The Post’s sports staff weighs in with grades on the Denver Broncos’ 2025 NFL draft.
Parker Gabriel, Broncos beat writer
Grade: B-
Yes, it’s a bit silly to grade a draft right after it ends. The real tale of the tape starts to unfold in the fall, but teams really want three years to evaluate a class. The Broncos get dinged a bit for not landing a tight end until No. 241 overall, though at some point there’s only so much a team can control about how the board falls. Points for staying true to the board in the first round and taking Jahdae Barron. Then they went to work moving around the board. It’ll never feel quite as buzzy when a quarterback’s not involved, but several players in this class can make an early impact for Sean Payton’s team.
Luca Evans, Broncos beat writer
Grade: B
Sure, the Broncos’ output from the past three days, relative to the amount of buzz in pre-draft mocks, looks kinda … bleh. Then you look a little deeper, and each pick makes sense in a vacuum. First-round pick Jahdae Barron can play at a variety of spots in the secondary and was a pretty solid value at No. 20. RJ Harvey can be the difference-maker in space at running back that Sean Payton covets. Pat Bryant is a big receiver with sure hands. And Denver added some defensive-line upside guys in Sai’vion Jones and Que Robinson. They could’ve used some more offensive-line depth and maybe a tight end, and Bryant and Robinson might’ve been slight reaches, but this was an overall combination of best-player-available and best-fit that grades out decent enough.
Troy Renck, sports columnist
Grade: B-
There’s no fault in the Broncos taking Jahdae Barron in the first round. The value was impossible to pass up. But the lack of aggression in addressing the running back, wide receiver and tight end positions remains puzzling. Denver had multiple chances to move up for a tight end or even to take local kid Gunnar Helm on Day 3. What are the Broncos going to do if Evan Engram gets hurt? For this draft to pay off, the onus is on RJ Harvey to develop into an impact player as a rookie.
Sean Keeler, sports columnist
Grade: B
What happened to giving Bo Nix as many weapons as possible? Barron was an eyebrow-raiser, given the offensive talent on the board at the time. Harvey is a potential home run every time he touches the ball, but sometimes plays smaller than he’s listed and didn’t look like a prototypical three-down back at UCF. Bryant felt like a reach, but based on last year’s rookie haul, I’ve learned to give the law firm of Payton & Paton the benefit of the doubt when it comes to picks from rounds 2-6.
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