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May 10, 2025; Englewood, CO, USA; Denver Broncos wide receiver Pat Bryant (13) during rookie minicamp at Broncos Park Powered by CommonSpirit. Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Broncos Rookie WR Pat Bryant: 'When the Ball Is in the Air, it's Mine'

Originally posted on Denver Broncos on SI
By Keith Cummings | Last updated May 12, 2025 11:58 AM ET

Denver Broncos rookie wide receiver Pat Bryant certainly fits the profile of a Sean Payton wide receiver, standing at 6-foot-2 and 204 pounds, and the head coach even compared him to former New Orleans Saints Pro Bowler Michael Thomas.

Plenty of headroom will be required in the Broncos receivers' meeting room, as quarterback Bo Nix has been given a plethora of 6-foot-plus targets in 2025. Had the Broncos gone with a receiver in Round 1, it might not have generated as much surprise as actually selecting Texas cornerback Jahdae Barron did.

Nevertheless, the Broncos waited until Round 3 before they selected Bryant from Illinois with the 74th pick, but many draft analysts subsequently expressed an opinion that it was a bit of a reach. Nevertheless, the 22-year-old from Jacksonville, FL, has arrived in the Mile High City with no shortage of confidence that his proven physical style of play can fit well with what the Broncos are looking for.

"Just being that physical route receiver. At Illinois, I earned my way onto the field being that blocking guy and physical guy," Bryant said on Saturday during Broncos rookie minicamp. "Kind of add that to the catching game and really all aspects of my game. Really using my size as an advantage will help me at this next level."

Despite a great deal of the experts not even placing Bryant in their top 100 projects, the Broncos were enamored by that big catch radius in particular. He displayed one of his core strengths during the early going in rookie minicamp, and against, of all people, the first-rounder, Barron.

"When the ball is in the air, it's mine," Bryant said. "That was great coverage by Jahdae. Of course, we're teammates and take care of each other, but those are the catches that I have to make to be successful at this level."

Third-round WR Pat Bryant going through individual drills pic.twitter.com/MOJoSfpfaF
— Parker Gabriel (@ParkerJGabriel) May 10, 2025

No footage of the Bryant vs. Barron matchups exist. But the rookie wideout definitely wowed onlookers.

Forging his own steel against Barron's coverage skills, which Coach Payton called "sticky" only the other day, will do much to help Bryant get some increased reps over the summer months. Even so, it all felt natural and comfortable for Bryant as he stepped up to the pro ranks. 'Baller' DNA happens to drip off the Broncos' new receiver.

"Once I put the helmet back on, I felt like the same Pat Bryant that I have been my whole life," Bryant said. "Finally getting back to football. I'm happy. It's the game I love. I'm excited to get back onto that grass and play ball."

First look at Pat Bryant in a Broncos uniform pic.twitter.com/sPLTOQ8XbQ
— DNVR Broncos (@DNVR_Broncos) May 10, 2025

Making a splashy catch or two certainly serves a greater purpose, but once the pads go on during training camp, seeing Bryant's blocking skills we've heard so much about should be interesting.

As far as working himself progressively up the Broncos depth chart goes, Bryant buckling down and doing the necessary dirty work will prove to be important moving forward. After all, it was another main reason why the Broncos front office drafted him so highly, especially when others may have passed.

The Broncos' shopping list in the NFL draft looked significantly different in that they were looking to create overloads in certain aspects of their passing game. Keeping the chains moving and converting in the red zone efficiently means Payton will play a little bully-boy basketball in the paint this year, if you'll pardon the mixed-sports metaphor.

Guys like Bryant, who can box out defenders and make the big contested catches, become worth their weight in gold to the Broncos, and the value to Nix, in particular, just went up.

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