The Denver Broncos didn’t have the luxury of first- or third-round picks after dealing them away to acquire wide receiver Jaylen Waddle earlier this offseason. Instead, following another small move down the board, they opened the 2026 NFL draft at No. 66 overall and then spent the weekend grinding out value, adding seven players focused on the trenches, backfield depth, and tight end help.
The report cards are now in — and while the class didn’t blow anyone away, it earned mostly respectable grades. National analysts largely settled in the A- to B range, applauding Denver’s disciplined approach to filling needs while noting the obvious handicap of missing those early selections.
But there were a few subobtimal marks, too.
Let’s break it down.
NFL Media: A-
Giving them an A for Day 1, an A- for Day 2, and a B+ for Day 3, NFL.com draft analyst Chad Reuter was impressed by the Broncos’ practical approach to the tentpole event, correctly including their de facto first-round pick — Waddle — into the equation.
“Jaylen Waddle essentially serves as Denver’s first-round pick this year, given that the Broncos sent the No. 30 overall choice to Miami for the veteran receiver,” Reuter wrote. “That Waddle deal also included the Broncos’ third-round selection, so their only pick of Day 2 was Onyedim, chosen despite the availability of Missouri’s Chris McClellan (who was picked by the Packers at No. 77) to fill their need for an active, strong defensive lineman to replace departed free agent John Franklin-Myers.”
“Denver drafted Coleman with the fourth-round pick it acquired from New Orleans for receiver Devaughn Vele, adding a power runner to a deep running back group. Casey adds depth at tackle and guard for the Broncos. Joly and Bentley bolstered the tight end room. Linebacker depth was a need for the Broncos and Murdock’s intensity in the box should absolutely make him relevant even though he was the final pick of the 2026 draft.”
CBS Sports: A/B+
CBS Sports’ Josh Edwards took a more micro approach to the draft, grading each pick from all seven rounds. Edwards was particuarly favorable to Denver’s pair of fourth-round selections, running back Jonah Coleman and offensive lineman Kage Casey, giving them grades of B+ and A, respectively.
“Coleman is only the fourth running back to be taken in a historically down draft for the position. Denver adds to the room for the second consecutive year after taking R.J. Harvey a year ago,” Edwards wrote.
“Casey was announced as a tackle, but he has the capability to kick inside to guard like former Boise State Bronco Ezra Cleveland before him. Casey is a personal favorite at this stage.”
ESPN: C+
This is where the grades begin falling off a bit, as legendary ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. was less than blown away by the Broncos’ haul, which he admits was impacted by the acquisition of Waddle. Kiper assigned Denver a C+ mark.
“The downside is Denver was left with seven total selections and only one in the first three rounds (No. 62),” Kiper wrote. “Denver dropped back to No. 66 to add an additional sixth-rounder and took Tyler Onyedim. I heard some buzz on him in the lead-up to the draft, but it was of the “Day 3 sleeper” variety. I ranked Onyedim at No. 109 on my board, but Payton likes to get his guys on Day 2, value be damned. He could help fill the John Franklin-Myers void, playing at a similar weight (292 pounds, compared to 288 for JFM). But there’s no guarantee we see a similar pass-rush impact, as Onyedim had 5.5 sacks over 53 career games and is more of a run stopper.”
“Jonah Coleman is another option at running back, scoring 17 scrimmage touchdowns last season. Kage Casey can be a backup at offensive tackle, Justin Joly is a stretch option at tight end, and Mr. Irrelevant Red Murdock is a tackling machine. But there isn’t a ton to get super excited about here.”
PFF: C-
And here we find one of the worst (relatively speaking) grades splattered across the internet, with Pro Football Focus cumulatively assigning a C- mark to Denver’s 2026 rookie class. This qualifies as the aforementioned “yikes.”
The analytics giant, however, did highlight seventh-round linebacker Red Murdock as the club’s highest-graded selection.
“Murdock, No. 208 on the PFF Big Board, is coming off a massive 2025 campaign in which he earned a 91.2 overall grade — second among all linebackers — with elite marks across the board (91.3 run defense, 86.5 coverage, 82.2 tackling, 72.3 pass rush). He’s improved each season (70.1 in 2023, 74.8 in 2024) and has racked up 144 career stops, including 39 tackles for loss or no gain, 33 of which came against the run,” PFF noted.
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