John Elway’s final two drafts don’t have much left from them

Remember this photo?

Future looks bright. pic.twitter.com/9rbov3hPJ0

— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) December 9, 2019

Noah Fant, Drew Lock and Dalton Risner were the Broncos’ first three draft picks in 2019. Dre’Mont Jones followed them in Round 3. By the end of the 2019 season, it looked as if the Broncos might have found a core around which they could build.

The Broncos organization spent the following months selling the bright future of those 2019 rookies. It defined their messaging in the months that followed.

Future's bright. pic.twitter.com/6pF0qE2ycC

— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) December 30, 2019

┏━━┓┏━━┓┏━━┓┏━━┓
┗━┓┃┃┏┓┃┗━┓┃┃┏┓┃
┏━┛┃┃┃┃┃┏━┛┃┃┃┃┃
Future's bright 😎
┃┏━┛┃┃┃┃┃┏━┛┃┃┃┃
┃┗━┓┃┗┛┃┃┗━┓┃┗┛┃
┗━━┛┗━━┛┗━━┛┗━━┛ pic.twitter.com/kLS5mAsNSM

— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) January 1, 2020

Future's bright. 😎

Breaking down which current #Broncos could make the 2020s All-Decade team » https://t.co/ApOgo6o5J1 pic.twitter.com/XDs7s2Z5bh

— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) April 9, 2020

Future's bright. 🤩#MileHighMorning

— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) July 27, 2020

Alas, the only thing bright was the spotlight, which shone its harsh glare. While Fant, Risner and Jones achieved decent levels of success, Lock floundered. And by last month, all were gone. Fant, Lock and Jones play in Seattle.

Fant faces a fork-in-the-road season on his fifth-year option, while Lock is a backup and Jones signed there last month. Meanwhile, as of April 10, Risner remains without a contract. The waves of free agency passed him by.

Elway’s final two drafts saw the Broncos make 16 picks — nine of which came on the first two days of the draft. Just five of those 16 choices remain — all from the 2020 NFL Draft. And a paltry three of nine picks from Days 1 and 2 of the 2019 and 2020 drafts remain with the Broncos.

Thus, the Broncos have as many of their Day 1 and 2 picks from the 2019-20 drafts playing in Seattle as remain in Denver.

Hope still exists for Jerry Jeudy, the Broncos’ 2020 first-round pick — if the Broncos don’t receive a tempting trade offer for him. And part of the enduring calculus on Lock and Fast is their part in the 2022 trade for Russell Wilson. If the 12-year-veteran QB flourishes, that ends up helping their overall final value to the Broncos.

But if Lloyd Cushenberry can’t hang on to his center position, then there is a very real chance that the Broncos’ Week 1 starting lineup will include just a single player from the 2019 and 2020 drafts: Jeudy.

And this is why Sean Payton’s challenge is stern. Not only must he rebuild the morale and confidence of the Broncos — he must restore their talent level, as well. And when it comes to overall roster depth, the Broncos are still feeling the pain of back-to-back drafts that didn’t deliver — and hastened John Elway’s guide to the exit just after the 2020 campaign ended.

***