The Denver Broncos wrapped up Day 2 of the NFL Draft with only one selection between the second and third round. After drafting Texas A&M Tyler Onyedim 66th overall, both George Paton and Sean Payton spoke to the media at the end of the evening.
Denver Broncos trusting their process over the NFL train
Mock draft simulators have created a false sense of reality when it comes to the NFL Draft. While the widespread perception of Denver’s needs going into the draft focused on tight end, running back, and linebacker, the Broncos’ braintrust of George Paton and Sean Payton once again doubled down on their own process rather than listening to the NFL train or the consensus.
Both Paton and Payton discussed the start of the draft as long, and even joked about the boring the first round. But, they also shared a realistic perspective — Jaylen Waddle was their first-round pick this year, and he’s a terrific addition.
Paton indicated that they felt good about the six players they had on their board, but the decision to trade back came when some of those players came off the board.
“I think I mentioned we had six players,” Paton said. “They all started going, the six. Tyler was one of the six, but it fell kind of like we thought it would. Yesterday as you mentioned, it’s a boring day, but we forget we did trade for one of the better receivers in the league, so it was a good day.”
Coming into the draft, they discussed that there were six players that they had on their board that they felt would be there with the 62nd pick. While they didn’t go into specifics as to who they were potentially targeting, Ohio State tight end Max Klare came off the board right before the Broncos were set to pick at 62. Two picks prior to that, Anthony Hill Jr. landed in Tennessee.
Tyler Onyedim was one of the six players on their list, but felt he would be available at 66.
“Going through this process, it was really the athleticism playing a position that it’s always hard to find at defensive tackle,” Payton said. “His strike, his shed but it was the athlete makeup. Those were the traits.”
With the departure of John Franklin-Myers this offseason, the Broncos defensive line room at end specifically features Sai’vion Jones, Jordan Jackson, and Eyioma Uwazurike behind Zach Allen. Onyedim will have a chance to play right away and compete.
“When we’re taking a player in that spot, we discuss vision all the time,” Payton said. “So, yeah, absolutely. They’re going to come in, earn their place, but we go through this all the time. After the read, Broncos vision year one — and it was positive not only with the scouts, but the coaches as well.”
Broncos not concerned about the splash, but the vision and grade of a player
Certainly, on Friday night, the Broncos could have moved up to acquire certain players, or they could have taken certain players at running back or tight end offensively.
“I think you go into the day, and we’re looking closely at the grade, and the stack,” Payton said. “We’re never trying to worry about the splash. We’re really trying to look at it with the proper vision, the proper grade. Were there offensive players, defensive players, you’re following that. It was pretty clear without trying to reach maybe for another position. At that pick, and then our wiggle back made complete sense. So I don’t think there was this ‘Ahhh… either/or,’ it was pretty clear where he sat with his grade versus the field and that’s being smart to the board.”
Onyedim’s time at Texas A&M gave the Broncos more of a realistic look at his fit inside of their defensive scheme, and they liked what they saw from a player who had 48 tackles, 8.5 tackles for a loss, and 2.5 sacks last season.
Day 3 of the NFL Draft begins tomorrow morning, and we’ll be at Broncos headquarters for our continuous coverage.
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