Welcome to The Denver Post’s second Broncos mock draft of the offseason. The next installment will come the week of March 16, following the initial wave of NFL free agency.
What a difference a week in Indianapolis makes. The Broncos arrived at the NFL Combine last week with Sean Payton still publicly holding the play-sheet for Denver’s offense — only for Payton to announce he’ll step back as more of a CEO and hand the reins to 31-year-old Davis Webb.
How much will that impact the Broncos’ offseason approach? Probably very little, outside of Webb having a more active hand in Denver’s meetings with prospects and decision-making in the Broncos’ overall utilization of personnel. But Denver did its share of due diligence on skill prospects in Indianapolis, with a few potential early-round targets starting to generate some serious buzz.
The Broncos still have almost two months of pre-draft meetings to conduct and tape to grind, but their areas of interest are slightly clearer, afteeir Payton made clear Denver will take a hard look at repositioning itself at linebacker, running back and tight end. With that in mind and a week of intel collected, here’s The Denver Post’s second stab at a Broncos mock draft.
The Post’s Broncos reporters Parker Gabriel and Luca Evans spun through Pro Football Focus’s mock-draft simulator for this exercise, which is only one broad tool that doesn’t actually wholly measure the areas NFL teams might have interest. The parameters, again: no trades, and a look at other prospects considered in early slots.
Round 1, pick No. 30: WR Omar Cooper Jr., Indiana
The Post went with safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren in that aforementioned first mock draft. This pick is plenty more buzzy.
The case for Cooper is simple: he just caught 13 touchdowns for the national champion Indiana Hoosiers, has produced as both a heavy-outside and heavy-slot target in subsequent seasons, and is a legitimate after-the-catch weapon. The Broncos lacked a consistent threat over the middle in their passing game in 2025, and Cooper caught 25 of 28 targets for 352 yards and three touchdowns in the short and intermediate middle third of the field for Indiana last year, according to data compiled from Pro Football Focus.
He’s got sure hands, too, dropping just five passes in 171 targets at Indiana, according to PFF. If he can show the Broncos and Payton that he can stay on the field as a run-blocker, too, Cooper could be a hand-in-glove fit to help Bo Nix level up in 2026.
Other options considered: DT Peter Woods, Clemson; DT Lee Hunter, Texas Tech; WR Chris Bell, Louisville. The Post heavily considered going with a defensive tackle here, and Denver will sit in a prime position to grab an impact interior defensive lineman on Day 1. Woods and Hunter could be instant-impact guys to fill the void left by the likely departure of John Franklin-Myers. Bell, too, came away from the combine looking like a perfect fit for the Broncos and Payton in everything but health, as it’s unclear if he’ll be ready for training camp in 2026 after tearing his ACL late in the 2025 season. Bell has been mentioned here for two consecutive mocks now.
Round 2, pick No. 62: ILB Jacob Rodriguez, Texas Tech
Finally, The Post got its guy.
Rodriguez blew away most concerns about his frame (6-foot-1, 231 pounds) with a fantastic performance at the combine this week. A time of 6.9 seconds in the three-cone drill, which measures change-of-direction quickness, was the best of any linebacker that tested. Rodriguez spoke highly of an initial formal meeting with the Broncos in Indianapolis, too, calling the organization “really aligned” and praising how their staff asked him questions.
The only issue here: the guy who’s the most obvious in March is rarely the guy who actually comes off the board in April. And Rodriguez’s stock is so high that he could easily slide up boards into the back of the first round. Would the Broncos actually swing on him that high? Debatable. But he’s a great value here as Denver looks to retool its inside linebacker room.
Other options considered: RB Jadarian Price, Notre Dame. Honestly, nobody. This pick was the equivalent of Kevin Costner’s Sonny Weaver Jr. chucking that piece of paper onto the table that read “Vontae Mack no matter what” in the movie “Draft Day.” Jacob Rodriguez, no matter what, indeed. But The Post was pretty surprised to see Price still available at No. 62, and just wiped him from consideration entirely, since he could easily rise earlier in Day 2 or even at the back of Day 1 in a running back class that’s thin at the top.
