Broncos' 2024 NFL Draft redo: How Denver could have done better with every pick

Sean Payton and the Denver Broncos should be sending Terry Fontenot and the Atlanta Falcons flowers. Or maybe chocolates. A card? Some sort of 'thank you' is in order because the Falcons' draft is the only reason we are not talking about the draft class the Broncos just brought in.

Going into the draft no one had a clear idea of what the Broncos were focused on. Did they want to stock the skill positions with "Sean Payton" guys? Or beef up a defense that was 27th in points allowed? Or were they really going to be going after a quarterback?

Not much has made sense in Denver over the last two years. In that time they've spent five draft picks and $131 million on Payton and Russell Wilson, who is no longer on the team. That desperation and lack of a well-thought-out plan was evident over draft weekend this year. Unless you ask Payton, who likened his first-round pick this year to Payton's situation in the 2017 draft with the Saints when he wanted Patrick Mahomes. So there's that.

In this exercise, I will attempt to put together a draft class that makes better use of the draft capital Denver had by making new selections in each of its seven draft slots. One of me or Sean Payton could look like a genius in five years. I have to say I like my chances.

Fixing the Denver Broncos 2024 NFL Draft class

1. Denver Broncos No. 12 overall pick: Oregon QB Bo Nix
2. Denver Broncos No. 76 overall pick: Utah EDGE Jonah Elliss
3. Denver Broncos No. 102 overall pick: Oregon WR Troy Frankin
4. Denver Broncos No.145 overall pick: Missouri CB Kris Abrams-Draine
5. Denver Broncos No. 147 overall pick: Notre Dame RB Audric Estime
6. Denver Broncos No. 235 overall pick: Utah WR Devaughn Vele
7. Denver Broncos No. 256 overall pick: South Carolina C Nick Gargiulo

Denver Broncos No. 12 overall pick: Oregon QB Bo Nix

Oregon QB Bo Nix had a backup-level draft grade by most teams according to Todd McShay of ESPN. The Broncos were the only team with a first-round grade on the five-year college starter, and Payton "feels as strongly about Bo Nix as he did about Patrick Mahomes"

There's usually a reason someone stays in college as a starter for five seasons and that is they aren't a starter-level player in the NFL. Nix firmly fits in that category with no elite traits on tape or as an athlete.

Taking Nix No. 12 overall was a huge reach for a team that could've used help in so many places. With so many needs and no path to winning the division for at least a couple of seasons my pick in this redo exercise is Georgia TE Brock Bowers. Bowers was considered the best player available at that time on many boards, including mine, and would've helped a pass-catching group with his dynamic play from anywhere on the field.

Denver could have taken the first defender off the board here at any position. They also could've looked at the offensive line with Lloyd Cushenberry leaving in free agency. Troy Fautanu could've played guard for them and moved Quinn Meinerz to center for 2024, then Fautanu could potentially replace Garett Bolles at left tackle by 2025.

The reason I leaned offense, and Bowers specifically, is to do everything I can to support a bridge quarterback in 2024, but then allow a higher-graded rookie to step in to a good situation in 2025.

Better pick: Georgia TE Brock Bowers

Denver Broncos No. 76 overall pick: Utah EDGE Jonah Elliss

Utah EDGE Jonah Elliss had just one year of good production at Utah. In 2023 he recorded 12 sacks and 16 tackles-for-loss. Elliss is a good athlete but he is undersized for an edge rusher. All that combined with multiple good, young outside linebackers already on this team, and you got a stew goin' to make a change!

Here instead I'll go with UConn guard Christian Haynes. Following the above plan I mentioned for Fautanu, Haynes would fill that empty starting position on the line left by Cushenberry by playing guard and moving Meinerz to center.

Haynes is a freaky athlete which really helps make up for the lack of length he has overall. But with a 5.03 4-yard dash (89th percentile for offensive linemen) and 33" in the vertical jump (93rd) Sean Payton could create a lot of mismatches involving Haynes out in space. Haynes is ready right now to start and play on the offensive line.

Better pick: Connecticut G Christian Haynes

Denver Broncos No. 102 overall pick: Oregon WR Troy Frankin

The Troy Franklin pick on its own isn't a bad one. After trading Jerry Jeudy and potentially looking to move on from Courtland Sutton the Broncos were smart to add another pass catcher via the draft. They were able to snag Franklin in the fourth round when many viewed him as a Day 2 talent. And it does give them a good chemistry fit with their actual first-round pick in Nix.

But thanks to the selection of Bowers in this exercise we can go another way. Looking at the defense I see two choices. One is our second outside cornerback spot which is currently filled by Levi Wallace. Wallace was signed to the team just days before the draft for very cheap. The other is the interior defensive line which has underwhelmed and doesn't have any young prospects to look forward with.

With the veteran Wallace in the building, and last year's third-round pick Riley Moss developing, we'll pass on a corner at this spot and go to the defensive line. And the player we're taking is Justin Eboigbe of Alabama.

Eboigbe has the ideal size you want from a defensive lineman in this scheme and is already a strong run defender. At Alabama, he showed the ability to move up and down the line enough that you can put him towards the end of the line in a 3-4, but also play more in the middle in nickel packages.

Eboigbe isn't a finished product and needs to work on his pass-rush abilities to be a consistently good player, but for a unit that's aging and has starters in place, Eboigbe can rotate in and continue to work on his game.

