Now that the Broncos appear to be done making big splashes in free agency, our attention will turn toward the 2020 NFL draft.
Denver will have several needs to address in the draft, notably at wide receiver, cornerback, inside linebacker and on the offensive line and defensive line. The Broncos have 10 picks to use and it wouldn’t be surprising to see the team make a few trades on the weekend of the draft.
One move Denver will have to consider is trading up from the 15th overall pick, perhaps for a wide receiver. Because this year’s class is so deep at wide receiver, though, the Broncos might be wise to instead trade up for Clemson star defender Isaiah Simmons.
Simmons has been a popular pick for the Panthers in mock drafts. Last year, Devin Bush was a popular pick for Denver in mock drafts and the Steelers traded up with the Broncos to land Bush. Denver should consider doing the same with Carolina this year, trading up to land Simmons.
According to drafttek.com‘s draft pick value chart, the Panthers’ 7th overall pick is worth 1,500 points. So the Broncos might be able to land that pick by trading their first-round pick (No. 15; 1,050 points), two third-round picks (77; 205 and 83; 175) and their fourth-round pick (118; 58).
That would add up to 1,488, pretty close to the value for pick No. 7.
That might sound like a lot to move up, but Simmons could be worth it. He’s an inside linebacker who can play nickelback, dime backer, safety and cornerback. He can cover tight ends, running backs and wide receivers — he’s exactly what the Broncos’ defense needs.
And if the Panthers decide to go in a different direction, Denver wouldn’t have to give up as much draft capital to move up for Simmons a few picks later. For the sake of this example, though, let’s consider the trade we proposed above.
After trading four picks, the Broncos would still be left with picks in the second round (No. 46), the third round (No. 83), the fifth round (No. 178), the sixth round (181) and seventh round (Nos. 252 and 254). And if the team traded one or two picks from the 2021 draft, Denver would have even more draft capital remaining for this year’s draft.
What kind of players would the Broncos be missing out on if they gave up two third-round picks and a fourth-round pick? Here’s a look at the team’s third- and fourth-round picks in the last five drafts:
| Player | Round |
| DL Dre’Mont Jones | 3rd |
| RB Royce Freeman | 3rd |
| CB Isaac Yiadom | 3rd |
| LB Josey Jewell | 4th |
| WR DaeSean Hamilton | 4th |
| WR Carlos Henderson | 3rd |
| CB Brendan Langley | 3rd |
| DB Justin Simmons | 3rd |
| RB Devontae Booker | 4th |
| TE Jeff Heuerman | 3rd |
| OL Max Garcia | 4th |
Simmons is an excellent safety and Jones might start this season but the team has had more misses than hits in the third and fourth rounds of recent drafts. That’s not to say the team is guaranteed to miss in those rounds this year, but would you take three randomly selected players from the above chart over Simmons?
It’s worth emphasizing again that Denver could make the above trade and still have picks remaining in the second and third rounds. In my opinion, it would be a trade worth making. There’s no guarantee that Carolina would have any interest in that kind of deal, but the Broncos should find out.
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