There are not very many mock drafts, if any at all, that had Jahdae Barron going to the Denver Broncos in the first round. But not many thought he would fall out of the top 15. Since he did, the Broncos are going to be loaded.
They have a strong chance of finishing the 2025 season with the NFL’s top defense. Last year, they led the league in sacks. This offseason, they bolstered their roster with key additions like Dre Greenlaw and former All-Pro Talanoa Hufanga, just to name a few former San Francisco 49ers who helped make their team as elite as it was.
Beyond these moves, the Broncos also expect significant growth from existing players. Young talents like Riley Moss and Nik Bonitto are poised to make bigger contributions, too, as they are already key players on the team that is very young. The Broncos are looking up for the future.
But specifically, the addition of Barron cannot be overstated. He's going to make this maybe the best cornerback room in the league, and give the Philadelphia Eagles' cornerback room a run for its money. But first, Barron has to get through the offseason. At rookie minicamp this weekend, head coach Sean Payton has already learned everything about Barron that he saw on tape.
“The same things again. We’re putting in some base coverages. I would say [he is] exactly what we saw on tape: smart, savvy. If you’re watching closely, some people transition and stop very quickly. He has really quick twitch. I’d say he’s sticky in coverage. I think he’s one of those players that already at a young age, understands splits," Payton told reporters on Saturday.
"I worry sometimes with the corners that… If you’re defending every route, you’re defending no route. He’s really savvy as to a tight split, he eliminates 80 percent of what could be run. You feel a veteran player.”
For Payton to say that Barron, a guy who hasn't played a snap yet, reminds him of a veteran based on some of the traits he has, means the Broncos drafted a good one. It's things like that that you really look for when you're evaluating if you're going to take a certain player or not. It's not always about athletic ability.
It's also about the type of person you're getting. And, we have all heard that Barron is the type of guy, the type of person, that you want on your team. Sean Payton hasn't learned anything about Barron that he didn't already know.
