Broncos Projected to Land Two 2026 Compensatory Draft Picks

This offseason's free agency period saw the Denver Broncos lose some starters while gaining a few more. This annual incoming-outgoing process informs a team's outlook for compensatory draft picks awarded by the NFL.

According to NFL.com's Lance Zierlein, the Broncos should be in line for two seventh-round compensatory picks in 2026. Here's how the arithmetic shakes out.

The Broncos lost two starters and a specialist in running back Javonte Williams, linebacker Cody Barton, and punter Riley Dixon. Backup quarterback Zach Wilson also departed to Miami.

Meanwhile, the Broncos signed safety Talanoa Hufanga, linebacker Dre Greenlaw, and tight end Evan Engram. While defining which incoming and outgoing free agents qualify as 'top' losses or gains can be complicated and based on the contracts handed out, the way Zierlein sees it, the scales fall in Denver's favor to the tune of a pair of 2026 seventh-round compensatory picks.

"The top two additions and top two losses cancel each other out, earning Denver seventh-rounders for the departures of Dixon and Williams," Zierlein wrote.

Paton's Seventh-Round Success Stories

Let's say it pans out as Zierlein forecasts; the Broncos have made some magic in the seventh round under GM George Paton. The shining success story is 2021 seventh-round linebacker Jonathon Cooper, who fell in the draft due to concerns about a heart condition.

The Broncos were able to land a Day 2-caliber prospect in Round 7, and following a corrective heart procedure later that spring, Cooper went on to become a starter and key cog on defense. He posted a career-high 10.5 sacks last year, and the Broncos rewarded him with a lucrative second contract.

In the 2024 draft, Paton drafted wideout Devaughn Vele. He was an older prospect at 26 years old, but the Broncos drafted him and he would go on to unseat Tim Patrick in the wide receiver pecking order, start seven games, and catch 41 passes for 475 yards and a trio of touchdowns.

The jury is still out on Vele, and we've yet to see this year's seventh-round tight end Caleb Lohner even take the field as a Bronco, but Sean Payton seems more excited than one would typically expect in an inexperienced, developmental guy with upside. It's like Payton already has a plan in place for the 6-foot-7 Lohner — a former college basketball star — but time will tell.

What it Means

Garnering a pair of compensatory seventh-round picks isn't anything to sneeze at. The NFL draft is a crapshoot, and the odds of hitting get slimmer the deeper into the rounds that it goes, and yet, the teams that consistently compete tend to have one thing in common beyond the quarterback/head coach combo: the guy spearheading the draft approach in the front office hits on more of those crapshots than he misses.

With five classes under his belt as a general manager, Paton has already proven to be among that short list of savvy front-office draft artists. Adding two additional comp seventh-rounders means two extra darts for this uncannily accurate thrower to hit the bullseye.

Key Broncos Paton has Drafted

Beyond the aforementioned trio of players, here are the headliners from Payton's four draft classes prior to 2025. We can't really analyze the 2025 crop because they've yet to even play a snap.

• Patrick Surtain II | CB | Round 1 (2021)
• Javonte Williams | RB | Round 2 (2021)
• Quinn Meinerz | OG | Round 3 (2021)
• Nik Bonitto | OLB | Round 2 (2022)
• Luke Wattenberg | IOL | Round 5 (2022)
• Marvin Mims Jr. | WR | Round 2 (2023)
• Riley Moss | CB | Round 3 (2023)
• Bo Nix | QB | Round 1 (2024)

Note that Denver's two foundational/cornerstone players — Surtain and Nix — were both drafted by Paton. Players to have earned Pro Bowl or All-Pro honors include Surtain, Meinerz, Bonitto, Mims, and almost Nix. I say almost because Nix finished as an alternate and received an invite to actually participate in the Pro Bowl games in January (which would have counted as an accolade on his NFL resume), but declined due to an offseason surgery.

The short list above also neglects to mention the core group of youngsters still competing and contributing to the depth of the Broncos roster, like defensive linemen Eyioma Uwazurike and Matt Henningsen, cornerback Damarri Mathis, safeties Delarrin Turner-Yell and JL Skinner, linebacker Drew Sanders, offensive lineman Alex Forsyth, rush linebacker Jonah Elliss, wideout Troy Franklin, cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine, and running back Audric Estime. Each of these names contributed significantly to Denver's 10-win playoff campaign last season, except Sanders, who was injured for most of the year.

Recommended Articles

The core of the Broncos' roster was drafted by Paton and developed by Payton's coaching staff. More darts to throw at the board increases the likelihood of Paton and Payton finding another Cooper or Vele in the seventh round.