Leading up to the first round of the 2025 NFL draft, there were several reports (and plenty of rumors) that the Denver Broncos could make a big splash by trading up.
Hours before the draft, reports emerged that Denver was attempting to move up. The Athletic’s Dianna Russini went to the extent of reporting the Broncos were “making an aggressive push to get into the top 10.”
That led to speculation that Denver might have been aiming to trade up to select Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty, but he went to the Las Vegas Raiders at No. 6 and the Broncos ended up staying put at No. 20.
It’s unclear if Denver changed course after Jeanty (or someone else) went off the board, or if they merely had exploratory trade-up talks or perhaps the reports were simply inaccurate.
Following the first round, coach Sean Payton claimed the team did not look into trading up.
“We felt like this was a pick-at-our-number or possibly move back year based on how the board set,” Payton said, via the Denver Post. “All the teams up [the draft board] were looking to move back.”
Payton went on to suggest that Day 2 of the draft could be a sweet spot to land talent at a good value.
“[GM] George [Paton] just alluded to it, where you’re at tonight, now in the stretch tomorrow and in the next two rounds, there are a lot of football players that would be, as you went around the league, would have similar grades,” Payton said.
“Obviously, the further out you go round-wise, it’s kind of like buckshot that it spreads, but I think you’re hitting a little bit of maybe the honey hole of this draft and tomorrow’s first and even into tomorrow’s second and even into the third round.”
So, regardless of whether or not the Broncos actually did not attempt to trade up, they believe they are in a good position going into Rounds 2-3 on Friday evening after staying put on Thursday and retaining their remaining draft picks.
Related: These 25 celebrities are Broncos fans.
This article originally appeared on Broncos Wire: Sean Payton says Broncos didn’t attempt to trade up in 1st round
Leading up to the first round of the 2025 NFL draft, there were several reports (and plenty of rumors) that the Denver Broncos could make a big splash by trading up.
Hours before the draft, reports emerged that Denver was attempting to move up. The Athletic’s Dianna Russini went to the extent of reporting the Broncos were “making an aggressive push to get into the top 10.”
That led to speculation that Denver might have been aiming to trade up to select Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty, but he went to the Las Vegas Raiders at No. 6 and the Broncos ended up staying put at No. 20.
It’s unclear if Denver changed course after Jeanty (or someone else) went off the board, or if they merely had exploratory trade-up talks or perhaps the reports were simply inaccurate.
Following the first round, coach Sean Payton claimed the team did not look into trading up.
“We felt like this was a pick-at-our-number or possibly move back year based on how the board set,” Payton said, via the Denver Post. “All the teams up [the draft board] were looking to move back.”
Payton went on to suggest that Day 2 of the draft could be a sweet spot to land talent at a good value.
“[GM] George [Paton] just alluded to it, where you’re at tonight, now in the stretch tomorrow and in the next two rounds, there are a lot of football players that would be, as you went around the league, would have similar grades,” Payton said.
“Obviously, the further out you go round-wise, it’s kind of like buckshot that it spreads, but I think you’re hitting a little bit of maybe the honey hole of this draft and tomorrow’s first and even into tomorrow’s second and even into the third round.”
So, regardless of whether or not the Broncos actually did not attempt to trade up, they believe they are in a good position going into Rounds 2-3 on Friday evening after staying put on Thursday and retaining their remaining draft picks.
Related: These 25 celebrities are Broncos fans.
This article originally appeared on Broncos Wire: Sean Payton says Broncos didn’t attempt to trade up in 1st round