Round 3, pick No. 94: T Austin Barber, Florida
It’s high time the Broncos actually swung on a high-upside offensive lineman who could be ready in the near future to step in as the successor to Garett Bolles or Mike McGlinchey. How about a five-year stalwart at Florida who became an elite run-blocker in 2025 (90.0 PFF grade) and was measured at 6-foot-7 at the combine?
Barber has a good amount of SEC-level snaps at both right tackle and left tackle in his collegiate career. He did struggle against upper-level competition like Miami and Texas A&M in 2025, though, with a combined 10 pressures allowed. He also finished near the bottom of the offensive-line pack in the 40-yard dash in Indianapolis (5.12 seconds). In immediate hindsight, this may have been a slight reach.
Other options considered: S Bud Clark, TCU. This will be an interesting spot for Denver to sit in, with the cream of the running back and linebacker crop likely to be off the board by this pick. The Post really wanted Washington RB Jonah Coleman here, but he came off the board a few picks earlier. The 6-foot-2 Clark could be a big-time riser after he ran a 4.41-second 40-yard dash and recorded a 38-inch vertical at the combine, and he’s got big-time ball production in college, with 15 interceptions in his last four years at TCU.
Round 4, pick No. 108: DL DeMonte Capehart, Clemson
Here’s the interior defensive-line pick. Capehart didn’t have much pass-rush production in college, with just four sacks in five years at Clemson, and never had a single season as a full-time starter. The athletic potential is off the charts, though, after a 4.85-second time in the 40-yard dash at the combine. Think of this pick like the Broncos’ upside swing in the middle round of 2025 on Sai’vion Jones and Que Robinson.
Other options considered: None, really. Most subsequent waffling came in forthcoming rounds.
Round 4, pick No. 130: TE Eli Raridon, Notre Dame
There’ll be a ton of mid-to-late-round tight-end options for the Broncos in this draft, and The Post swung on one here. Raridon makes quite a bit of sense for Denver as a TE able to line up and play on a variety of downs and alignments, with some receiving upside at 6-foot-6 and 245 pounds. He ran a solid 4.62-second 40-yard dash at the combine and has some legitimate after-the-catch juice as a receiver, with 32 catches for 482 yards for Notre Dame in 2025. Plus, he was a run-blocker on over half of his snaps.
Other options considered: WR Ja’Kobi Lane, USC; G Kobe Baynes, Kansas. This was shaping up as a two-offensive-lineman draft, but The Post wasn’t enthused by the available options at this slot. Lane would be highly intriguing in Payton’s offense, a 6-foot-4 target with ridiculous contested-catch ability and sneaky-good speed, but he might already be off the board at this slot.
Round 5, pick No. 168: CB Tacario Davis, Washington
When in doubt, it’s not a bad bet to plug the Broncos taking a swing on a toolsy cornerback, no matter the glut of DBs they currently have. A quick rundown: Davis is 6-foot-4 and ran a 4.41-second 40-yard-dash. That’s enough for some intrigue. His production in college has also been excellent, allowing a career 49.7% catch rate over three years at Arizona and one year at Washington. Davis could potentially develop at free safety, too, making him a low-risk but high-upside play at this slot.
Other options considered: RB Mike Washington Jr., Arkansas; S Michael Taaffe, Texas. Washington was going to be the pick here after going viral for breaking down in tears after recording the fastest 40-yard-dash for any running back at the combine, but Denver needs a running back it can trust in pass protection, and Washington surrendered seven pressures in just 81 pass-blocking snaps in 2025 (according to PFF). Taaffe is another potential safety option for Denver, and would bring continuity with former Texas teammate and close friend Jahdae Barron.
Round 7, pick No. 246: FB Eli Heidenrich, Navy
Round 7, pick No. 251: OG Caden Barnett, Wyoming
Round 7, pick No. 256: WR Hank Beatty, Illinois
Fullback time! After going through this exercise twice, there’s about a 1.3% chance that the Broncos actually keep all three of these picks and don’t use them to move up or down or around the league somewhere. If they do, though, Heidenreich is the exact kind of confusingly intriguing offensive weapon that makes sense for Sean Payton, as he totaled 1,440 yards from scrimmage with Navy in 2025. Denver already hit on a Wyoming offensive lineman a couple of years back in Frank Crum, and Barnett is a sleeper. Beatty would bring some return juice and slot potential.
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