The Denver Broncos got what they wanted in the first round of the draft last night. The Broncos didn’t have a pick, but one of the two elite tight ends in this draft remained available, so now it’s up to coach Sean Payton and GM George Paton to decide if they want to take the big swing to get him.
The available tight end is Eli Stowers of Vanderbilt, and he’s listed as one of the ten best positional fits for the Broncos by Luca Evans of the Denver Post. The one who got away is Kenyon Sadiq, who was selected by the New York Jets at No. 16, but that was expected.
It’s all on the Broncos now, based on what they’ve said leading up to draft day. Payton was true to his word about not moving up to the first round based on the amount of draft capital it would take, but he did say moving up from No. 62 was a possibility today.
Paton, meanwhile, has stated that the Broncos are evaluating approximately six prospects in the 45-75 range. It would take a big swing to move up and take Stowers, and Evans suggested the Philadelphia Eagles as a trade partner to do that, with multiple picks being exchanged to jump the line on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (No. 46) and Carolina Panthers (No. 51), as he labeled both teams with a major need at tight end.
There are plenty of other possibilities, of course. Evans mentioned several, including tight end Max Klare of Ohio State, running back Mike Washington Jr. of Arkansas and linebackers CJ Allen of Georgia and Jacob Rodriguez of Texas Tech.
They’re all good players, of course, and Payton praised Klare for his versatility. But the Broncos already have plenty of blocking tight ends, and they also have depth at linebacker. A source Evans used said "some team will take (Washington) higher than they should" because of his size and speed, which sounds more than a little ominous.
Sometimes the obvious move is both the right one and the one that’s necessary, and that’s the case here. The Broncos didn’t get what they wanted from Evan Engram last year, so they still need a receiving tight end to complement their super-charged receiving group after making the trade for Jaylen Waddle. Denver can cut ties with Engram for a relatively small amount of money after June 1, and Stowers feels like the perfect fit to step into his slot.