As the night darkened in Green Bay, a slew of talent falling off the board, the Broncos walked straight into the running back crossroads that had been presented by analysts for months: Omarion Hampton or TreVeyon Henderson. Power or speed. Bell-cow or complement. Both sat, ready and waiting at pick No. 20, various mocks largely linking the Broncos to one or the other in this year’s NFL draft.

But the mocks, as head coach Sean Payton smirked at a first-round presser Thursday, were embarrassing. Entertaining, sure. But embarrassing.

The Broncos, in a move that completely upended most pre-draft logic, took neither back. Texas cornerback Jahdae Barron, who stole Payton and general manager George Paton’s eyes on film, came in. Hampton went two picks later to the Chargers, Denver’s foe in the AFC West. Henderson stayed on the board. And Denver seemed wholly unconcerned.

“You never feel good, but we feel pretty good we’ll get a runner after this draft,” Paton said Thursday night. “There’s a lot of ’em. If there’s not, then we’ll sign one after the draft, we’ll sign a free agent.”

In retrospect, Paton’s proclamation that one could grab a running back “in the second round and all the way to the sixth round,” as he said at the owner’s meetings, was no smokescreen. It was an omen. And after snatching up a first-round draft slider in Barron, the Broncos still have a fairly obvious need for skill-position talent in Day 2 and beyond.

Michigan tight end Colston Loveland, Penn State TE Tyler Warren and Hampton are all gone. But Henderson remains, as do a host of impact receivers and defenders. Here’s some of the best talent remaining for the Broncos to look at come Friday.

Offense

RB TreVeyon Henderson, Ohio State: A player the Broncos likely considered at No. 20 now sits there going into Friday night. He won’t last long. It will be interesting to see if the Broncos consider trading up for Henderson or another offensive player.

TE Mason Taylor, LSU: The Broncos have several connections to Taylor. Multiple staffers have long histories at LSU and defensive QC Brian Niedermeyer coached Taylor for a year in high school. The son of Hall of Famer Jason Taylor does everything well and won’t have to wait long to hear his name called Friday night.

WR Luther Burden, Missouri: Burden spent much of the past year being touted as a first-rounder. His stats lagged in 2024 due to underwhelming quarterback play, but he’s still a versatile play-maker. He will be gone quickly on Friday.

RB Quinshon Judkins, Ohio State: Judkins is a big, powerful runner in the Omarion Hampton mold who was super productive at Ole Miss and then in one year with the Buckeyes. In a loaded running back class, he’s near the top of the Day 2 heap.

RB Dylan Sampson, Tennessee: Sampson’s got home-run speed and the ability to work out of the backfield in the passing game. He’d work well as a pair with Audric Estime in Denver’s backfield.

RB Kaleb Johnson, Iowa: Johnson thrived in Iowa’s outside zone scheme and might fit best with teams that base their offense in that world. But he’s talented and versatile and could end up thriving wherever he lands.

TE Elijah Arroyo, Miami: Big-time athlete who can stretch the seam and is a vertical threat. He’s more of a receiver than a plus blocker, but he’s got a chance to be really good in the red zone and the kind of passing-game threat Sean Payton knows exactly how to use.

TE Terrence Ferguson, Oregon: The Littleton native is a former teammate of Denver quarterback Bo Nix and he’s got a chance to carve out a real role early in his career. Ran 4.63 seconds in the 40-yard dash at the combine at 6-5 and 247 pounds.

WR Jayden Higgins, Iowa State: Higgins is a big, talented receiver who is likely to go early Friday night. He’s got big-play ability and was super productive the past two years for the Cyclones, totaling 2,166 yards and 15 touchdowns.

WR Jack Bech, TCU: Bech is really good after the catch and has a lot of the traits and route-running abilities Payton likes in his receivers. He broke out in 2024, totaling 1,034 yards and nine touchdowns.

Defense

S Nick Emmanwori, South Carolina: The Broncos probably don’t need more top-tier help in the secondary, but they’ve done their homework on Emmanwori, and he’s a value talent at this point for any team that snags him. 4.38 40-yard-dash! 43-inch-vertical!

CB Will Johnson, Michigan: Shockingly, Johnson slid all the way out of the first round Thursday night, a season-long fall after he was widely projected as a top-five pick coming off a national championship in 2023. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Johnson has a “knee issue that has concerned some teams.”

EDGE Jordan Burch, Oregon: As far as pure pass-rushers go, Burch might be the best fit left on the board for Denver. He racked up 8.5 sacks and 11 tackles for loss last year with the Ducks, and at his size — 6-foot-4 and 279 pounds — profiles as a potential successor to John Franklin-Myers, who’s up for a contract extension.

LB Carson Schwesinger, UCLA: If the Broncos are looking for a developmental MLB behind veteran Alex Singleton and new signee Dre Greenlaw, Schwesinger was one of the most productive linebackers in the country in 2024, racking up 136 tackles as a former walk-on at UCLA.

EDGE Mike Green, Marshall: He’s a clear first-round corner in profile and production, but Green comes with major character concerns, denying multiple allegations of sexual assault.

EDGE Donovan Ezeiruaku, Boston College: A monster at Boston College in 2024, with 16.5 sacks and 80 tackles. Would the lower-level production hold up in the NFL, though?

DT Shemar Turner, Texas A&M: Slightly oversized for a defensive end, slightly undersized for a tackle, Turner nonetheless is proven in the pass-rush. He struggled with missed tackles in 2024, though.

EDGE Nic Scourton, Texas A&M: Scourton’s sack production dropped off from 10 at Purdue in 2023 to just five after transferring to Texas A&M, but he still was a pocket-pressuring presence, and is widely praised for his motor.

EDGE Bradyn Swinson, LSU: One of the more underrated prospects at his position, Swinson could well fall to the third round after an 8.5-sack breakout season this past fall. He’s an aggressive 6-foot-4 and 255 pounds.

S Xavier Watts, Notre Dame: Watts was tremendous in coverage last year for a tremendous collegiate program in Notre Dame, and if the Broncos indeed turn back to their secondary, he’d be solid depth behind injury-prone signee Talanoa Hufanga.

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