Broncos' Draft Class Given Curious Grade by NFL.com

The Denver Broncos have garnered mixed reviews on their 2025 draft haul, with the predominant feedback being that they 'reached' on too many picks. 'Reached,' of course, means the Broncos drafted a player far earlier than they were ranked by the media consensus.

Obviously, the Broncos aren't losing any sleep over media consensus or grades. Still, it makes for fun offseason fodder, and if you're like us, you're interested in learning how the NFL at large views the Broncos' draft class.

NFL.com's draft analyst Chad Reuter gave the Broncos an A for Day 1, a C+ for Day 2, and a B for Day 3.

• Round 1, Pick 20: Jahdae Barron | CB | Texas
• Round 2, Pick 60: RJ Harvey | RB | UCF
• Round 3, Pick 74: Pat Bryant | WR | Illinois
• Round 3, Pick 101: Sai’vion Jones | DL | LSU
• Round 4, Pick 134: Que Robinson | OLB | Alabama
• Round 6, Pick 216: Jeremy Crawshaw | P | Florida
• Round 7, Pick 241: Caleb Lohner | TE | Utah

"The Broncos found great value in Barron, who can play wherever he’s needed in the secondary. They met needs at running back, receiver and on the defensive line on Day 2, though Harvey and Bryant were not my most highly rated available players at their positions," Reuter wrote. "Robinson had a hard time earning defensive snaps for much of his career at Alabama, but he will play special teams and could develop into a designated pass rusher. The departure of Riley Dixon pushed the Broncos to select Crawford, a strong-legged kicker. Lohner's a former BYU and Baylor basketball player. He’s a project worthy of a seventh-round investment."

It's encouraging to hear Reuter concur with the Broncos that Lohner is "worthy" of a seventh-round flyer. That's one of those late-round dice rolls that could end up paying huge dividends for the Broncos, but just as likely, it could redound to nothing much more than a blip in the dustbin of history.

Time will tell, but Sean Payton has already gushed about Lohner's developmental upside, so if the towering former basketball star can embrace the blocking tutelage he'll receive from the Broncos, the sky is the limit. Meanwhile, Denver has veteran 'joker' tight end Evan Engram to help keep the offense going, backed by other vets like Adam Trautman, Nate Adkins, and Lucas Krull.

Nobody in the NFL media sphere panned the Broncos for the Barron pick because, frankly, few expected him to be on the board at No. 20 overall. The first-round value was too good to pass up on, and the Broncos aren't a team to step over a dollar to pick up a dime just because it's gleaming in the sun.

The curious grade is Reuter's C+ for Day 2, which is the meat of where the critics say Denver reached. Specifically, on Harvey and Bryant.

However, the NFL rumor mill reveals that Denver wasn't the only team with a second-round grade on Harvey. Bryant's selection in Round 3, though, is a little bit more difficult to defend within the scope of the "consensus."

But at the end of the day, Bryant resonated with Payton and the Broncos, and that's what matters most. There's a vision for Bryant at Broncos HQ, so when it comes to the consensus rankings and grades, the team's attitude is 'damn the torpedoes.'

Reuter didn't make mention of Jones at the end of Round 3, but he's another player with the opportunity to be viewed in hindsight as a massive draft steal. The Broncos' D-line has many outgoing players post-2025, and Jones will get the chance to help fill that void.

Robinson could end up also being viewed at a grander scale through the fullness of time, in a way similar to, say, Jonathon Cooper, who was a seventh-rounder in 2021, albeit, but has gone on to become a double-digit sack artist and the recipient of a second contract.

The Broncos needed a punter and they opted to draft the best guy in the class in Crawshaw. Better to invest a late-round pick than risk him going undrafted and having to negotiate with other interested suitors on the priority free-agent market.

For what's it worth, I gave the Broncos' draft class a B grade, as listeners of the Mile High Huddle Podcast know. But that's rendered without seeing a single one of these players take an NFL snap. Grading classes is part of the NFL media-scape and always will be, but we won't truly know how the Broncos' 2025 haul will be judged until at least three years down the line.