Report: Broncos Sign First-Round CB Jahdae Barron

As Klis reports, Barron will garner "roughly" $9.8 million in a signing bonus. As the No. 20 overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft, he'll get a four-year deal worth $18.05 million, and the Broncos will, of course, retain the prerogative of exercising a fifth-year option down the road.

The Barron signing comes as welcome relief to a fan base that has increasingly worried about the situation. He was one of just two 2025 first-round draft picks who remained unsigned this deep into the offseason.

However, with Barron officially in the fold, that's a concern that Broncos Country can now dispense with. All eyes will now turn to the unsigned status of second-round running back RJ Harvey.

Entering this week, with many rookie classes reporting for training camp across the NFL, 30 of the 32 rookies drafted in the second round are unsigned. The sticking point is guaranteed money.

After the Houston Texans guaranteed the full four-year contract of their second-round wideout Jayden Higgins, the remaining rookie players drafted in Round 2 have understandably held out in hopes of also getting such a deal. As Over The Cap's Jason Fitzgerald wrote this week, it's unlikely that NFL teams will bend to that request for all 32 players drafted in the second round this year, although the tension could lead to some teams capitulating.

Harvey's outlook for negotiating a fully guaranteed contract is a bit grimmer, considering that he's the No. 60 overall pick in the draft, and one of the last players taken in Round 2. Hopefully, Barron's signing serves as a harbinger that the Harvey and the Broncos are on the brink of an accord, so that the team's full 2025 draft class can hit the ground running and report to training camp on time.

Both Barron and Harvey participated in the Broncos' entire offseason training program unsigned. It was a tremendous show of good faith, and that goodwill will hopefully translate to all parties being satisfied.

The Broncos plan to rely heavily on their first two 2025 draft picks. Barron projects as the team's day-one nickel cornerback between Patrick Surtain II and Riley Moss on the boundary.

Harvey is expected to forge one half of the Broncos' one-two punch at running back, alongside newcomer veteran J.K. Dobbins. Harvey and Ashton Jeanty were the two most explosive running backs in the FBS last season, and that's an attribute that Denver's rushing offense has sorely lacked for years.

If Harvey is delayed in participating in training camp due to his contract, the good news is that, as a running back, he has one of the less-arduous learning curves among the different positions. Traditionally, anyway. Still, the sooner the Broncos get the Harvey business done, the better.

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When it comes to the Broncos' first-rounder and the reigning Jim Thorpe Award winner, fans can now exhale. Barron is locked up.

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