ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — As the selections roll in during the first round of the 2026 NFL draft on April 23, the Denver Broncos‘ decision-makers will again serve as exceedingly interested observers.
It’s a familiar feeling, as the Broncos do not have a first-round pick for the third time in the past five drafts. After missing out on Round 1 in 2022 and 2023 due to the Russell Wilson trade, the Broncos will do the same in two weeks after trading for wide receiver Jaylen Waddle in March.
“No one loves picks more than me, so that’s hard,” Broncos general manager George Paton said at the league meetings. “I’ve probably traded too many [first-round picks], darn it.”
Waddle’s addition has been the Broncos’ most significant of the offseason by far, as he and free agent safety Tycen Anderson are the only players Denver brought in from other organizations. To get Waddle, the Broncos had to part with the No. 30 overall pick which they earned after making it to the AFC Championship Game last season.
With that low of a pick, the Broncos evaluated their board, did the math and made the call to trade for Waddle. In their minds, the handful of players who would be available at No. 30 — coach Sean Payton said they were down to “seven or eight” — wouldn’t impact their team as much, or play as well, as Waddle could right now.
That decision alters the Broncos’ plan for the upcoming three-day draft. They theoretically could trade back into the first round if a player they have graded for the upper half of Round 1 slips. But that could be difficult considering that the Broncos also dealt their third-rounder to Miami in the Waddle deal.
They could also do what they did in 2022 and 2023 — wait it out and open their draft with the second-round pick, which is No. 62 overall this year. That more patient approach has been fruitful in the past.
“I think it’s worked out,” Paton said.
It has definitely worked out, especially at the top of those draft classes. In 2022, the Broncos’ first pick was edge rusher Nik Bonitto at No. 64 overall. And in 2023, they selected wide receiver Marvin Mims Jr. at No. 63 overall.
Bonitto has been named to two Pro Bowls, has been a first- and second-team All-Pro and finished fourth in the league’s Defensive Player of the Year voting last season after a career-high 14 sacks. Mims has excelled as a return man, making two Pro Bowls along with earning first- and second-team All-Pro honors.
The Broncos also had success late in the second round last year, as they took running back RJ Harvey with the No. 60 pick. He was second on the team with 540 rushing yards last season and led Denver with 12 touchdowns.
“We’ve fortunately been there before,” Paton said. “We have a good feel for that. We can hone in. It doesn’t mean we won’t trade up at some point, but we’ll have a really good feel for the 62nd pick or whatever we’re picking.”
Bonitto and Mims weren’t the only hits from the Round 1-lacking drafts. In 2022, center Luke Wattenberg — who signed a four-year, $48 million extension this past November — was a fifth-round pick. They also got defensive lineman Eyioma Uwazurike, who is poised to compete for far more playing time in 2026 with the departure of John Franklin-Myers in free agency, in the fourth round. Denver had similar success in 2023 despite having only five overall picks. The Broncos picked starting cornerback Riley Moss in Round 3 and center Alex Forsyth in the seventh round.
With 61 picks scheduled before Denver gets its first selection, there are a dizzying number of scenarios the Broncos must consider when putting together their draft board. They currently have seven picks — No. 62, two in the fourth round (Nos. 108 and 111), one in the fifth (No. 170) and three selections in the seventh round (Nos. 246, 256 and 257).
However, their fourth-round picks are their only selections in the upper half of any round. It might be tough for the Broncos to improve upon that given it might take giving away selections for the 2027 draft — a class that’s expected by many in the league to be deeper and have more star power than 2026 — to move up the board or work their way back into rounds in which they don’t have picks. But Payton said they won’t be impulsive as the draft weekend unfolds.
“You have to apply some patience and have a good plan,” Payton said at the league meetings. “We recognize where we are at. We understand exactly where we are at with [quarterback] Bo [Nix’s] contract, our team.
“We are going to do what we think is best for our team to be better when this puzzle is finished at the end of June.”
