2023 NFL Draft: Should the Denver Broncos trade up or trade back?

Trade up? Trade down? Why not both? The Mile High Report staff discusses how the Denver Broncos should approach the 2023 NFL Draft.

The 2023 NFL Draft is only a few days away.

For our final installment of our roundtable discussions, I asked the staff to give their thoughts on draft philosophy—and whether or not the Denver Broncos should trade up or trade down in this year’s draft.

With only five selections, it’s a good bet we will see George Paton try and move back to acquire more capital to address. However, don’t be surprised if the Broncos are aggressive, especially if one of their favorite prospects starts to slip within acquirable reach.

What will they do? Only time will tell, but for now, let’s just be excited about all the possibilities that exist and hope the Broncos are able to come away with some good players.

Would you rather have the Broncos trade up or trade back?

Tim Lynch:

Why not both? Trade a wide receiver to move up then trade back later to accumulate even more picks! It would be a good strategy to do both in my opinion.

Scotty Payne:

If a player they have a first round grade on starts to slip in the second round, I wouldn’t hate the Broncos to move up and get their guy. Quality > Quantity—even though I love all the picks like George Paton. I think we’ll see movement in both directions as Tim already stated. Paton and Payton are both historically aggressive during the draft so I think we’ll see plenty of movement.

Ian St. Clair:

Agree with the “both” sentiment. Whatever makes the Broncos better.

Sadaraine:

I’m comfortable with whatever the team wants to do. If they have a target that they see as a future core player, go get him. If they want more picks, trade back. It is all good. I trust the capability of this front office more than I have in decades in their ability to draft good players.

Adam Malnati:

At this point, everything is on the table. I have no preference. I’ve been saying it all offseason, whatever Payton [and Paton] want to do, I’m good with it.

Ross Allen:

I would be down to see Denver move up into the second round, but I’m hesitant with any deal that would be big enough to get them a first round pick. I also wouldn’t be disappointed if they traded away a late round asset to gain another third round pick.

Christopher Hart:

I’m a firm believer in “going and getting your guys” and that’s still a potentiality for the Broncos. But with a handful of needs and being short on picks, I’d really like to see them move down in the third-round and acquire more capital.

I think this year’s draft has a lot of quality prospects at positions of need for the Broncos. Will a move up for a guy get you more of an impact than moving back and getting a few more picks? I’m not so sure. The more darts to throw at the board the better, but I fully expect a combination of moves [up and down] to transpire.

It’ll be very exciting to see how it plays out.

Broncos Country, if you were controlling the Broncos’ war room—would you be trading up or trading down? Feel free to discuss your draft philosophy in the comments section. Thanks again for reading!