Over the weekend, the Denver Broncos and every other team in the National Football League made selections in the 2025 NFL Draft to hopefully improve their respective outputs on the field for the 2025-26 NFL season.

As an active X (formerly known as ‘Twitter’) user, I know just how polarized fans of the Denver Broncos are in reacting to this year’s draft class. Full transparency: I am no draft expert and I am almost entirely unfamiliar with any player selected outside of the first round.

However, I do, indeed, believe myself to be a “certified ball-knower” and have my own comments on the Denver Broncos 2025 draft class. Many have been shouting from the rooftops either praising our ‘sneaky’ draft or screaming in agony for failing to draft any top-tier offensive skill position players to assist Bo Nix in his sophomore year as an NFL quarterback. With me, you’ll get the best of both worlds. So, chill out, take it slow, and we’ll rock out the show.

With 20th overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft, the Denver Broncos selected cornerback Jahdae Barron from the University of Texas. This strengthens Denver’s secondary significantly. It features players like Pat Surtain II, Riley Moss, Ja’Quan McMillian, Brandon Jones, and Talanoa Hufanga. The Broncos’ selection of Barron as their top pick in this draft surprised almost everyone. @EFCoye had been predicting Will Johnson for the Broncos for over the past month—shoutout to him.

Upside: Barron is versatile and can play every single position in the defensive backfield. This will allow for special defensive packages and provide the team defensive flexibility when, inevitably, players sustain injuries and miss time.

Downside: Barron plays a premium position on a defense that already has a solid play-maker at his natural position (nickelback). Importantly, Denver had (and still has) needs on the offensive side of the ball. Taking Barron allowed a player who was heavily mocked to Denver at the 20th slot, Omarion Hampton, to fall to a division rival in the Los Angeles Chargers. Between him and Ashton Jeanty with the Vegas Raiders… Oh boy… God bless our linebackers.

With 60th overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft, the Denver Broncos selected running back RJ Harvey out of the University of Central Florida. This move is more like what Broncos Country had been expecting from George Paton and Sean Payton coming into this draft. Broncos Country entered the draft expecting a TreyVeyon Henderson or an Omarion Hampton. Naturally, some were disappointed in this selection. However, many draft expert praised the Broncos for this savvy move and expect him to make a big impact this season.

Upside: Harvey is a smaller back in height, but he is a force to be reckoned with when considering his weight. He will provide an extra gear the Denver Broncos have needed in their running (and passing) game for some time. Harvey has WHEELS and he is not afraid to take a little contact. He will likely start out as a change of pace back with potential to eat into Audric Estime‘s workload as the expected primary running back. (Sorry, Jaleel McLaughlin – you might be the odd man out here).

Downside: RJ Harvey is a small back around 5’8 and was expected to be selected later in the draft than he was. Primarily, the “downside” at this time is the value. Additionally, some have expressed concern for his pass-blocking ability, which would limit his ability to be a true 3-down workhorse. With the 60th overall pick, you’d hope to end up with an every-down contributor. Time will tell what he ends up being.

With 74th overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft, the Denver Broncos selected wide receiver Pat Bryant out of the University of Illinois. This pick was a shocker across the board. I had absolutely no idea who this guy was when we selected him. Immediate reaction: “Oh brother, this guy (probably) stinks!” Well, maybe, maybe not.

Upside: Bryant’s film and interview answers tell me that he is a DAWG! Bryant is the type of receiver who wants contact. He wants to go out and block. He wants to lower his shoulder and fight for extra yardage. An underrated quality that Sean Payton and the crew clearly like: he was a captain, which means he is a leader. Without even considering his production as a pass-catcher (which Sean Payton likened to Michael Thomas aka the “Slant God”), Bryant is a culture fit who will go in and help Payton run the style offense he wants to run. Expect the Broncos to be much more efficient on the ground this year and for Bryant to be a big reason for that.

Downside: Bryant is yet another “reach” candidate. There were other higher-rated wide receivers on the board at the time of his selection. While many in Broncos Country were hoping for an Emeka Egbuka, or a Luther Burden, we ended up with a… Pat Bryant. #Who???

We’re going to group Denver’s final four into one section here. Denver selected Sai’vion Jones, Que Robinson, Jeremy Crawshaw, and Caleb Lohner with their final four picks. These guys all fit under one general category: High-upside, low-risk.

Sai’vion Jones: Like many of Denver’s picks in this draft, Denver shocked Broncos Country with yet another defensive selection at a position of strength after a trade back into the end of the third round. Jones is a big fella with a lot of talent: Look for him to be a potential John Franklin-Myers replacement either this year (if traded) or next year (If not given an extension).

Que Robinson: Wow, another defensive player at a position of strength? Some consider this to be the steal of the draft. A project pass-rusher out of Alabama. Reports say he will make an instant impact on special teams. We will see if he ends up making a push for snaps behind star pass rushers Jonathan Cooper and Nik Bonnito.

Jeremy Crawshaw: Yay! A punter! With Riley Dixon off the roster, and with some punter I can not recall and refuse to take two seconds to Google currently the only punter on the roster, this position was always going to have competition brought in. A standout punter for the University of Florida, we will all get to sit back with our popcorn in our lawn chairs and watch this guy duke it out for a starting job this summer. I mean, who doesn’t love a good punting competition?

Caleb Lohner: What’s there to say here? Every reception this man ever had in college went for a touchdown. We got him in what round? The seventh? Sounds like a steal to me! Denver may have added a talented tight end in Evan Engram during the Free Agency period of this offseason, but it was no secret the position was still devoid of talent behind him. Denver selected Lohner, a former basketball player, as a high-upside talent who could potentially be molded into a terrifying receiving threat. Probably not, but never count out a behemoth tight end with a basketball background. And with this roster, don’t be shocked if he gets work sooner than later.

If I had to give the Broncos a grade at this point in time, I think I would give them a B-. That grade, especially coming from me, does not carry much weight at all. However, I think it is worth noting that not only myself, but a lot of Broncos Country, have bought into what George and Sean are building and have a lot of trust in their ability to select solid contributors. For now, we hope and we dream. If you made it this far, thanks for the read!