FUTURE: Denver Broncos 2026 NFL Draft Strategy Could Be Shaped By Expiring Deals

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The Denver Broncos NFL Draft approach this upcoming week could be determined by expiring

deals going into next season.

You are locked on Broncos.

Your daily Denver Broncos podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team

every day.

What's up Broncos country?

I'm Cody Orkin on today's bonus episode of the show.

We're going to be talking a little bit more about the NFL Draft, but how the Broncos

Draft influence this year might be impacted by next year's class of free agents across

the board.

We'll take a look at whether or not they'll address these positions.

In this year's Draft, we're going to kick things off by talking about how the Broncos

might approach the draft, specifically starting off with pick number 62, based on deals

that are set to expire after this season here in the Broncos.

They'll have 38 free agents, collectively from UFA's, RFAs and ERFAs that will be free

agents in some former capacity going into next season.

And while this year, the Broncos are maintaining continuity across the roster 71 of 73 players

on the current roster, we're on the 53 or the practice squad in some capacity last season.

And then you're two new additions, Tyson Anderson in the big trade for Jalen Waddle.

And you have a ton of players who are set to become, as I mentioned, free agents.

So as Denver looks to build this roster, they're pushing the chips in this season to compete

for a Super Bowl.

And that's going to be their goal for the long term, but they're going to have to manage

maybe certain positions going forward.

And this year's NFL Draft considering Denver doesn't have a first round pick.

Take number 62 and then obviously their two fourth round picks might be the best value

for them to add a couple of depth pieces that could be competing for some spots to play

on the roster in the next couple of years.

And I think you have to be very forward thinking when you have the roster that you have and

you have bone nicks on a rookie deal, the idea here is how do you maximize the roster

around him?

You think you got to take a look at your offensive line, you got to take a look at your skill

player positions, and then you got to look at the defense.

Do we have a defense that can get the ball back to the quarterback, right?

All those things intertwine here, but I was doing a little bit of a deep dive here on

the Broncos free agents going into next season.

I mentioned the number 38 different players.

That's a lot when we're especially when we're talking about 71 players returning here.

But I pinpointed the positions that have the most free agents that are going to be the

most critical to address here, especially with deals expiring.

I look at defensive line, safety, tight end, offensive line and running back.

These are the five positions.

I think the Broncos will primarily focus on initials NFL draft because of where they will

be, not only from potentially losing starters, but potentially losing backup players as

well in the next year or the next two years.

Let's start off on the defensive line after the season, Jordan Miller, who's been a practice

squad player for the last couple of years, Jordan Jackson, who's been a player on the roster

for the last couple of seasons, Matt Henningson, who missed all of last year with the tournament

Achilles, but is back on the roster going into this summer.

And Inyoma Uazurike, you have right there four players that are set to become free agents

after this season.

And to be honest with you, even though that is the case, some of these guys may not even

make the roster coming into this upcoming season.

So to me, that tells me the defensive line.

It would not shock me if the Broncos went with the D-Line men with their 62nd overall pick.

We in our recent mock draft have put Kayla Banks on the radar of the Denver Broncos.

I know some other national analysts after the fact they've also done that and some of their

latest mock drafts released in the last couple of days.

I do find that interesting.

And then you also have to think a couple of years down the road as well, especially for

defensive line.

After 2027s free agency, DJ Jones, he's going to be a free agent.

So he has this year and then he has next year left on his deal and then he's set to become

a free agent entirely.

This is where the Broncos have to kind of look to the future here.

And you don't often necessarily look to the future by saying, hey, we're going to grab

a guy now and that means we're going to replace you right now with this player.

It's, hey, we want you to help this player develop.

Look, and if you continue to play well, you get another contract.

I think Denver's defensive line, they view that as a strength of theirs.

They value the trenches in both offense and defense.

But D-Line has some discrepancies when you talk about deals that are expiring either

this year.

If you guys that may not even make the roster or going into next season, the loss of

JFM continues to loom a little bit largely here for Denver.

So it would not shock me if defensive line is their top priority.

If there is a player, they have a really high grade on and he's there at 62.

Would not shock me in the slightest if they go D-Line with their pick here.

So I want you guys all to mark that down, keep that in the back of your minds here, safety

is another position.

Brennan Jones is playing on the last year of his deal right now with the Broncos, set

to expire after this year.

He could be a guy that gets a contract during the summer, during training camp, as we

saw with guys like Nick Benito, Zach Allen, we saw those guys get their deals done relatively

early compared to just hitting the open market.

You also look at other players of that position too, Jail Skinner, and during the last year

of his rookie deal, Devin Key, re-sign back, he's going to be, I believe, a restricted

free agent next season.

And then you also have Tyson Anderson, who you did bring in this summer.

He's going to compete for some special teams roles, so that's probably the vision for

him there and may factor into the depth rotation defensively here for Denver.

But safety, you got four players at that position after this year.

That are set to hit free agency.

So you have to address this in this year's draft, and that's probably where that sweet

spot is in round four.

You have two picks within three picks of each other, the eighth and the eleventh pick,

you may have to take a safety at that position.

And I know positions in need, we've talked about that in terms of where Broncos Country

feels Denver should go, especially if there are certain players on the board, like Jacob

Rodriguez at 62, which I am starting to get a feeling he's not going to be there.

He's not even going to be a thin striking range.

