Friend To Foes: 49ers Control Denver’s Draft, Who Could The Broncos Pick?
Nov 2, 2022, 1:00 PM
DENVER, COLORADO - SEPTEMBER 25: Bradley Chubb #55 of the Denver Broncos sacks Jimmy Garoppolo #10 of the San Francisco 49ers during the fourth quarter of a game at Empower Field At Mile High on September 25, 2022 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/Getty Images)
(Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/Getty Images)
John Lynch, Kyle Shanahan and Christian McCaffrey, the San Francisco 49ers, are chock-full of Denver Broncos ties.
It’s to the point where they might as well be the Bay Area Broncos or Denver fans’ NFC teams. But any real Broncos fan is no longer favorable to the 49ers the rest of the way. The Broncos got their hands on San Francisco’s 2023 first-round pick in Tuesday’s trade for Bradley Chubb. That pick was sent to Miami along with two others for what ended up being San Francisco’s selection of Trey Lance. The Dolphins used the other two picks on Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill.
The third pick is currently pegged in at No. 20 due to the 49ers’ 4-4 record. But due to the recent trade for McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel still getting over an injury, it’s expected that the selection may slide. But it’ll also be bumped up one spot if Miami finishes worse than San Fran because the Dolphins will have to forfeit their pick due to tampering. Say the Dolphins finish with the 25th pick and the 49ers the 30th; in reality, the Broncos will then own the 29th selection in the draft.
That pick is huge, considering Denver does not own their own selection this coming draft, which was sent to Seattle in the Russell Wilson trade.
So what prospects around 20 and lower are currently on the board?
Jaelyn Duncan, an offensive tackle from Maryland; Antonio Johnson, a safety from Texas A&M; Hendon Hooker, a quarterback from Tennessee; Noah Sewell, a linebacker from Oregon; Kayshon Boutte, a wideout from LSU; Tyree Wilson, an edge from Texas Tech, Bijan Robinson a running back from Texas and Clark Phillips III a cornerback from Utah are all names worth watching.
The Broncos will likely target help on the offensive line, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see the team go for a linebacker or another target for Wilson.
No matter which way Denver goes, Broncos fans can look forward to the team adding a blue-chip rookie into the fold come April. This is an exciting prospect for a team 3-5 that’ll be looking for good, young, cheap talent around Wilson.
This story was first published by Sactown Sports‘ sister station, The Fan, 104.3 Denver. Follow Jake Shapiro on Twitter at @Shapalicious.
