Within a whirlwind 24-hour period, George Paton and the Denver Broncos drafted nine new members to the organization, while also picking up a 2023 third-round pick.
Despite not drafting until the final pick of the second round, Paton and Co. added multiple players that are expected to have an impact on the team in 2022.
But who was the best value pick of Denver’s 2022 class?
The DNVR Broncos Crew breaks it down.
Who was the Broncos’ best value pick in the draft?
Zac: Eyioma Uwazurike — What’s not to like about the 6-foot-6, 316-pound versatile defensive lineman who racked up nine sacks and 12 tackles for a loss in his final of four seasons as a starter?
Enyi, as he goes by, has ideal size, strength and production to be a quality NFL starter… from the jump.
The biggest knock against him, which he even admitted minutes after being drafted, is he needs to improve his pad level. Throughout his senior season at Iowa State, he showed signs of improvement on that front.
Because of all of that, Enyi will have a shot to start on the Broncos’ defensive line alongside D.J. Jones and Dre’Mont Jones from Week 1.
Despite being the Broncos’ fourth pick in the draft, and a fourth-round pick, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if Uwazurike is Denver’s most productive rookie — in terms of starts and stats — making him by far Paton’s best value pick.
Mase: Matt Henningsen – In terms of value, the Broncos’ draft didn’t have any obvious steals on the surface. While George Paton expressed surprise in the “Behind the Broncos” video that Nik Bonitto was there at the No. 64 overall pick, the consensus view had the Oklahoma edge rusher going off the board somewhere between the mid-second and early-third round.
So, why Henningsen? Because sixth-round interior defensive linemen with his sort of athletic explosion — resulting in a RAS score of 9.34 — are hard to find that late on Day 3. They often go two-to-three rounds earlier, or perhaps more than that. Take 2016 selection Adam Gotsis, who most mock drafts had projected for the fourth round because of the ACL injury he suffered the previous fall at Georgia Tech — but went to the Broncos at the end of Round 2, landing in the range expected before his injury.
In Henningsen, the Broncos get a diligent, intelligent player who transformed himself from walk-on to immediate starter in the rugged Big Ten. It wouldn’t be an upset if he has the sort of surprising rookie presence from deep on Day 3 like the one Ohio State product Jonathon Cooper had in 2021.
RK: Nik Bonitto — In the words of George Paton, “Nik Bonitto at 64? Holy f**k!”
There’s no need to look far for the answer to this question. The Broncos got themselves an insanely talented player by simply sitting back and being patient at their 64th pick, despite the urge to trade up for Bonitto or potetnially a tight end.
Bonitto’s pure speed rush is arguably the best in the class, and in a division full of teams that want to chuck the ball, that’s even more valuable. Conversely, while he may struggle against the run early in his career, the Broncos simply don’t have to worry about that as much in the AFC West.
As Denver racks up early leads this season with their new-look offense, Bonitto is going to make an instant impact getting after the quarterback and because of that, he’s the best value pick of the draft.
