Denver Post Broncos writer Parker Gabriel posts his Broncos Mailbag weekly during the season and periodically during the offseason. Click here to submit a question. Howdy Parker from the Western Slope! This old fan bought his season tickets in 1971. Needless to say, I have witnessed the lows and hig hs of our Broncos. Currently, us fans have a lot to be thankful for. We have a better than great ownership; an accomplished head coach who is a teacher; a defensive coordinator who should have been hired this off-season as a head coach; a league-wide respected general manager; and an amazing group of talented high character athletes on offense, defense and special teams. But what happened in our 2025 NFL Draft? NFL.com rated our draft a C+ good for 23rd of the 32 teams. We invested our 20th pick in the 1st round in a quality defensive back who only started 5 games. We already possessed an elite, loaded secondary. We did not address critical needs for RB or TE with our 20th pick. Our best draft pick may have been our punter Jeremy Crawshaw. Can Paton and Payton learn from this poor showing and help the team more this off-season? Bo has to be moaning … — Bronco Bill, Grand Junction After one year, how do we feel about the pack part of the ’25 draft? Will Sai’von Jones, Que Robinson and Caleb Lohner be productive for the Broncos? — Mark, Centennial Let’s open up this week with a double. Thanks to B.B. and Mark for writing in and asking, in slightly different ways, about the Broncos’ 2025 draft class. We’re through a full season and obviously knee deep in 2026 draft stuff, so it’s as good a time as any for a preliminary revisit. The common refrain from Denver head coach Sean Payton and GM George Paton is that it takes three years to know for sure about a draft class. So let’s start by acknowledging that this group is far from a finished product. There will always be conversation about whether the Broncos should have gone a different route at No. 20 than selecting defensive back Jahdae Barron. The club, though, had him graded as one of the 10 best players in the class. They saw it as a value too good to pass up. The bet here is, even with Ja’Quan McMillian as an extension candidate over the next 12 months, that Barron will be a factor in his career. The Broncos love him, he can play anywhere and he got good experience in Year 1, even though he didn’t play as much as some first-rounders do. Denver could have taken Tre’Veyon Henderson at No. 20 and talked about trying to trade back and take him later in the first round. They were not going to take Omarion Hampton at No. 20 even if Barron had been gone. They liked LSU tight end Mason Taylor, too, though not enough to take him that high. The tight end Denver wanted the most was Michigan’s Colston Loveland, though he went No. 10 to Chicago. RJ Harvey isn’t a finished product, but he’s got real ability and the Broncos loved his vision coming out of UCF. They believe he’ll get more efficient in the down-in, down-out run game to pair with his dynamic ability in the passing game and in the open field. Harvey led all rookie RBs in touchdowns and, of the 20 drafted after him, only Chicago’s Kyle Monangai (947) and Houston’s Woody Marks (911) had more offensive yards than Harvey’s 896. He’s still got a ways to go, but that’s a pretty good starting spot. In the third round, WR Pat Bryant contributed right away at receiver and DL Sai’Vion Jones, as expected, was more of a developmental project. Sixth-round punter Jeremy Crawshaw has a chance to hold his job for a long time and seventh-round TE Caleb Lohner remains a lottery ticket who will be back with the Broncos this spring and summer. The real surprise of the draft was fourth-round OLB Que Robinson. He flashed as a pass rusher right away in camp and produced in games every time he got a chance. His sack against Drake Maye in the AFC Championship Game was eye-popping. After the season, Paton said the former Alabama edge, “may have the most upside of anyone in our draft class.” He’s an explosive rusher, but he’s also already one of the Broncos’ more stout edge players against the run, too. Denver’s got enviable depth on the edge, but Robinson will be a Year 2 breakout candidate. There’s no guarantee everybody in the class turns into a really good player and, of course, some of the ultimate grading of this group will depend on exactly what Barron’s role becomes and how extensive his impact can be. There’s not a guaranteed star in the class, but there are a couple of candidates. Perhaps some hoped for more Year 1 juice, but I think you can see a pretty straightforward path to the first six picks all being multi-year contributors