And while the Broncos bypassed adding a running back with the 20th-overall pick — as many mock drafts suggested they would — the team still plans to add at that position as the draft continues.
"You never know, but we feel pretty good we'll get a runner in this draft," General Manager George Paton said. "There's just a lot of them. If there's not, then we'll sign one after the draft, [and] they'll sign as a free agent. There are a lot of good players left in the draft, and we feel good with where we're at."
Paton did acknowledge the Broncos had "a runner that we considered in that range," but he said the team likely would have traded back to select that player. Denver ultimately could not pass up cornerback Jahdae Barron's talent when the team was on the clock at No. 20.
Just two running backs came off the board in Round 1, as Ashton Jeanty went sixth to the Raiders and Omarion Hampton was chosen at No. 22 by the Chargers. According to ESPN's positional rankings, Ohio State's TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins, Iowa's Kaleb Johnson, Arizona State's Cam Skattebo and Tennessee's Dylan Sampson are the top remaining running backs available.
"There's depth at running back," Head Coach Sean Payton said after the round.
The Broncos' decision to bypass a running back with their initial pick and select Barron was also reflective of the strength of the draft.
"You look at this year's draft, we felt like it was a thin year at some of the defensive backs position," Payton said. "We watched film for the better part of three hours today, [saying], 'If we get this player offensively, all right, great. If we don't, here's a clump, here's a clump, here's a clump.' There's depth in some other positions."
Payton said Thursday the second and third round of the draft are "the honey hole" of the 2025 draft, and the Broncos have previously talked about that area as the strongest part of the draft.
On Friday, with a pair of picks at No. 51 and No. 85, the Broncos will aim to take advantage. In recent years, the Broncos have added Pro Bowlers and All-Pros on Day 2, including Quinn Meinerz, Nik Bonitto and Marvin Mims Jr. In 2025, the plan could include selecting one of the top remaining running backs.
In the first round, though, Denver picked a dynamic player that will only solidify its secondary.
"[There are] a lot of offensive players, a lot of weapons left," Paton said. "We got a weapon on defense [in the] first round."
