Three players the Broncos could move up to pick in the 2023 NFL Draft
Apr 27, 2023, 6:47 AM
The Denver Broncos are getting ready for the 2023 NFL Draft. They don’t have a first-round pick, so that means we won’t be hearing from them on Thursday. However, the Broncos may surprise some with a move into the first day of the draft.
They are preparing as if they’re picking, and the Broncos may also be fielding phone calls on guys like wide receiver Jerry Jeudy or tight end Albert Okwuegbunam. If they were to move a player and some future draft capital, then perhaps picking in the first round could happen for Denver. If the Broncos do move up, who would they be targeting?
Here are three players the Broncos would move up for in the draft.
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Luke Musgrave | TE | Oregon State
The most likely player the Broncos would move up for is Oregon State TE Luke Musgrave. They brought him to Denver for a top-30 visit, and that set off alarms for me. Musgrave is one of the best tight ends in arguably the best tight end class in NFL history. There is no way that Musgrave is going to be available when the Broncos pick in the third round, and there is little chance that Musgrave will last until the second round. The Broncos are in the market for a tight end – a complete tight end – because they may trade Okwuegbunam and the new regime doesn’t seem to be in love with purely “F” TE Greg Dulcich. Musgrave is ready to start from day one, and unlike Okwuegbunam and Dulcich he is more than just a receiver and can stay on the field as a blocker.
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Hendon Hooker | QB | Tennessee
The Broncos are likely to select a quarterback in this draft. There is plenty of speculation that they’ll spend a day-three pick (rounds 4-7) on Purdue QB Aiden O’Connell, but perhaps they’d move up for a player who could be the quarterback of the future. Hendon Hooker from Tennessee could be that guy. Coming off a knee injury in his final season with the Volunteers, Hooker is going to need the 2023 season to fully heal. He’s got first-round talent, but that injury (and his age) may give teams pause. Hooker could fall into Day 2 of the draft, but he’s unlikely to be there when the Broncos pick at no.67 overall. Because he needs a year to recover, Hooker would be no threat to QB Russell Wilson this season. That would give Wilson the push he needs to play for his contract in 2024 and beyond, but it would set up the Broncos for the future if Wilson’s struggles continue.
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Andre Carter II | Edge | Army
The need at edge is there for the Broncos. Randy Gregory is great when healthy, and he’s never healthy for a full season. Baron Browning is one of my favorite players on the Broncos, but he’s yet to take that next step needed to be a force on the edge. I think if the Broncos move up in the draft, it could be for an edge player. Andre Carter II (Army) is one of the best pass-rushers in this class, and it’s a great group of edge players jumping from college to the pros in 2023. He’s got rare length for the position, can bend-and-burst with the best of them, and Carter is actually good when tasked with coverage. The opinions on Carter, mainly because of his level of competition in college, vary wildly but I believe he’s a first-round talent. If Broncos GM George Paton agrees with me and really wants him, then he’ll have to move up in order to put himself in position to do that.
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Summary
I don’t think the Broncos move up into the first round. I believe the chances are around 10-15 percent, and that is extraordinarily high for analysts in the media. There is a better chance than some think, but the chances are still low. It would be exciting if the Broncos did that, and these are three of the players they could be targeting.
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