on their first contracts. All in all, that feels like a good spot to be in as a group after a year. Hey Parker, in your last mailbag, you said the Broncos’ biggest priority is finding a top-tier tight end. Who is out there right now that we could land? Oregon’s Kenyon Sadiq is a great first-round option, but I think we have to move up to get him. Or do we go through free agency and target someone like Cade Otton or Kyle Pitts? — Mark, Arvada Hey Mark, thanks for writing and great question. I agree with you on Kenyon Sadiq. Not impossible that he’s there at No. 30, but that probably was a stretch all along and it became less likely when he tore up the combine last week. Sadiq ran a tight end-record 4.39 seconds in the 40-yard dash at 241 pounds and paired it with ridiculous jumping numbers — 43.5-inch vertical and an 11-foot-1 broad jump. He’s a freak. Kenyon Sadiq had one of the best days ever by a TE at the Combine: 40-Yard Dash: 4.39 (best ever by a TE)Vertical Jump: 43.5’’ (second-best ever by a TE)Broad Jump: 11’1’’ (third-best ever by a TE)@Accenture | @oregonfootball pic.twitter.com/fxvABmsGrd — NFL (@NFL) February 28, 2026 It won’t be Kyle Pitts for the Broncos, either. Atlanta franchise tagged him. There are several options in both the draft and free agency, but the general sense of people I talked to at the combine is that this isn’t a great offseason to need a tight end. There aren’t many — or any — surefire, high-level options. Next up after Sadiq in the draft are players like Ohio State’s Max Klar and Vanderbilt’s Eli Stowers. In free agency, options include Tampa’s Cade Otton, a pair of former Ravens in Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar or any number of other free agents. Otton is interesting. He played 50% inline in 2024 but only 34% inline this past year. He was lined up in the slot 49% of the time and out wide 16.6%, according to PFF data. If Denver thinks he can be efficient in the passing game and also solid as a blocker, he might be as good an option as the team has this offseason. One other quick thought: We’ll see who gets released this week. Remember that Evan Engram wasn’t a free agent until Jacksonville released him four days before the legal tampering period began last year. What guardrails are in place to ensure the Broncos don’t end up with a similar salary cap situation to the New Orleans Saints? I know Sean Payton loves his veterans, and it’d be great to be more active in free agency now that Russell Wilson’s dead money is gone, but what will be done so that the mistakes Payton made with the Saints aren’t repeated? — Eric, Sioux Falls, S.D. Hey Eric, thanks for writing in and good question. The Broncos very much do not want to end up in the same spot that New Orleans did. The Saints’ situation was not all on Sean Payton. And, frankly, the club probably wouldn’t have ended up in such dire straits without COVID-19. They were pushing money out aggressively as Drew Brees aged, trying to make sure they loaded up each year in an attempt to win another Super Bowl. They might have been able to walk the tightrope — or at least not get completely hammered — if the cap wouldn’t have taken an unforeseen step back in the wake of the pandemic. Even if they had ended up in some form of a salary cap straightjacket, it wouldn’t have been like this, where it takes years and years to unwind. That’s what pushing money out into the future essentially is: Risk. Every team accepts at least some and some teams accept a lot. A global pandemic that caused the only drop in the cap in the modern era wasn’t likely, but it happened. More common: Injuries, underperformance or age cause teams to jettison players before they’d planned to and the acceleration of prorated money causes a big dead cap hit. The Broncos, like pretty much all teams, are using bonuses, proration and void years to manage their cap currently. They’re on an interesting run over recent contract extensions in using option bonuses throughout deals, too. More on that coming later this week. Overall, they appear to have a good plan for managing their cap in the short term and long term. That doesn’t mean they’re immune to it going awry, but they’ve got a coherent plan and they’ve so far stuck to it. I should say, I don’t think this is a Sean Payton vs. the front office situation, either. There are a lot of people involved, from Payton and general manager George Paton to CEO and owner Greg Penner to VP of football administration Rich Hurtado and football administration and strategy manager Rob Simpson. If you want to build something successful and sustainable, you have to be smart, strategic and aggressive, but