I have a feeling he'll go between 32 to 43.

I think that's going to be the range in which we see him potentially fall.

So how will the Broncos maybe address linebacker or will they in this year's NFL draft?

We'll tell you what that may look like here on today's episode of the show.

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That's rocket money dot com slash locked on linebacker is a position to need for the Denver

Broncos.

When you factor in the death, but Denver, they've resigned just in sternad.

They've moved Jonah Ellis to off fall linebacker and Sean Peyton told us earlier this week.

It may or may not influence how they view in house prospects or this year's draft prospects

at both positions edge and inside linebacker.

But as I was telling you, when we're taking a look at maybe how the Broncos can approach

this draft based on deals that are expiring after this season or two seasons from now,

linebacker is one that doesn't necessarily have as many players there.

You've got level Bailey and you've got Drew Sanders.

Those are the two players whose deals are expiring after this season.

Everybody else, there's some cost control here for the team.

And so does that make linebacker a bigger priority?

I mean, with the depth that is there right now, though, I've been on the record and I

know Broncos country, you probably agree.

I think we've all felt a little unsteady about the lineback position and the depth of it.

I think just in sternad is going to be one of the starters.

There could be competition between Jonah Ellis and Alex Singleton for the starting job possibly.

If not, worst case scenario, Jonah Ellis is your third deep linebacker.

And then you've got some spots open there that the Broncos could revamp three or four pieces

after the summer, after a preseason or training camp here specifically.

So while Denver could add a linebacker and there certainly are a number of prospects as

Sean Payton said compared to other years, there seems to be a lot more at this position

than what the Broncos have typically seen in the last what two to three seasons in the

draft process here.

So that does give them flexibility to choose that certainly if they want to.

But I will say this here, tight end is also another position that we've talked about and

that is a bigger perceived need as well for many in the eyes of Broncos country.

Sean said that there are tight ends in this draft that are in line wise or there's the

undersized move around F types that if you wanted either those types of players, they have

some of those guys here.

Now, probably not anybody that's going to come in and be a day one starter for you.

Right and Denver, after the season has three players who are set to hit free agency.

Evan Ingram, as we know is in the last year of his deal, I know they resigned Lucas

Crow and Nate Adkins.

There's no guarantee that they even make it past summer, right?

They're going to have to win their jobs in training camp and then the preseason.

So this is very much a position that Denver can add to and I imagine they should add to

if they have an opportunity in that sweet spot.

In my opinion, Broncos country is anywhere between rounds two and then the two picks you

have in round four.

Are you going to pick a tight end in round two though?

I don't know if that's the pop the move.

I don't know if that's what I would do right here.

I may look to some other positions and then once I get to round four, I may go up to me.

I may go with a tight end and I may also go with a safety for keeping an eye on things

here.

So I think that's something we have to pay attention to as we obviously go Bob, but

even interior offensive line is going to be one that maybe Broncos country has to keep

an eye on here because Ben Powers is set to be a free agent after this year.

Garjulo is also set to be a free agent.

You have Alex Forsyte at the center position.

He set to be a free agent and then you also have Calvin Throckmorton as well.

So four potential offensive linemen that are set to become free agents or not be on the

roster after 2026.

You do have Frank Crumney of Alex Poucheski, but those guys are viewed as tackle prospects.

Now Poucheski is probably viewed more so as a guard tackle swing option, whereas I think

Crum is kind of viewed more so as a tackle period.

I think that's his spot.

And he played that jumbo package tackle where he played to the right side.

So he could play right.

He could play left.

He was the backup to Garrett bowls last season.

It would not surprise me if Denver looks to also add to this position because even after

not this upcoming season, but going into after the 2027 season, Mike McGlinch, he's going

to be a free agent himself.

And Denver may look to get younger.

They may look to bring in a guy early develop inside of this system that the Broncos believe

they're going to have intact, at least for the next couple of seasons.

That's very much how Denver could approach it.

So if I have to boil it down today, to me, it goes D line, go safety, it goes tied in

is probably the preferences of positional priority, as the Broncos go into the draft

this week.

Now, defensive line, I want to be on the record are saying do not be shocked Broncos

country.

If they go D line with the 62nd overall pick, there could be a good vibe swinging towards

that.

It's probably they also want the safety that they felt like it could be a game changer

for them, specifically inside of this attacking style of defense.

But for me, if I had to predict two and then the two fourth round picks, D line, tie it

in safety.

Those would be the three positions I think are going to get picked first in this order

of this year's NFL draft for the Broncos, specifically.

And I'm sure coming up this week, there's going to be some different rumblings across

the league, maybe impacting the Broncos.

We've already seen a couple of teams before the draft exchange players for picks ahead of

the whole process or even swapping picks at this point.

So how do the Broncos find themselves getting involved, unlikely on day one on Thursday,

but day two, there could be some fireworks and the Broncos could add a high impact player,

even at number 62 here.

And once again, planting my flag, I think it's going to be defensive line here.

Broncos country, let me know your thoughts.

Well, position you think Denver will go with next week at the NFL draft when they have

their first pick, presumably on Friday at 60 second overall.

Boy, that said that a wrap up today's bonus episode locked on Broncos Broncos country.

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So with that said Broncos country, we will see you on Monday for our final mock draft of

the year.

We'll see you in the next presentation for the build up for next Friday for the Broncos.

We'll see you then.

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