NFL DRAFT 2023

Broncos trade into the third round, select a playmaking defensive back

Apr 28, 2023, 8:23 PM

Not long after their last trade with the Seahawks finally became official, the Broncos went back to the well, making another trade with Seattle on Friday night. Denver sent pick No. 108 in this year’s draft to Seattle, as well as a third-round pick in 2024.

With that selection, Denver selected Riley Moss, a defensive back out of Iowa.

Moss checks in at 6-foot-1 and 193 pounds. He ran a 4.45 40-yard dash at the combine.

Here’s how NFL.com summed him up as a draft prospect:

Moss was an all-state playmaker from Ankeny, Iowa who also won the 110-meter hurdles, Drake Relays and Iowa state meet as a high school senior. Committed to North Dakota State, Moss was asked by the Hawkeyes to blue-shirt, meaning he did not receive a scholarship until January of his freshman year. He played like a scholarship athlete as a true freshman, though, starting six of 13 games played (24 tackles, two interceptions, three pass breakups). Moss missed four games due to injury in 2019 (five tackles, two interceptions, three pass breakups, two starts in nine contests) before garnering 2020 honorable mention All-Big Ten Conference honors as an eight-game starter (43 tackles, two interceptions — one returned for a score — three pass breakups). His four interceptions (two returned for scores) and five pass breakups in 11 starts (39 tackles, three for loss) earned him third-team Associated Press All-American and Big Ten Conference Defensive Back of the Year honors in 2021. Moss did miss three games with a knee injury, however. He started all 13 games in 2022, leading the Hawkeyes with 11 pass breakups (also posting 47 tackles, one interception, two forced fumbles in 13 starts) and was named first-team all-conference to end his collegiate career.

Some project Moss as a safety. Others see him as a cornerback. Either way, he’ll join a talented Broncos defensive backfield, one that is highlighted by Patrick Surtain II and Justin Simmons.

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