock drafts, but could slide down boards given his tweener status at 6-foot-1 and 243 pounds with 32-inch arms.

Walker is good in run defense and coming downhill from the second level and offers excellent pass-rush ability as a blitzer or lining up as an edge. However, his ability to drop into coverage and his instincts in the pass game are a relative mystery.

This hybrid build may scare off some teams, resulting in Walker sliding down boards. However, the Broncos run one of the most aggressive defensive fronts in football, and both defensive coordinator Vance Joseph and defensive pass game coordinator/assistant head coach Jim Leonhard (who recruited and coached such hybrid linebackers like Zach Baun and Andrew Van Ginkel at Wisconsin) have absolutely loved adding such players to their units.

A selection of Walker in the first round would very much be an admission by the Broncos and their long-term perspective on Sanders. If the Broncos are optimistic about Sanders' ability to develop, perhaps they go elsewhere.

However, if the Broncos are not internally high on Sanders after having him in the building for two years, a player like Walker to fulfill a role they obviously covet is worth considering. Payton discussed the role in the post-2023 draft press conference.

“We have a tag called pressure player, and to check it, you’ve got to be unique in regard to rushing the passer," Payton said last year. "Sometimes linebackers are pressure players. In New Orleans, Demario Davis – we felt he was a pressure player because when we blitzed him, a percentage of the time, he could affect the quarterback.”

Walker is undoubtedly a pressure player for Georgia. And furthermore, if he doesn’t quite cut it as an off-ball linebacker, he has enough speed to power, tenacity, and closing speed as a rusher that he could easily transition into more of a full-time edge rusher at the next level and insurance in case speed rusher Nik Bonitto’s contract demands are too high and allowed to walk next offseason.

On top of a unique pressure profile, Walker is lauded for being a tremendously high-character player, hard worker, and leader for the Georgia Bulldogs. Should he fall to the Broncos at 20, given the value placed on pass rush and long-term questions both at off-ball linebacker and edge, he very easily could be their best player available when on the clock.

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Round 2, Pick 51: Alfred Collins, IDL, Texas

Dec 21, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns defensive lineman Alfred Collins (95) against the Clemson Tigers during the CFP National playoff first round at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Broncos have pending questions across their defensive line. After reupping with D.J. Jones this offseason, the Broncos now turn their eyes toward Zach Allen, John Franklin-Myers, and Malcolm Roach, all of whom are set to hit free agency after 2025.

Instead of letting the room fall into complete disarray in a year and allowing any of these players’ agents strong-arm the Broncos due to the dire need across the interior, the Broncos get out ahead of it by adding the former highly ranked recruit and first-year starter, Collins.

Built in a lab, Collins has an absolutely incredible build for an interior defensive lineman. Measuring in at 6-foot-5-1/2 and 332 pounds with 34-⅝-inch arm length, he plays with strength, length, power, and mass that the Broncos quite simply do not possess in their current makeup of defensive linemen.

While Roach and Jones are good pluggers, both are squattier and stubbier than Collins. Collins also is athletic enough that he can hang in the 4i alignment occupied by Allen or Franklin-Myers a majority of the time last season.

Collins is still developing as a pass rusher, but his length, size, and strength make him an instant day-one-plus player with alignment versatility. He will need to work on his pad level in order to live over the A-gap on early downs, but on pass rush plays, he can easily live inside and unleash a few pass rush moves in their fledgling stages of development.

A versatile defender playing from 5 technique down to 0 with a physical profile the Broncos simply do not possess would give them more variety in how they can match opponents up front and make their defense more versatile while adding a long-term starter with players likely to price themselves out of Denver is a win-now and a win-from-now-on move.

Round 3, Pick 85: DJ Giddens, RB, Kansas State

Nov 30, 2024; Ames, Iowa, USA; Kansas State Wildcats running back DJ Giddens (31) runs for a first down against the Iowa State Cyclones in the second quarter at at Jack Trice Stadium. | Reese Strickland-Imagn Images

While I scratched my own personal itch and fulfilled my biases doubling on defensive front players with the Broncos’ first two selections of this mock, I couldn’t hurt the feelings of the frothing at the mouth fantasy football oriented fans who want every mock to be filled with only wide receiver, running back, or tight end

Some fans will surely be annoyed that it took until pick 85 to have a back matched to Denver in this mock. In all reality, if the Broncos don’t land a running back in Round 1, the Broncos might aggressively pursue their Day 2 running back of choice using multiple draft picks to go get their runner of choice. Alas, in this mock, there are no trades.

Fortunately for Denver, the options of running back flavors nearly mimic the amount of flavors of Ben & Jerry’s ice creams. The question isn’t whether Denver will add a back but rather who, how soon in the draft, and how many backs.

The Broncos could, in theory, wait until Day 3, double up, and be just fine with the position. Simply put, Broncos Country should not sweat. There are enough backs to go around.

Swaying between late Day 2 and early Day 3 is Giddens. Measuring in at 6-foot-2 and 212 pounds and running a 4.43-second 40-yard dash with a 1.53s 10-yard split and posting excelling jumps in the vertical and broad, he's one of the most impressive physical profiles at the running back position in the 2025 class.

Giddens is a do-it-all back who has good feet, vision, balance, and burst to stress defenses in a multitude of ways as a runner. He lacks bulk in his base which, paired with an upright run style, does limit his ability to bounce off tacklers like some of the better tackle breakers in the class, but his feet, vision, and control to create space and angles as a runner both behind the line and in the second level of the defense.

Giddens does have ample questions as a pass game weapon. Despite a solid frame, his pass protection is woefully underdeveloped. It will need to be improved markedly for him not to be a tell on the field if his offense is going to run or pass.

Further, Giddens was not asked to showcase his ability as a pass catcher all that often. However, as a receiver, he does show smoothness and control while bringing the football into his frame.

Giddens is one of many viable backs the Broncos could add in Rounds 3 or 4. If the Broncos wait for running back and take a back like Giddens in Round 3, they very easily could go with another one in Round 4 with a more pure speed option or pass oriented like SMU's Brashard Smith, Texas' Jaydon Blue, UCF' RJ Harvey, Virginia Tech's Bhayshul Tuten, among others, to further amplify the room.

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