Holding just five picks entering the 2023 NFL draft, the Denver Broncos might consider trading down this weekend to acquire more selections.
Denver also hasn’t ruled out the possibility of trading up. After acquiring quarterback Russell Wilson last year, the Broncos do not currently hold a first- or second-round pick in this week’s draft.
If a certain prospect falls — perhaps late into the second round, for example — Denver will consider moving up the board. Broncos general manager George Paton said the team wants to be flexible when considering trades.
“You just want to have flexibility,” Paton said during his pre-draft press conference last Thursday. “You want to have an open mind. We talked last night about potential target players that we would go get. You just never want to be closed-minded. We’ve traded up where I’ve been, and we’ve traded back a lot. It just kind of depends on what’s behind you as well.
“Last year, we felt we could trade back five or six picks and still get [Greg] Dulcich based on the teams behind us. You do a lot of these exercises, and we’ll continue to do them. We’ve done them the last two weeks. There are not a lot of surprises because we’ll talk through every scenario. [Sean Payton and I are] both open-minded to move up and move back. It just kind of depends on where it is.”
Paton has made six draft trades through two drafts in Denver — four of those trades were moving back to acquire more picks. Paton has moved up twice, though, including in 2021 when he traded up in the second round to select running back Javonte Williams.
Without a first- or second-round pick, moving down will obviously be easier than moving up, but the Broncos haven’t ruled out any scenarios.
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