Five up, five down. That was the Denver Broncos’ 2023 draft.

Denver’s first draft under Sean Payton is in the books.

What was the Broncos’ best pick in the draft?

What was the Broncos’ best pick in the draft?

Zac: Drew Sanders — Let’s start off with a ROLL TIDE!

But Sanders went to Arkansas, you say? That was his final stop, but the 6-foot-4, 235-pound versatile linebacker spent the first two seasons of his collegiate career at Alabama. Not only was he a five-star prospect coming out of high school, he was the No. 1 recruit coming out of Texas. I say all of that to highlight just how talented Sanders is.

And the production followed too.

His final year of college ball, and his only year at Arkansas, Sanders showed he can do it all as he racked up over 100 tackles, nearly 10 sacks and 13.5 tackles for a loss playing inside and outside linebacker.

While Sanders will primarily be at inside backer for the Broncos, he has the skillset and production to be a difference maker all across the field in Denver.

Alex Singleton and Josey Jewell are very dependable players. Sanders has the upside to be a game changer, something the Broncos haven’t had at the inside backer position for years. Sanders even displayed this during the Broncos’ rookie minicamp, when he picked off Ben DiNucci and took it to the house.

RK: Marvin Mims — During the draft process, two names came up a lot when talking about Marvin Mims: Brandin Cooks and Emmanuel Sanders. It’s no wonder why Sean Payton, a guy who had success coaching both of those players, fell in love with the guy.

Payton has a type, and he has had a ton of success turning receivers like this into stars. Mims can line up anywhere on the field—a feature that Payton covets—can get open underneath, and most of all is a threat to create a big play at any point, averaging over 19 yards per catch at Oklahoma last season.

My decision to pick Mims here all boils down to my faith in Payton’s ability to identify receivers that can do what he needs from them. For the Broncos to use their first pick of the draft on a wide receiver when they really didn’t need one should tell you a lot about what they think of Mims.

Hank: JL Skinner — Skinner was on my list of 10 favorite players in this draft, and if the Broncos wanted to pull the trigger on him with their second-round pick, I would have been thrilled.

But they didn’t. And they didn’t snag him with either of their third-round picks either. Skinner fell to the sixth round and the Broncos came away with an absolute steal.

At 6-foot-4, Skinner is among the biggest safeties in the league, and he plays like it. He’ll instantly become one of the biggest hitters on the team and his long arms help him make plays on the ball. He’s a physical freak.

Maybe more importantly, Skinner is bright. As Boise State defensive coordinator Spencer Danielson told the DNVR Broncos Podcast, Skinner can play in a bunch of different roles. Based on the opponent in any given week, Boise State lined Skinner up in a different spot where they thought he could impact the game the most. All of the movement left him a little raw, but the versatility is worth it.