In the days leading into the NFL draft, most of the heavy lifting in terms of scouting and building a draft board is completed.
The last sets of decisions, however, can be the ones that make or break draft classes. Broncos general manager George Paton, coach Sean Payton and their staffs have spent the past several days working through “clusters” of players they see as having similar value. Included is a list of players Denver would consider trading up for.
“It’s easy to obtain draft capital, generally speaking,” Payton said last week. “If you want to move back, you can. Or forward, you can. If you choose to move forward, it’s because there is someone you really like. If you chose to move back, there is a feeling that maybe the player we would select at the current slot, we can select a few picks later.
“If the value is right relative to a trade, you can always acquire picks.”
Players slide up and down the board regularly as teams work through their process, but in the bigger, public picture, not much has changed since The Post’s first attempt at a mock draft a couple of weeks ago.
Rather than roll through the same selections or pick different players at the same spots, let’s use the final mock draft before the real thing as an exercise in moving up and moving back. Instead of making picks at No. 67 and No. 68 in the third round, this time we won’t actually select a player with either.
Instead, we trade No. 67 up and No. 68 down and end up with six total selections rather than five. On the Jimmy Johnson trade value chart, we start with 631.3 points and end up with 630.8, so this is an even amount of draft capital deployed differently.
OK, let’s do it.
No. 60: Edge Tuli Tuipulotu, USC
Trade: No. 67 and No. 139 to Cincinnati for No. 60
In this situation, moving up eight spots at the cost of a fifth-round pick ensures that a run of edge rushers doesn’t get by late in the second round without Denver’s involvement. If the Broncos end up being able to stand pat at No. 67 and pick up a guy they like – we had Ohio State’s Zach Harrison in the initial mock – all the better. Here, Denver gets the Pac-12 defensive player of the year in Tuipulotu (6-foot-3, 266 pounds). He had a monster 2022 season for the Trojans, finishing with 22 tackles for loss and 13.5 sacks.
Of course, we don’t know who the Broncos might be willing to push even more chips in for, but Alabama running back Jahmyr Gibbs draws comparisons to New Orleans standout Alvin Kamara, whom Payton traded up for despite a relatively settled running back room in 2017. Gibbs could be out of reach if he goes in, say, the top 35 picks. If he gets into the 40s, perhaps Green Bay would entertain dealing No. 42. In order to avoid dealing both third-rounders, Denver could dip into its 2024 picks and offer No. 67 and No. 108 this year and one of its two third-rounders in 2024. Would that get it done? Then Denver would get its guy but also be down to four remaining picks and likely trading down later. Instead, we’re going with the more modest trade-up in this rendition.
No. 99: Running back Devon Achane, Texas A&M
Trade: No. 68 and No. 195 to San Francisco for No. 99, No. 101, No. 155 and No. 164
All right, we’ve got moving pieces. This might look like an odd trade on the surface, but here’s the rationale for each side. Denver’s is easy: They’re pick deficient, so they turn two into four and stay in a mostly useful portion of the draft. San Francisco, meanwhile, has 12 selections thanks to its haul of supplemental picks, but none before No. 99. So, general manager John Lynch turns some of that quantity into quality by moving up 31 spots in the third round.
As for the pick, it is certainly possible that Achane will be gone by this point in the draft. We’ll all find out together. It essentially depends on what teams are looking for at running back after Texas star Bijan Robinson and Gibbs. Want an all-around, three-down type? Maybe UCLA’s Zach Charbonnet. Maybe you prefer Tulane’s Tyjae Spears or Texas’ Roschon Johnson or Auburn’s Tank Bigsby.
Achane would give Payton a weapon out of the backfield thanks to his speed (4.32 in the 40-yard dash), elusiveness and ability to catch the ball (60 catches the past two years). We didn’t get a running back into the first mock, but this time it works.
No. 101: Defensive lineman Colby Wooden, Auburn
The Broncos add a second defensive front seven player in Wooden, who tested well at the NFL Combine (4.79 seconds in the 40-yard dash at 6-4 and 273 pounds). He started 36 games over the past three seasons at Auburn and had 11.5 tackles for loss and six sacks in 2022. Denver is hoping for second-year jumps from a pair of young defensive linemen in Eyioma Uwazurike and Matt Henningsen but could use more youth and athleticism in the group overall.
No. 108: Offensive tackle Blake Freeland, BYU
Same pick as the first mock draft here. Freeland is huge (6-8, 302 pounds) and, outside a rash of injuries, the Broncos wouldn’t be asking him to step right into a starting role. Instead, a year of development with offensive line coach Zach Strief in 2023. Teams shuffle money around all the time, but current 2024 salary cap numbers up front include $18.5 million and $15.25 million for newcomers Mike McGlinchey and Ben Powers, respectively, and $20 million for tackle Garett Bolles in what would be the last year of his contract. The time to address the future of the tackle position is now, whether it’s Freeland, Alabama’s Tyler Steen, Utah’s Braeden Daniels or somebody else.
No. 155: Cornerback Garrett Williams, Syracuse
In the first run at this, Denver grabbed South Carolina corner Darius Rush in the third round. This time, secondary help ends up waiting. Williams is smaller than Rush, at 5-10, 192 pounds at the Combine. He tore his ACL in October and as such wasn’t able to work out during the pre-draft process. It’s not surprising, then, that the Broncos had him on a 30-visit recently. Many of the players they bring in have medical questions and the visit gives an opportunity for further evaluation.
No. 164: Tight end Payne Durham, Purdue
Maybe the Broncos will decide to move back again from either No. 155 or here and collect a couple of extra chips. In the first mock draft, we selected Durham at No. 195. He’s got the potential to be an all-around type tight end and can play in-line or in the slot. He’s not the most dynamic passing game threat in a deep tight end class – 4.87 seconds in the 40-yard dash – but he caught 101 passes for 1,027 yards and 14 touchdowns over the past two seasons for the Boilermakers. In a group that currently includes Greg Dulcich and Albert Okwuegbunam, the Broncos need a young tight end with blocking chops that can be developed.
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