Broncos — 2026 Draft Recap

Welcome back to Muffed. The Broncos walked into the 2026 draft without a first-round pick — that chip got cashed in earlier — so Denver's class has no top-32 headliner to anchor it. Instead, George Paton and Sean Payton played the middle and back of the board, seven picks total, shaped around two ideas: get younger on both lines, add explosion to the passing game. The on-paper headliner is a third-round defensive tackle out of Texas A&M, but the soul of this haul is the two fourth-rounders Paton flat-out said would define the class.

Start with run defense — Denver's highest pick lives here. At 66 overall, the Broncos took Tyler Onyedim, a 23-year-old defensive tackle from Texas A&M. The college line is workmanlike — 48 tackles, nine for loss, three sacks — but the traits are what made him a third-rounder. Onyedim posted a Relative Athletic Score of 8.31, and quick definition: Relative Athletic Score is a zero-to-10 grade benchmarking combine and pro-day testing against every player at his position since 1987. That 8.31 lands him in the top 15 percent of defensive tackles ever measured. And here's the thing — Denver's 2025 run defense was already fine, −17 rushing expected points added on the season, which is a positive result for a defense. So Onyedim isn't a bandage. He's the youth infusion Paton openly wanted up front. Late in the seventh at two-57, Denver added Buffalo linebacker Red Murdock as the forced-fumble dart throw — Payton's most enthusiastic line of the presser was, quote, he may hold the record for forced fumbles, end quote. The 6.81 athletic score says average traits, real motor.

Denver's 2025 rushing offense was neutral — roughly zero rushing expected points added, 18 scores on the ground — so the one pick spent here had to be an efficiency injection, not a desperation hire. At one-oh-eight, it was Jonah Coleman, running back, Washington, and the first of the two fourth-rounders Paton said would define the class. 156 carries, 758 yards, 15 rushing touchdowns — second in the Big 10, 20-third nationally — +31 catches for 354 yards. The number that pops: +0.33 predicted points added per play — the college version of NFL expected points added — and +57 on the season. Elite efficiency in round four. Payton specifically called out the pass-protection frame and third-down viability — physical, smart, tough, and the protection traits don't need to be projected the way they usually do with college backs.

The offensive line got the other defining fourth-rounder, three picks later at one-11: Kage Casey, tackle out of Boise State with guard-tackle versatility. The Relative Athletic Score is 6.85 grading him as a guard — sixtieth-percentile range — and Paton was explicit that the swing-tackle, swing-guard flex is what made Casey the pick over a third running back. Denver's 2025 pass protection allowed 23 sacks across 17 games, which is genuinely good. Casey isn't a panic move. He's the youth-on-the-line piece Paton kept circling back to.

Denver's 2025 passing offense produced +53 expected points added at +0.08 per dropback — fine, not explosive — and Paton said the word explosion specifically when describing what this draft was supposed to add. Two tight ends, two different jobs. In round five at one-52, Denver took Justin Joly, a 22-year-old tight end from North Carolina State whose seven receiving touchdowns ranked second in his conference. Payton put him in the F-tight-end bucket — the move piece, the flex. Then with the very last pick of the draft, two-56, Mr. Irrelevant himself: Dallen Bentley out of Utah. 48 catches, 620 yards, six touchdowns, +0.35 predicted points added per play for a total of +24 in the Big 12. Serious production for the final pick of the entire draft. And Bentley smashed his testing — 9.40 Relative Athletic Score, top six percent of tight ends ever tested. Payton categorized him as the inline Y, the bigger body who works down the field.

Pass defense got one swing at two-46: Miles Scott, safety, Illinois. 64 tackles, four pass breakups, a 7.87 Relative Athletic Score — top 15 percent for free safeties. Payton said Scott's a converted receiver with seven career interceptions and natural ball skills, and he came recommended by Denver players who were his teammates at Illinois.

Pick of the draft has to be Jonah Coleman, and the argument is scarcity of trait. You could make the case for Onyedim on round value, or Bentley on the testing-versus-slot gap. But Coleman is the only player in this class who pairs top-of-conference touchdown production with elite efficiency and the pass-protection frame that keeps him on the field on third down. Three-down backs in round four are rare. Payton said openly that most college backs need third-down protection projection — Coleman doesn't. That's the pick that bends Denver's offense.

Looking to 2026, the real question isn't whether the headline picks hit — it's whether seven picks and no first-rounder is enough to move the depth chart on a team that already paid its way into Waddle and is leaning on returning starters. Paton said it himself: younger on both lines, more offensive explosion. On those two narrow goals, the haul lines up. The stress test is whether a class built on day-two-and-three swings delivers real snaps when the lights come on.