With 12 picks in this year’s draft, the Broncos are almost certain to trade up at some point, and that very well could happen in the first round.
So, what prospects are elite enough that Denver should package multiple picks together to ensure they become Broncos?
Here are five such players that would be worth such a move and that could be the difference between the Broncos making or missing the playoffs next season.
Jeff Okudah, CB, Ohio State
The offensive line is the more obvious need but with Chris Harris Jr. almost certainly gone and the contracts of Davontae Harris and De’Vante Bausby expiring as well, the cornerback room may be in worse shape.
Enter Jeff Okudah, the type of cornerback prospect that comes around once a decade. He’s the most polished man-cover corner to come out of college since Patrick Peterson and like Peterson, he won’t be a headache off the field.
In this high-flying era of offense, the “shutdown corner” has become a rare, nearly-extinct breed, and Okudah can claim to be the next member of the herd.
Jedrick Wills Jr., LT, Alabama
There are four, maybe five, offensive linemen worth a top 15 pick, and Jedrick Wills Jr. is clearly the alpha of that group. He’s the best pure pass protector in this draft but he also shows ability as a road grader in the run game to be a foundational piece of Denver’s new-look offensive line for the next decade.
If the Broncos were to trade up for Wills and re-sign Connor McGovern, they’d have a young core along the left side of the line that should provide Drew Lock with a healthy bit of security as he starts his career. Throw in a potentially healthy Ja’wuan James, and Denver’s line is suddenly among the sturdier squads around the league.
That security is worth a few extra picks, especially when developing the potential future of the franchise.
Tristan Wirfs, OT/OG, Iowa
Tristan Wirfs isn’t the surefire NFL left tackle that Jedrick Wills Jr. is, but his high upside and high floor make him the second-best linemen in this draft, and another one worth trading up for.
Wirfs movement skills and arm length may scare some teams away from putting him on the outside of their line, but he might be an even better prospect at guard than he is at tackle.
If the Broncos are one of those teams, they could put him at guard and have a day-one starter with Pro Bowl potential he could realize very quickly. Adding a young, high-end starter on the line is worth trading up for, no matter where Denver puts him.
Derrick Brown, DT, Auburn
Shelby Harris, Derek Wolfe, Mike Purcell and Adam Gotsis are all pending free agents this offseason, and three of them are probably gone. That means Denver will need to acquire some reinforcements for the trenches and there’s no better option than Derrick Brown.
Brown is a polished, game-wrecking monster who can ruin a quarterback’s whole week with a relentless pass rush, but unlike most interior pass-rushers, can also wreak havoc in the run game.
Brown is the second-best player on this list (behind Okudah) and arguably the third-best player in the entire draft. Not only is he freakishly talented, but he’d also fill one of the Broncos’ biggest needs.
Isaiah Simmons, Defense, Clemson
If you were ranking this draft’s players by pure, freakish athleticism, Isaiah Simmons would be atop most draft boards without much debate. Simmons can play anywhere on defense from linebacker to safety, and even slot cornerback.
The question that arises with this is that Simmons has no true position, so where do you play him? The answer: you play him on defense, it doesn’t matter where.
Now, you can view this as a negative, but to a defensive mastermind like Vic Fangio this is a positive. You can start Simmons at linebacker next to Alexander Johnson, but rotate him back to safety, moving Kareem Jackson to cornerback and bringing Josey Jewell in to replace him at linebacker if you’re faced with a heavy-run look. If you’re playing the Ravens and need someone to spy the speedy Lamar Jackson, Simmons is one of the few players that can do that.
