Mile High Roundtable: Predicting Broncos' First-Round Pick

Khalid Alshami (@KhalidHAlshami): After years of futility at the QB position, Denver may have finally found a keeper in Drew Lock. On offense, the Broncos' top needs entering the draft are by far at WR and IOL/center. At pick 15, Alabama's Henry Ruggs III will more than address their biggest need while giving Lock an essential tool for his development! It's Ruggs to Denver.

Josh Carney (@ByJoshCarney): Talk all offseason has been about a WR at 15, and Elway sticks there and goes that direction. Ruggs brings great speed and YAC ability to rebuilt Broncos’ offense, providing a strong No. 2 opposite Courtland Sutton. This pick will make Lock — and Broncos fans as a whole — very happy.

Keith Cummings (@KeithC_NFL): John Elway can't hide his true intentions for much longer. It's all about giving Lock a deep-ball weapon that wins out in round one. A mixture of a poker face and good fortune serves the Broncos' GM well when Ruggs falls straight into his loving arms. The starting gun has been fired on an arms race with the Chiefs.

Carl Dumler (@CarlDumlerMHH): The Broncos will trade up in the first-round. The noise for months has been how much Denver loves Ruggs. This past week, the rumor mill went crazy with talk of it now being Jerry Jeudy the Broncos want to trade up for. This leads me to believe the Broncos have done a great job of covering up the true WR love of CeeDee Lamb of Oklahoma. Lamb is the best all-around WR in the draft and fits into the Pat Shurmur offense well. Shurmur wants a WR who can pick up yards on their own and Lamb might be the best open-field runner of the class. On top of that, he does offer some as a returner as well if the team needs an explosive play.

Thomas Hall (@ThomasHallNFL): Elway figuratively painted himself into a corner by not addressing the WR position in free agency. That position group has only one proven starter, Courtland Sutton, surrounded by several below-average players. Elway seems to be targeting WR in round one no matter what and is rumored to be willing to trade up in the first round to get a highly graded player at that position. Holding the No. 15 pick in the first round, the Broncos will have plenty of options, but Elway has limited those options to, you guessed it, WR. However, Elway’s draft fortunes have been good the last two years and this year makes it a third in a row. He stays at the 15 spot and an unexpected drop lands him a top receiver. The pick: Jerry Jeudy.

Chad Jensen (@ChadNJensen): As much as I lament the idea of trading up for a WR, that's what direction the wind seems to be blowing for the Broncos at the moment. Circle pick 10 and a trade-up with Cleveland. As much as I'd prefer Elway take an OT, it's almost certain to be a WR. Question is, which one? I'll buy the recent buzz and concur that Jeudy is the pick after Denver trades up to pick 10, surrendering some of their Day 2 capital for the privilege.

Trevor Judge (@TrevorJudge): All signs seem to point to Denver taking a WR in the first round. Throughout this entire draft process, the Broncos have been enamored with Ruggs because of he’s an ideal fit for what this team is lacking on offense. It’s possible one of the top-3 receivers falls to 15, but I would expect to see Elway be aggressive with his plethora of picks to move up and get his guy. I’ve been strong on Ruggs being the pick throughout the offseason, but if Denver does move up to say No. 8 or 10, you take the risk out of the pick and go with Jeudy instead.

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Zack Kelberman (@KelbermanNFL): Sticking to my offseason guns, I project the Broncos emerging from Thursday night with their brand new WR2 in tow, making Lock a very happy quarterback. I don’t know who exactly that receiver will be — my gut says Jeudy — or at what pick they’ll nab him, but Elway tipped his hand by confirming Denver’s draft is centered around its young, franchise field general. As well it should be.

Nick Kendell (@NickKendellMHH): The Broncos could go a number of directions, but in the end, they lay low and let the board fall to them. Doing so, one of the ‘Big Three’ receivers falls to them. Ruggs, Jeudy, or Lamb? One should still be there and Elway will scoop. My gut says Ruggs will be a Bronco at pick 15.

Bob Morris (@BobMorrisSports): Everything points toward the Broncos trading up in the first round to get the guy they want. They’ve been linked to the top OT prospects, but more reports suggest they're looking at the top WR prospects. And with more teams who are reportedly interested in moving down, that suggests the Broncos will not only move up a few spots, but will be able to move up at a lower cost than one might expect. My bet is the Broncos complete a trade with the Browns, sending the 15th overall pick, the 83rd overall pick (third round) the 178th overall pick (fifth round) and running back Royce Freeman to move up to No. 10 overall, at which point they select Jeudy, as Woody Paige has predicted.

Luke Patterson (@LukePattersonLP): In the first round of the draft there will be a run on OTs and WRs within the first seven selections. This will cause Clemson LB Isaiah Simmons to fall to the 9th pick overall. Denver will trade to No. 9 as Elway has good relationships with the Jaguars. Denver surrenders No. 15 overall, a 2020 third-round selection, 2021 third-round selection and Garett Bolles. Broncos select Simmons and Vic Fangio gets his prized defensive franchise player that will finally cover opposing tight ends and dominate against the run.

Lance Sanderson (@SandersonMHH): It's no secret that the Broncos would like to move up to draft Ruggs, and I believe they do just that. The real question is the cost. What will they need to get it done? If I had to guess, I'd say 15, 83, and 178 could seal the deal, getting Lock his much needed deep threat.

Bold prediction: Denver also uses some of their remaining extra capital to move back into the tail end of the first round, with a cornerback being the target.

Erick Trickel (@ErickTrickel): Denver has the picks to be aggressive and move up. The Broncos will be careful with what they give up, likely making a deal similar to the Cardinals/Raiders deal in 2018 to move up to 10. Once there, Denver runs to the podium in 4.27 seconds to get their top WR in Ruggs. This pick has been kept as quiet as Garett Bolles in 2017 (as in not quiet at all). Again, it's going to be Ruggs, but there is the possibility Elway is persuaded away from his guy for Jeudy.

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