The NFL Draft concluded over the weekend and there were mixed reviews from Denver Broncos fans surrounding their selections. In our post-draft mailbag, Broncos Country wants to know if the team reached with this year’s rookie class.
Denver Broncos Mailbag: Post-NFL Draft
The Denver Broncos came away from the 2025 NFL Draft with some impact additions on offense and defense, and a handful of players who could emerge as key special teams pickups.
If you’d like to be featured in our next mailbag, you can send your questions to me by email at cody@milehighsports.com or Twitter @CodyRoarkNFL.
The last time the Broncos were said to have “reached” this much was 2022…and that class wasn’t very good…what do you think it will look like three years from now? – Marvin on Twitter.
2022’s draft had different circumstances following the Russell Wilson trade. Denver didn’t have a first or second round of their own, but did have a late second-round pick from the Los Angeles Rams that was acquired in the Von Miller trade.
ICYMI: Denver Broncos Film Room: RJ Harvey vs. CU Buffs in 2024
Denver had premier capital going into this draft, but as I said on social media, going into the draft, the Broncos roster was already set in terms of starters on offense and defense, with the exception of running back.
That 2022 class featured Nik Bonitto, Greg Dulcich, Damarri Mathis, Eyioma Uwazurike, Delarrin Turner-Yell, Matt Henningsen, Montrell Washington, Luke Wattenberg and Faion Hicks. Six of Denver’s nine selections are still on the roster three years after the fact, and two of them are key starters.
A lot of folks who are unhappy with Denver’s draft class have indicated they feel the Broncos reached on this year’s class, but I don’t think they did, considering where their roster already was. Now, time will reveal whether or not they did. Hindsight will be 20/20, but Jahdae Barron and RJ Harvey will have an impact right away.
WR Pat Bryant, in my opinion, will play in the rotation quite a bit early on based on what I’ve seen from his tape. Sai’vion Jones could find himself as a backup rotational defensive end early on behind John Franklin-Myers and Zach Allen.
OLB Que Robinson will likely be buried a bit on the depth chart regarding defensive snaps, but he’s a potential Day-1 special teams player who could be a core four guy for Darren Rizzi. Punter Jeremy Crawshaw should be the early favorite for the punter competition with Matt Haack, and seventh-rounder Caleb Lohner is a developmental project who could be a surprise development in July and August.
I think everybody mock-drafted themselves to death and became enamored with the ‘sexy’ names, and it led to some frustration with the picks when they were made. We’ll get our first glimpse next week at rookie minicamp.
How do you think Sai’vion Jones and Que Robinson will be used on the Broncos defense? – Jordan on Twitter.
As I mentioned above, Jones could see rotational minutes right away alongside Jordan Jackson behind Zach Allen and John Franklin-Myers. Robinson has the toughest path to playing time on defense as a rookie because the Broncos’ edge room is set for the most part with Nik Bonitto, Jonathon Cooper, Jonah Elliss, and Dondrea Tillman, but Robinson right now projects to be the fifth man there.
He’ll have more of an impact early on special teams, but if there’s an injury to any of those guys above, he’ll be next up in line.
Do you think RJ Harvey will be a day 1 starter? – Namdier on Twitter.
It’s hard to say, right now. In last year’s NFL Draft process, Sean Payton and the Broncos had a third-round grade on Audric Estime, yet it took us until garbage time against the Baltimore Ravens at the midway point of the season to really get a glimpse at him.
Harvey’s situation will be different because the running back room is wide open right now and Javonte Williams isn’t there anymore. In my opinion, I believe the Broncos will look to have Estime be the primary ball-carrier offensively and Harvey will be the change of pace back who is used in the passing game as well as the run game.
There’s also a scenario where Harvey becomes the primary guy himself, but Payton doesn’t believe in the bellcow approach in today’s game and has put on the record that he believes in using two or three backs throughout the course of a season.
Regardless, Harvey and Estime project to be the top two backs in the rotation and competition is expected to take place for that third spot with Jaleel McLaughlin, Tyler Badie, and Blake Watson.
Post-draft, what is the Denver Broncos biggest position of weakness and who on the roster might surprise and turn that into a position of strength? – Bryan on Twitter.
