On Day 2 of the 2023 NFL Draft, the Sean Payton led Denver Broncos made their first picks of the draft weekend. How did they do? Denver made a bit of noise on Day 2 of the draft, working the draft board to get the players they coveted.
Their first move was to trade up to the end of the second round at pick number 63. They had picks 67 and 68, but traded up to select Marvin Mims Jr, a speedster wide receiver from Oklahoma.
They then took Arkansas linebacker and swiss army knife Drew Sanders with their 67th overall pick. To cap off their Day 2, they traded back into the third round at pick 83 and took Riley Moss, a cornerback out of Iowa.
Let’s break down their picks.
Denver Broncos make their first draft picks of 2023
The Marvin Mims Jr pick is an interesting one. Denver did not have a huge need at receiver, but what they do need is someone with some legitimate speed. KJ Hamler was supposed to be thay guy for Denver, but he simply cannot stay healthy. Mims has 4.38 speed and averaged 19.5 yards per catch over his college career.
He’s going to be someone Sean Payton will eventually rely on to take the top off of defenses. We’ll see if Mims can develop into that guy, but it’s clear that the Denver Broncos wanted to infuse the WR room with a true speed threat to compliment Jerry Jeudy, a crafty route runner, and Courtland Sutton and Tim Patrick, two big bodied targets who can separate with their frames.
They took Drew Sanders out of Arkansas with their next pick, and I was a bit confused here. The appeal with Sanders is that he can be more than just an inside linebacker, where he spent most of his time. He does have the ability to play as a stand up EDGE rusher and might be used in that Micah Parsons hybrid role, if you will.
Denver has another player like that in Baron Browning who fully transitioned to EDGE last year. Maybe the Broncos are thinking the same thing with Sanders.
They traded up into the third round to select Riley Moss, a cornerback from Iowa. Cornerback was a need for the Broncos and they hopefully fill that need with Moss. He’s got good size and speed and does have nice ball skills.
Overall, the Broncos had a solid Day 2, but I do think they could have come away with better selections.