The Denver Broncos currently have eight picks, but only two in the Top 100. The Mile High Report staff offers their thoughts on what positions the team should avoid drafting early.
Broncos Country—it’s officially NFL Draft Week and you know what that means. Our annual Mile High Report NFL Draft Roundtable discussions are back!
For our third installment, I wanted to see how the staff would navigate resource management with the Denver Broncos only having two early picks in the 2024 NFL Draft. With that in mind, I asked the staff “What positions should the Broncos avoid drafting early?”
And interestingly enough—one position group was virtually the unanimous answer.
Ross Allen
Offensive line. Denver actually has somewhat decent depth at the moment, at least enough were they shouldn’t go shopping for one during the first night of the draft. There’s plenty of talent to be found in the latter rounds. That is if they don’t trade Bolles at least.
Scotty Payne
Offensive line. They have their starters and have other bigger fish to fry instead of addressing this position early. Later? Sure, add some depth but I’d pass on this position groups on days 1 and 2.
Laurie Lattimore-Volkmann
About the only position the Broncos don’t have big needs for is the offensive line—which is ironic. It should be fortified but not in an early round.
Tim Lynch
Going with the consensus here and say offensive line. Dane Brugler sent a swing tackle to the Broncos with the 12th overall pick in his seven round mock draft and I about lost my mind. No freaking way does Denver do that… right?
I agree with this, though I’d still keep sitting a rookie QB for development on the table.
There’s really 1 essential thing a team needs to avoid ruining a rookie QB: A quality offensive line
The #Broncos have a quality O-line. Plus a couple of decent weapons. Pull the trigger! https://t.co/DVeVgsDX8l
— T. Kothe (@tkothe_nfl) April 17, 2024
Ian St. Clair
Any position that is not quarterback.
Joe Mahoney
What Ian said!
Christopher Hart
It appears my friends on staff think that offensive line shouldn’t be addressed early. While I agree that quarterback is the primary need (as Ian St. Clair stated), I wouldn’t have an issue if the Broncos invested in their offensive line with their first-round selection or third-round selection.
Garret Bolles is in the final year of his deal. The Broncos haven’t drafted a tackle in ages. I’m skeptical that who Denver has at center are great options to start this season. I’m not sure if Ben Powers sticks around past this season if he doesn’t improve his play (despite contract restructure) and Quinn Meinerz is a pending free agent who might get one of the largest guard contracts of all time. That being said, if the right player is there—I think taking an offensive lineman is fine. I don’t expect Bolles to be back after this season, so getting a future franchise caliber left tackle—and this draft has a lot of them—wouldn’t be a bad decision.
Truth be told, the roster needs help about everywhere. I’ve been firm in my stance that the Broncos have about six to eight good players for the long-term and need an entire revamp at most position groups. I’d prefer they don’t spend another early pick on a cornerback or member of the secondary since George Paton has spent a lot of draft capital there in his first three drafts.
And this might be unpopular, but I know a lot of fans like Brock Bowers as a potential selection at #12 overall. Count me as out on him. He is a great prospect, but the Broncos don’t have a franchise quarterback. It doesn’t really make sense to try and filter an offense through a guy (120+ targets a season) with Jarrett Stidham throwing him the ball. That’s a luxury pick for Denver. A team with an established QB and offensive system seems like a better destination for him. Just my opinion. Your mileage may vary!
What do you guys think?
What positions would you like the Broncos to not spend an early round selection on? Sound off in the comments section and let us know how you feel!
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