The Denver Broncos came into the 2026 NFL Draft with some of the least valuable capital in the league, but this team also had and still has one of the three best rosters in the NFL. The Jaylen Waddle trade depleted Denver of it's first and third-round picks, but adding Waddle was a masterful move to shore up the offense and give Bo Nix the necessary help.
The Broncos still managed to make the most of their selections, despite not picking across the first two rounds. Not only did Denver trade out of the second round, but they made another move, on Day 3, and traded up to draft Justin Joly, a tight end from NC State.
When you take a larger look at the team's draft class, it's obvious that Denver absolutely prioritized more of a needs-based approach than simply targeting the best player available.
More than previous years, the Denver Broncos clearly prioritized drafting for need
There is absolutely a different between drafting for need and drafting the best player available. The Broncos took the BPA approach in Round 1 of the 2025 NFL Draft, for example, taking Jahdae Barron, a cornerback from Texas.
A lot of people simply believe in filling up a roster with as many good players as possible, and while that is a fine method, it sometimes ends up neglecting other positions, and we did see that with the Broncos recently.
The Broncos had a much greater need at running back at the time. A needs-based pick would have been TreVeyon Henderson, for example. And we did end up seeing the downside of taking BPA, as Barron struggled to get on the field much at all as a rookie and does not have a clear path to a starting job entering year two.
Denver's roster is also plenty good enough to really focus in on the key positions that are lacking the most. This would give any roster in a similar position to the Broncos the best possible chance at improving what can be improved.
The Broncos added players at the most urgent positions of need, like tight end with Joly and Dallen Bentley, running back with Jonah Coleman, and linebacker with Red Murdock and even Taurean York, an undrafted free agent signing.
The Broncos also took Tyler Onyedim, another player who could fill a need along the defensive line after John Franklin-Myers departure. Guys like Kage Casey and Miles Scott are not going to be starters right away, but both could end up filling a future need as early as 2027, for example.
The front office made the right call this year to embrace a needs-based approach, and yes, it is very much possible for a player to be both the best player available on the board and also be a position of need. That very well could have been the case with Coleman at pick 108, for example.
This is such an ideal spot to be in, as well, as the Broncos know that they simply do not have major roster holes and have a huge advantage over a slew of other rosters in the NFL at this point.