The 2026 NFL draft begins Thursday in Pittsburgh, and it continues with Rounds 2-3 on Friday and Rounds 4-7 on Saturday (ESPN, ABC and ESPN the app). The Denver Broncos do not have a first-round pick, with their first selection coming at No. 62 overall in Round 2.
The Broncos have seven total picks: Nos. 62, 108, 111, 170, 246, 256 and 257. But how will they use them? Which positions need to be addressed? Which prospects are coming in for visits and getting buzz with the Denver front office and coaching staff?
Broncos reporter Jeff Legwold has the latest intel on the team's draft plans, potential targets and more in the lead-up to the 2026 draft.
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Paton talks reality with Broncos and Day 1 options
Tuesday, April 21: The Broncos themselves expect to be likely interested observers when the draft opens Thursday. With no first-round pick (their No. 30 pick was part of the Jaylen Waddle trade), no third-round picks and the No. 62 pick as their first selection of the draft weekend, the Broncos lack the firepower to get back in the first round even if they see a player they covet come down the board.
"You never say never, but it's unlikely," Broncos general manager George Paton said. "It would cost quite a haul for us to get up there. Most of our draft we would have to trade and then something next year. I would say that it's unlikely, but we could certainly move up in the second [round]."
Even a move in the second round would likely cost Denver at least one of its fourth-round picks (Nos. 108 and 111) and the fourth is the only round in which the Broncos have a pick in the upper half of the round. So, they will be limited in their potential movements in both Day 1 and Day 2 and have dialed in on the prospects -- a list they think is six players at the moment -- they believe will be available at No. 62.
Three players Broncos could trade up for
Tuesday, April 14: With no first-round pick at the moment, part of the Broncos' final draft prep this week is to determine what players they would consider a trade up the board to select. Of the confirmed top-30 visits they've had there are three players that would likely require a potential move up from pick No. 62.
Given the trade for Jaylen Waddle, the visit by wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr. (Indiana) -- a first-round pick for many in the league -- is the most intriguing. That would likely require a significant move at a position where they just made their most significant transaction of the offseason. But tight ends Eli Stowers (Vanderbilt) and Max Klare (Ohio State) could also require a decision of whether the Broncos need to move up.
It's a decision that could be made even more difficult because, like most teams, the Broncos do not want to surrender any picks in a 2027 draft that is regarded as deep.
Tight end targets to watch
Thursday, April 9: The Broncos are scheduled to start their draft later than everyone else, as their first pick doesn't come until No. 62 overall -- late in the second round. But a team that needs more impact from its tight ends could have a couple in play at that selection. Max Klare (Ohio State) and Eli Stowers (Vanderbilt) have the potential to be on the board toward the end of the second round, and both have made top 30 visits to Denver in recent weeks.
Both are high-end receivers for the position with downfield capabilities. Stowers is one of the best pure athletes in the draft, as he cleared 7 feet in the high jump in high school. He showed off those skills at the combine in February, setting event records in the vertical jump (45½ inches) and the broad jump (11-foot-3) while running a 4.51-second 40-yard dash.