The Denver Broncos are pairing cornerback Patrick Surtain II and Riley Moss with Texas cornerback Jahdae Barron with the 20th overall pick.
Denver Broncos draft Texas CB Jahdae Barron with the 20th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft
The entire NFL world thought the Denver Broncos would be taking an offensive player with their first-round pick. At 20th overall, the Broncos are taking Texas cornerback Jahdae Barron.
With star cornerback Patrick Surtain II locking up the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year this past season, Sean Payton is adding another playmaking corner to the mix.
Barron appeared in 57 total games as a Longhorn. He finished his career at Texas with 136 tackles, eight interceptions, and 24 passes defensed.
He’s versatile and can play inside and outside, and gives Denver immediate flexibility defensively.
Moments after being drafted by the Broncos, we caught up with Barron on a conference call inside the team facility.
“I bring a lot of versatility to the defense,” Barron said. “I’m going to play my role, master my position, I’m going to learn from the vets. I can’t wait to learn from Patrick Surtain and Coach [Vance] Joseph. It’s going to be amazing and I’m just going to embrace the opportunity and live up to the opportunity. I’m truly blessed to be in this position and I’m very thankful right now.”
His versatility brings into question how the Broncos plan to manage players like Riley Moss or Ja’Quan McMillian because both of those players can also play inside and outside, even though McMillian played primarily in the nickel last season.
In his pre-draft press conference last week, Payton mentioned the Broncos defense being another element that can help Bo Nix and the Broncos offense get better this upcoming season.
“There are two great allies that I think help quarterback play,” Payton said. “It’s really good defense and obviously a really good running game. I appreciate that term ‘weapons’, and yet… There will be focus on the running back position. It’s a pretty good draft for running backs. It’s a pretty good draft for interior defensive linemen. When we sign a good football player in free agency, [such as LB] Dre Greenlaw, we feel like we’ve helped our team, and in turn our defense and then in turn the quarterback position. How do we get him off the high dive? You don’t want to be third-and-long, you don’t want to be behind in games. Those are all things that make that position more challenging.”
By adding another defensive player alongside Greenlaw and Talanoa Hufanga, the Broncos are aiming to give Nix and the offense more possessions this upcoming season.