In Russell Wilson’s first season with the Broncos, Denver went 5-12 and finished in last place in the AFC West. Nathaniel Hackett lasted just 15 games as head coach before being fired with two games remaining in the regular season. This offseason, the Broncos got their man in Sean Payton, who returns to the NFL as a head coach. Payton, who stepped down as head coach of the Saints in January 2022 after 15 seasons in New Orleans, did not coach last season but is now back at the helm of an NFL team.
Denver, which has not made the playoffs since winning Super Bowl 50 in the 2015 season, is in win-now mode after trading a plethora of draft picks to acquire Wilson last year and Payton this year. The Broncos did not have a first round pick in 2022 after sending that selection to Seattle as part of the Wilson deal, while Denver also sent the Seahawks their first and second round picks this year. Denver acquired a first round pick from the Dolphins in a midseason trade for Bradley Chubb in November, but then traded that pick to the Saints as part of the deal to hire Payton as head coach.
Payton has brought in an entirely new staff, hiring former Chargers’ offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi as the team’s OC, while hiring former Cardinals’ defensive coordinator Vance Joseph as the new DC. Joseph returns to Denver after previously serving as the Broncos’ head coach for two seasons in 2017 and 2018. Joseph takes over for Ejiro Evero, who left for the DC position in Carolina after transforming the Denver defense into one of the best in the league last season. For Lombardi, he takes over an offense that scored the fewest points in the NFL last year, averaging fewer than 17 points per game.
Denver has just five draft picks this year, with their first two selections coming with back-to-back picks in the third round.
Click here for the entire 2023 NFL Draft order and keep reading to see who the Broncos will take in the 2023 NFL Draft. Coverage of the latest news from around the NFL is available all year round from Pro Football Talk on Peacock and the NFL on NBC YouTube Channel.
Denver Broncos 2023 NFL Draft picks:
Round 2: No. 63 (from KC from DET ) - Marvin Mims Jr., WR, Oklahoma
Round 3: No. 67 (from IND) - Drew Sanders, LB, Arkansas
Round 3: No. 83 (from SEA) - Riley Moss, S, Iowa
Round 6: No. 183 (from DEN through DET) - JL Skinner, S, Boise State
Round 7: No. 257 (from NO) - Alex Forsyth, IOL, Oregon