Better pick: Alabama DL Justin Eboigbe

Denver Broncos No.145 overall pick: Missouri CB Kris Abrams-Draine

Very similarly to what I've done in this exercise, the Broncos decided to wait until the fifth round to take a swing at cornerback. In the real draft, they took Kris Abrams-Draine from Missouri to throw into the mix with the likes of Moss and Damarri Mathis. At this point in the draft, I think we're passed the point of a corner truly being able to help in 2023, so I'll hold off on the position for now.

Instead, I'll focus somewhere that might be able to make an impact for me right away, and that's off-ball linebacker. Here at No. 145, there are two names I'm intrigued by, but I'm going to take Clemson's Jeremiah Trotter Jr.

JTJ doesn't have the size or athleticism teams are looking for in their linebackers today, but he has all the necessary vision, play speed, and tacking ability to make an impact. The Broncos already have veterans Alex Singleton and Cody Barton, who can use their experience to cover up for Trotter as he relies on his own instincts. Trotter could play as fast as he can coming downhill or sideline to sideline while the veterans watch his back. This will be key because Trotter doesn't have the size or athleticism to quickly recover if he makes a mistake.

Long-term Trotter would also be an interesting fit next to Drew Sanders who has ALL the size and athleticism teams want in a linebacker. Sanders may end up lumped in with the other interesting edge rushers on this team but he was originally drafted to convert to linebacker. Trotter's instincts and smarts would pair nicely with Sanders' physical gifts as a 1-2 punch at the position.

Better pick: Clemson LB Jeremiah Trotter Jr

Denver Broncos No. 147 overall pick: Notre Dame RB Audric Estime

In the actual draft, Denver used a draft pick on what might be their third-string running back. Not my cup of tea. I did, however, want to go back to the offensive side of the ball here. I stared hard at Spencer Rattler to strongly mix up the quarterback room of Jarrett Stidham, Zach Wilson, and Ben DiNucci. But I'd rather continue to build a foundation for a quarterback in 2025 than force one in 2024, even here in the fifth round.

Instead, I'll turn my sights to wide receiver Malik Washington from Virginia. Washington was the darling of many draft analysts for his explosive athleticism and strong hands working out of the slot. Washington led the country in catches last year (110) with just three drops on 138 targets per PFF. Washington also tested phenomenally at the combine scoring in the 98th percentile in the vertical jump and 83rd percentile in the bench press while running a 4.47 40-yard dash.

Washington isn't Sean Payton's most recent flavor of slot receiver. Payton has favored the bigger slots in the last few years. From Michael Thomas in New Orleans to Jerry Jeudy last year, and potentially Josh Reynolds this year. All of those players are 6-foot-1 or taller. Washington is just 5-foot-8 and a half and weighs 191 pounds.

But if you go way back to Payton's early Saints days his slot receiver was Lance Moore. Moore is a member of the New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame after playing nine seasons with the team under Payton. In four of those seasons, he had at least 50 catches and six touchdowns. Moore's measurables? 5-foot-9, 187 pounds.

Better pick: Virginia WR Malik Washington

Denver Broncos No. 235 overall pick: Utah WR Devaughn Vele

The Broncos doubled up on wide receiver in the actual draft and I don't dislike that process. Do I dislike doubling up on a school they drafted from TWICE? Drafting two players from Oregon and two players from Utah? Yes. I dislike it. Hard to see from the outside how it doesn't look lazy. Anyway, I won't be going receiver again here after taking Washington with my previous pick. Here in the seventh round, I'm looking for one of two things: upside, or value.

With my first pick of the seventh round, I'll take value. There's a player this late in the draft that was thought of as a Day 1 talent just this year. That is Penn State cornerback, Kalen King. Concerns about King's long speed and overall athleticism kept pushing him down boards as the 2023 season progressed, culminating in an RAS score of 6.7/10 with a 4.61 40-yard dash at the combine.

But for a team with questions at the second outside corner spot, as we mentioned before, King is a great flier to take this late in the draft. King is versatile for the position having played well in man and zone coverages, and had excellent ball production in 2022 when he had three interceptions and 18 passes defended.

Better pick: Penn State CB Kalen King

Denver Broncos No. 256 overall pick: South Carolina C Nick Gargiulo

Getting to the second-to-last pick in the NFL Draft, and final pick for the Denver Broncos, there are actually some interesting names on the board that went undrafted. I'll stay away from Gargiulo and the interior offensive line because of the Haynes pick on Day 2. My first thought was to try a developmental tackle to maybe compete for a job in 2025, but Denver did well to sign Frank Crum out of Wyoming after the draft. I almost selected Ethan Driskell here as a guy slightly higher on boards than Crum, but it wasn't significant enough to pull the trigger.

Instead, I'll look to the defensive side of the ball where multiple players were thought to be early Day 3 picks are available. Two names that stand out are EDGE Gabriel Murphy of UCLA and DT Gabe Hall from Baylor. Both players fit the size profiles the team already has at their respective positions.

I know I've already drafted a defensive lineman, but I'm doubling down. The draft is a numbers game, and I know I want to come out of it with at least one defensive tackle type that can develop and become a starter. The best way to do that is to draft two of them. Hall has all the tools to be an effective down lineman but is too inconsistent to be impactful early on. Bringing Hall in to compete against and work with Justin Eboigbe should help this team improve its outlook at the position.

Better pick: Baylor DT Gabe Hall

Sean Payton and George Paton made some bold choices in the 2024 NFL Draft. That much is certain. Whether or not Bo Nix is a viable long-term starter will be enough to determine if the class was a success or failure.

With 12 picks over the first two years of this regime, Payton better start making the picks count. And because of the overall value at QB, should this class prove to be a failure it could already be the end of Payton's time in Denver soon enough.