The Denver Broncos targeted a specific type of player in the NFL Draft last month.
ESPN broke down one trait that all but one of the Broncos’ picks have in common.
They stayed put. They didn’t transfer. They saw out their college football careers at one school. Their first six picks all played at least 41 games at one school, and if they transferred at all, it was right away before their career got off the ground.
The only guy who Denver picked that had previously moved around a lot was seventh-round tight end Caleb Lohner, who played college basketball for two schools before getting onto the gridiron for one season at Utah.
Receiver Pat Bryant told ESPN: “I think maybe they like guys who stayed and worked through things at one place.”
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Cornerback Jahdae Barron, edge Sai’vion Jones and punter Jeremy Crawshaw all played more than 50 games at their school.
Bryant played 46 games at Illinois. R.J. Harvey, a future star at running back, played four seasons at Central Florida.
“It’s not by accident,” Broncos coach Sean Payton told ESPN. “There might be some coincidence in there, but in the overview, it’s not by accident. Not at all.”
The Broncos obviously aren’t opposed to players who starred at two different schools. Box Nix split his college career between Auburn and Oregon, and now he’s the face of the franchise.
But it certainly looks like in the case of a tie, the Broncos went with the guys who stuck around.
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