There’s been a lot of buzz this week that the Denver Broncos could trade up to make a big splash in the first round of the 2025 NFL draft on Thursday evening.
The Ringer’s Todd McShay released a podcast with his final mock draft on Wednesday, and he has the Broncos picking Michigan tight end Colston Loveland. McShay said in his podcast that he picked Loveland because he fell to Denver, but he didn’t rule out the possibility of a running back pick. McShay also thinks the team could trade up.
“They’re making a lot of calls — according to people I’m talking to — about moving up,” McShay said. “So keep an eye on Sean [Payton] — I think he’s — I think he knows he’s got his guy at quarterback. I don’t think that, I know he knows he’s got his guy at quarterback. … I think he’s kind of in this emergency mode and, ‘We’ve got our guy,’ we need another Joker or two. …
“I think Denver is trying to be aggressive. It won’t surprise me a little bit — in fact, I’d say it’s more probable than not that they’re not picking at 20 [and] that they’re picking earlier.”
McShay said in his podcast that he doesn’t expect Loveland to fall to the Broncos, but that’s how the board ended up falling in his mock. (Meanwhile, NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah has Denver trading up to pick No. 13 to select Loveland in his final mock draft.)
Not everyone is convinced the Broncos are actually a contender to trade up.
KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis tweeted this on Thursday morning: “From what I’ve heard if Broncos do make a trade from No. 20, it’s more likely to be a trade back than up. A possible sweet trading spot as QB-needy Steelers are sitting No. 21.”
That tweet from Klis aligned with what ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted 10 minutes earlier: “Broncos have fielded calls in recent days from teams interested in potentially moving up to Denver’s No. 20 selection, per sources. The Broncos currently hold the draft slot in front of Pittsburgh’s No. 21.”
The two tweets having similar framing suggests that Klis and Schefter might have received the information from the same source (but that’s just speculation).
So is Denver aiming to trade up, stay put or move back? Nobody knows!
We’ll get answers tonight (the draft begins at 8 p.m. ET/6 p.m. MT). We’ll track all of the team’s moves on Broncos Wire.
Related: These 25 celebrities are Broncos fans.