Great question, Bryan. I think there is an argument that tight end is still perceived as the biggest position of weakness after the NFL Draft, but I’d argue it’s also more improved than it was last season.
Evan Engram will be the focal point of that position on offense, and veteran Adam Trautman is still a reliable blocker and is an underrated pass catcher, in my opinion. Trautman was forced to be the TE1 in all facets of Payton’s offense last season because the Greg Dulcich experiment never materialized.
Now that he won’t be the primary option in the passing game, I think Trautman’s role will be able to open up more when Denver gets into some of their 12 and 13-personnel groups.
Lucas Krull and Nate Adkins are still on the roster, and both will compete for a roster spot, and Caleb Lohner is the shiny project the Broncos hope pans out how they envision. If there’s any surprise at that position, I’d say Lohner is the biggest piece there if he picks things up quickly due to his size and athleticism, but right now that’s a question mark.
Do we know any more information about why Estime was a scratch for the Bills game? Seems a little strange that SP has confidence in him being a part of the backfield this year, but didn’t have him on the active roster in the playoff game. – Christopher on Twitter.
This is a valid question and point, Chris. When the Broncos announced him as inactive against the Bills, we were all shocked. To my understanding, this wasn’t a move that was indicative of how Payton felt about him. Considering what he went through, Payton stuck by Javonte Williams, and there was a sense of loyalty to him.
Despite not having an impact in the rushing game, Javonte was a player Payton trusted in pass protection and in passing situations, which is why he got the nod over Estime. Tyler Badie’s activation was more of a matchup element that Denver liked on tape against the Bills’ defense, though I’d argue Estime’s power running ability might have been the better move against that Buffalo defense.
Estime is the favorite right now on paper going into camp.
What, if anything, surprised you about the Broncos’ draft efforts? – Ed on Twitter.
Them taking Jahdae Barron was honestly the biggest surprise of their draft. All of us media folks were in the atrium of the Broncos team facility for the draft and had watched the board fall to where good wide receivers or running backs were going to be available at 20th overall.
We were all a bit surprised the moment Barron was announced as the pick, but it’s also a move I’d say most of us acknowledged was a great move, because it makes a strength of the Broncos even bulkier.
Barron was a player they never envisioned would be there with the 20th pick. There were some projections that he could go in the Top 10 to Top 15 range, but with how the board fell with offensive lineman, and tight end, one of their highest graded players was there, and that was Barron.
Are the Denver Broncos looking to add a back in FA? If so, and it’s Dobbins, do they not see that he’s missed 40 games in 4 years? Why go after perennially injured guys? – Jason on Twitter.
I don’t think the Broncos are going to look at adding a rusher in free agency. It appears, for now, at least, Denver is going to head into training camp with the group they’ve had all offseason, plus RJ Harvey.
Denver did invite former Cincinnati Bengals running back Chris Evans to rookie minicamp next week, but that’s on a tryout basis.
J.K. Dobbins has been a name that’s been floated out there for a while, but the Los Angeles Chargers recently slapped an unrestricted free agent tender on him. This means that the Chargers have exclusive negotiating rights with Dobbins if he has not signed with a team by the start of training camp.
If Dobbins signs elsewhere, it will still count towards the compensatory pick formula for LA and his new team, if that’s the case.
Payton hasn’t been shy about highlighting how Beau Lowery has transformed Denver’s injury trends in the first two years he’s been here, and that’s turned into a selling point for prospective free agents because the Broncos have tangible evidence that showcases the positive changes.
At this point, it appears the Broncos like their current group, and I’d be shocked if they added a veteran back.
Is there a significant role that you can see with Que Robinson being used as a QB Spy as a weapon or blitz packages for this Broncos D? – DMarq on Twitter.
Robinson’s speed, explosiveness, and physicality stand out when watching him, but unless there’s an injury at outside linebacker, I can’t see this happening during his rookie season.
I think he’s a player that Denver feels can develop quickly for them, but he’ll likely carve out a special teams role for himself. Honestly, how he plays on special teams could also accelerate whether or not the coaching staff wants to get him some snaps in certain packages, but right now it’s too early to tell.
