Broncos Analyst Makes Telling Prediction For Team's 1st Round Movement

The Denver Broncos are in the fortunate spot where, outside of acquiring a new feature back to lead their rushing attack, there is no dire need at any positions. 

Whilst the focus will likely be on strengthening the offensive skill positions, with a tight end "joker" and receiver both likely alternatives to running back as the team's initial 2025 NFL Draft selection, there is no clear player that the Broncos will feel they need to target.
As such, the more interesting question could be not who the team choses, but rather where the team ends up picking.

The Denver Post's Parker Gabriel, in a draft mailbag, had some interesting thoughts on the Broncos' potential movement in the first round of the draft. 

"The Broncos could just stick and pick at No. 20. That’s probably the most likely scenario", Gabriel writes, "There’s plenty of reason to go your direction, Mike, and trade down. Several talented draft analysts think this is a year light on elite, top-end guys but filled with quality players...But if other teams have the draft pegged along a similar track, then why would they want to move up? That’s the practical inhibitor to moving back. It takes two to tango."

And whilst it would perhaps make more sense to move down, Gabriel suspects it is more likely that the team actually makes its way up the board.

"The Broncos also haven’t traded back, period, since [head coach, Sean Payton ]'s been here. They moved up for Marvin Mims Jr., Riley Moss and Troy Franklin, but they haven’t moved back...History tells us a Sean Payton-led organization is much more likely to trade up."

Although this is not a full-proof signal of anything to come, it is certainly an intriguing idea to put forward.

And in a draft where trading up could come at a discount, perhaps this could be yet another year for Sean Payton to once again trade up.