Can Broncos’ Sean Payton, George Paton find value in NFL draft’s third round?

Denver is unlikely to be a part of the opening night of the NFL draft on Thursday, having traded its early picks the past two years to acquire quarterback Russell Wilson and new head coach Sean Payton.

That doesn’t mean Day 2 won’t be eventful.

General manager George Paton and Payton have a track record at finding impact players in the third round, leading to optimism that the Broncos can make some noise with the No. 67 and No. 68 overall picks on Friday.

“The unique thing, which I think we both really like, is that we have back-to-back picks there,” Payton said at the team’s pre-draft news conference. “There are scenarios that fall to you with every round and then every pick. The spray is a little wider if that makes sense.”

Since joining the Broncos in 2021, Paton has used three selections in the third round, drafting edge rusher Baron Browning, offensive guard Quinn Meinrez and tight end Greg Dulcich. Each has played meaningful snaps during the early stages of their career.

Browning totaled 24 tackles (eight for loss) and five sacks last fall. Meinrez has started in 22 of 28 career games, while Dulcich had  411 receiving yards and two touchdowns despite missing seven games due to injury as a rookie in 2022.

During Payton’s 15-year coaching tenure in New Orleans, he often struck gold in the third round as well, drafting running back Alvin Kamara, offensive tackle Terron Armstead, defensive end Akiem Hicks and edge rusher Trey Hendrickson — four players who combined for 12 Pro Bowl appearances.

“It is very hard to get an impact player in the third round, but we’ll have an idea how he fits with our team (in his) first year, second year, third year — potential starter, marginal starter, solid starter, maybe a special teams player in Year 1 and eventual starter in Year 2,” Paton said. “We have classifications for each player we evaluate no matter what the round is.”

Said Payton: “We certainly don’t want to not take a player who we’ve got a high grade on because maybe Year 1 of the vision is as a backup and he plays special teams, but we feel like he can develop into a really good pro football player. Everyone’s got a taste.”

For the Broncos, there are multiple directions they could go in the third round, including trading up or down.

“You just never want to be closed-minded,” Paton said. “We’ve traded up where I’ve been, and we’ve traded back a lot. It depends on what’s behind you as well. Last year, we felt we could trade back five or six picks and still get Dulcich based on the teams behind us.”

NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah sees the Broncos adding to their offensive or defensive line, despite Denver handing out more than $78 million in guaranteed money to left guard Ben Powers and right tackle Mike McGlinchey.

“With Sean Payton, he is always going to be obsessed with the trenches,” Jeremiah said.

Payton spoke on that obsession prior to the draft, saying his mentor, Bill Parcells, whom he worked for during his time as an assistant for the Dallas Cowboys from 2003-05, viewed the offensive line as critical to a team’s success.

“(Parcells) didn’t say it had to be done in the draft or free agency, but he just felt like that position group was important,” Payton said. “Regardless of his philosophy and my exposure to Bill — when George and I started that was a focus for us in upgrading and getting our team better.”

One name to keep in mind is Maryland left tackle Jaelyn Duncan. He was a four-year starter for the Terps and was once considered a first-round pick but he struggled as a senior, allowing seven sacks. On defense, Jeremiah said the Broncos might target Florida’s defensive tackle Gervon Dexter Sr. or South Carolina defensive tackle Zacch Pickens.

It’s safe to think the Broncos will also consider taking advantage of the deep running back and tight end draft classes. With Javonte Williams’ timeline to return from a torn ACL uncertain, Texas A&M’s Devon Achane is a player the Broncos could target in the third round, as his ability to beat opponents as a runner and pass-catcher lines up with the type of running backs Payton likes to target. In terms of tight ends, Michigan’s Luke Schoonmaker has a well-rounded game and could pair well with Dulcich.

“It’s a good tight end class,” Paton said. “They’re all different shapes and sizes, and we’ve spent a lot of time talking about their strengths and weaknesses and how they project in what we do.”

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