The Denver Broncos followed up their selection of running back R.J. Harvey with a wide receiver, taking Pat Bryant out of Illinois.
However, the pick stuck to the theme that the Broncos’ front office seems to be going with in this draft… take players no one expected us to take. The Broncos scored well for their first-round selection of Jahdae Barron. Though the value was great at the No. 20 spot, the pick was a surprise to many.
The selections of Harvey and Bryant are likely seen by most as surprises as well. ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. was not a fan of either pick in his post-round analysis.
I disagree with Kiper and scored the selection of Harvey high, but I won’t be as generous with the selection of Bryant, which appears to be a big reach.
It’s hard to question what George Paton and Sean Payton are doing with these picks. They are the ones spending hours evaluating them and they aren’t going against the grain to start trending on X/Twitter. Clearly, there is an aspect of Bryant’s game or something they see in his future development that they felt was the right fit for the team.
But it’s certainly questionable to pass on guys like Jaylin Noel and Elic Ayomanor, two players who not only graded higher according to every draft analyst but would also be great fits in this offense.
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Bryant has the physical size that Payton loves at 6-foot-2 and his ball skills are above-average. He caught 19 touchdown passes in college, including 10 last season. He is far from polished as a route runner and will need to prove that he can get separation at the next level, but he is a project that Payton is happy to take on.
Still, there were better players on the board who would have made a much more immediate impact this coming season.
Grade: C+
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