Broncos Make Several Trades in New 7-Round Mock Draft

NFL draft month is finally here. During the annual NFL owners meetings, Sean Payton said the Denver Broncos are about to enter the final stages of their draft preparation.

There isn’t a lot left to do outside of the Broncos finalizing their big board and parsing through the final medical checks and workouts. Then comes the draft.

With their first- and third-round picks, the Broncos decided to acquire Jaylen Waddle in a trade, which limits what they can do in the actual draft, but they still have ways to add cap space and move around the board, beginning with seven selections.

This mock draft will present some of those options by including trades. The trades will be made using recent NFL transactions as data, while limiting how much 2027 capital is included, given reports that teams are hesitant to move next year's capital because of how the class projects at the moment.

So, let’s get into it. This exercise was done with the Pro Football Focus mock draft simulator. This will be the only mock I do this year that includes trades.

Trade

Denver sat on the board at 62, with Vanderbilt tight end Eli Stowers, Cincinnati linebacker Jake Golday, Arkansas' running back Mike Washington Jr, and a few others, still available. I traded No. 62 and 257 to the Cleveland Browns for No. 70 and 149.

Round 3, Pick 70

Strowers and Golday went at 67 and 69, respectively, with the few others being left on the board. It made selecting Washington simple. He is a great fit in the Broncos' running back room, with the potential to be the top back, and making for a great pairing with RJ Harvey.

With J.K. Dobbins as the top back, Washington and Harvey provide depth, and both could still play, allowing Denver to be more cautious with Dobbins, given his injury history. Washington does have some fumble concerns, but he showed significant improvement in that area in 2025 and also brings power, solid hands, and solid pass-protection ability.

Trade

As the board fell, there were a lot of names that stood out, and it’d be great to add a young defensive lineman with a rounded skill-set, so as one fell, I made the jump, packaging No. 108 and 149, the second of which I got from the Browns, to trade with Seattle for No. 96 and 188.

Round 3, Pick 96

Rayshaun Benny. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Broncos have Sai’vion Jones, but he has concerns as a run defender, and Benny is a high-quality player in this area. This gives Denver a better rotation to replace John Franklin-Myers, rather than forcing Malcolm Roach or Eyioma Uwazurike, who are not 4i/5-technique-capable players. Benny is also an immediate upgrade over Jordan Jackson.

Even though Benny has limited time as a starter, he's still an ascending player who had a good 2025 season. He knows how to use his length to help him win, can two-gap, and has enough quickness and strength to one-gap or gap-and-a-half. His pass rush is still a work in progress, with plenty of flashes to develop, but he is a natural fit to work in the rotation with Jones.

Trade

Denver has a log-jam at cornerback, and there are corners available in this area, so I used Riley Moss and the 257th pick to trade with the New York Jets for No. 103, 140, and 242. I then turned and flipped 103 to the Philadelphia Eagles for 114 and 178, since there were still a lot of options and to allow the board to clean up, with a good shot at getting two of the six targets in mind at No. 111 and 114.

Round 4, Pick 111

Bud Clark. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Brandon Jones may be playing his last year in Denver, and Clark has some similarities, but he has the potential to be a better pairing with Talanoa Hufanga. Clark is a ball-hawk with excellent ball skills who brings a ton of versatility on the back end. He checks the leadership and experience boxes for Denver, but the medicals could indicate he's a risk to fall in the draft.

Clark's ability to drop in the nickel and be a versatile piece gives them a guy who, in 2026, can fill the Jahdae Barron role that he had as a rookie. That role would be required to fill after I traded Moss in this mock draft, which pushes Barron into a starting boundary corner role. The next pick is also with that in mind.

Round 4, Pick 114

The Broncos have been outspoken about Barron working on the boundary, but after trading Moss, you still want to add to the room. Davis is a natural boundary corner, without the size or length concerns Barron has, and is a natural fit in the Broncos' defensive scheme. Davis is a long, physical boundary corner who is best suited to Cover-3, the Broncos' man coverage.

If Barron struggles on the boundary, Denver would have a better fit there and retain the option to move him inside, depending on what happens with Ja’Quan McMillian. Kris Abrams-Draine isn’t a natural Cover-3 corner.

Abrams-Draine doesn’t bring the physicality to be a starter outside of filling in for injuries, which is why Davis would be a good fit, as he doesn’t hurt Abrams-Draine's position. Plus, Abrams-Draine only has two years left on his rookie contract.

Round 4, Pick 140

Eli Raridon. | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

The Broncos kept the NFL's worst tight end unit intact, but they need to add to it in some way, and this is a good class to make those additions. The Broncos also have one more year of an aging, slowing Evan Engram to look at for the future.

Raridon can work in the slot, but he has serious potential to develop as a blocker in-line, not to be the primary blocker, but to be the math changer that the Broncos have counted on Adam Trautman to be.

Raridon is an excellent athlete and a natural pass-catcher to contribute right away, with a catch radius that makes him a red-zone threat. His technique as a blocker needs work, but there is enough to be a blocker in the slot, and he has the desire, mentality, and effort you want to see to succeed there.

Round 5, Pick 170

Dallen Bentley. | SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Back-to-back picks at tight end to hopefully give the room a boost that it so desperately needs. Bentley has natural and sticky hands and projects as a slot tight end, who can develop and do some in-line work.

While he may not be an elite blocker, between Bentley and Raridon, you get enough blocking potential that one should develop, and the other could be Engram's big-slot replacement, with enough blocking ability in the slot to work.

Round 5, Pick 178

Ar’maj Reed-Adams. | Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images

The status of Ben Powers seems set for 2026 as a starting left guard, but beyond that, he is in doubt, as he enters a contract year. It's time to put a replacement plan in place.

While Nick Gargiulo seemed to be that, his injury last year derailed it. Reed-Adams is a physical mauling blocker who is a natural fit in the scheme and has some similarities to Powers in strengths and weaknesses that you could bet on your coaches developing, as the Broncos have proven adept at developing offensive linemen.

Round 6, Pick 188

Eli Heidenreich. | Stu Boyd II-The Commercial Appeal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Is Heidenreich a slot, a running back, or a fullback? Those are the conversations around him, but he is best described as an offensive weapon.

Heidenreich can do a lot of everything for the offense and provide a versatile weapon that Davis Webb and Sean Payton could move around the formation, hopefully developing into a quality chess piece.

Trade

A player I love for Denver was falling, and so I traded No. 246 and 256 to Atlanta for No. 215. This also allows Denver to get a jump on calling prospects to sign as undrafted free agents.

Round 6, Pick 215

Jimmy Rolder. | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

Let me be clear: I don’t expect Rolder to be here in the actual draft, as he has all the tools and traits you want to work with to develop, and a team will likely take a shot at him in the fourth or fifth round.

Watching him fall made it hard to pass up on the chance to trade up to get him. Denver can work with Rolder to develop into a potential Alex Singleton replacement, with far more coverage upside.

Final Thoughts

Is this realistic? Probably not, given how much trading there is in this mock draft, but the Broncos have shown they are not afraid to move up and down when the board falls a certain way. Last year, the Broncos made four trades during the draft, and I have five in this mock draft.

The Broncos will likely move up and down in the draft, but the real wild card is the potential for player trades — moving a player and adding a player — both of which seem very much on the table.

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