you also have to be disciplined. Denver has enviable financial wherewithal, the cap room to be flexible and the stability in personnel atop their football operation that makes following a plan and process easier — though not a guarantee. Time to name the new stadium what it is: Mile High Stadium. The Walmart family doesn’t need the money from naming rights. Doesn’t the Rob Walton group still have around $70 billion, and the Walmart heirs have a combined worth of around $450 billion? What is $5 million a year in naming rights to this family? You want to make a lasting name for yourselves? Call the stadium what it is in our hearts, Mile High Stadium. And call the entertainment area around it Mile High Village or Bronco Town or any number of names (hire me, I’ll come up with it). Just don’t say the name Burnham Yard one more time. It sounds like the name of a dump. — Dan, St. Louis, Mo. Hey Dan, thanks for writing in. I’ll go ahead and put you in charge. Consider it done. Thank you for your service. Really, though, the name will be an interesting conversation at some point down the road — perhaps multiple years down the road. What you’re saying would be interesting, but the bet here is the club will not forego naming rights. Businesses don’t just give up millions in annual revenue, even if the folks who own it could afford the hit. In fact, I’d imagine the Broncos will have a bunch of suitors, whether that’s Empower or somebody else. Logic would also dictate that the naming rights on a brand new building that the Walton-Penner Ownership Group hopes is a crown jewel in the NFL will cost substantially more than the current $5-6 million per year. I know that supposedly Sean Payton “loves” Jarrett Stidham but after his immobility and indecisiveness were exposed against New England, it’s obvious that if Bo Nix is injured, the Broncos would be lucky to beat any NFL team. Should the Broncos look to add a backup QB whose skill set more closely resembles Nix’s? — Ed Helinski, Auburn, N.Y. Hey Ed, thanks as always for writing. Not sure I entirely agree with you on this one. Beating New England in an AFC Championship Game is a little bit different than trying to win a game or two in the regular season. Like almost any team that has a franchise-type quarterback, Denver would be in trouble if it lost Nix for an extended period of time. But the Broncos think they could survive a stretch with Stidham and I tend to agree. It matters, naturally, what else is happening around the quarterback. Is the OL healthy? Are the backs healthy? If Stidham’s playing the AFC title game with J.K. Dobbins and Troy Franklin, maybe it looks a little bit different. Related Articles Previewing the Broncos’ 2026 NFL free agency | Podcast No David Montgomery. No Breece Hall. Do Broncos turn back to J.K. Dobbins as NFL RB market thins? Broncos 2026 NFL mock draft 2.0: Denver swings on big-name weapon for Bo Nix Should Broncos sign big-name free agent RB like Travis Etienne Jr. or rely on draft? Renck: By George, it’s time Broncos give GM Paton a contract extension he’s earned All of that said, though, I do think there’s at least a little intrigue in the QB room this spring. Will Sam Ehlinger be back as the No. 3? If not, who will Denver circle as a guy to get a look at? Is there any trade interest out there for Stidham? This conversation might have been a lot different had Denver beaten the Patriots, but there are still a couple of things to sort out. Is there any future for Drew Sanders here? He had a lot of buzz when he was drafted. But since then, he’s done nothing here. Is this year his last chance in Denver? — Mike, Denver Hey Mike, thanks for writing in. It is indeed likely Drew Sanders’ last chance with the Broncos because 2026 is the final year of his rookie contract. Denver, really, has interesting decisions to make for different reasons on each of its top three picks from the 2023 class: Mims, Sanders and cornerback Riley Moss. For Sanders, the challenge this year is just to stay healthy and play. If he stays healthy and is a good linebacker, hey, that’s terrific and a pleasant surprise. If he’s a quality special teams player, you’ll take it. Then decide what the future looks like after that. Sanders played in all 17 games as a rookie in 2023 but has played in just four out of 34 regular-season games since then (all at the end of 2024). He had the Achilles tear in the spring of 2024 and then the training camp foot injury that ultimately cost him all of 2025. That is a lot of development time missed and a lot of lost ground to make up. Want more Broncos news? Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis. ...read more read less