ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Denver Broncos gambled on traits in the back half of their draft.
Some teams focus on production and experience from their prospects all the way through their draft class. But for two of the three Day 3 selections of George Paton and Sean Payton, experience is minimal compared to most of their contemporaries in their draft range.
Fourth-round choice Que Robinson has plenty of special-teams work, but being a “core four” player on the college level, even in the SEC, isn’t going to get you drafted. With just five starts and 5.5 sacks in four seasons at Alabama to his name, his production doesn’t match up well compared with other edge rushers.
Seventh-round pick Caleb Lohner doesn’t stack up with other tight ends in the deep class at his position; he has just 57 snaps in his entire college career. His basketball CV is far more robust than his football one.
But their presence in the Broncos’ draft class comes down to one word above all:
”Traits.”
“Robinson obviously had different traits that we were looking for. Same with the tight end (Lohner),” Paton said.
“… They both had enough flashes where you can project what they could be at their highest level. So we liked what we saw on both.”
“Traits” can be a tantalizing word.
It can also be a dangerous one, as those with too-long memories in these parts know. Traits-based drafting got the Broncos into a spot of bother during drafts of the early 2000s.
This led to a flurry of misses in the middle Mike Shanahan years that began hollowing the roster until 2004, when their draft fortunes began to improve. Unfortunately for the Broncos, the effects of the misses hit in the middle of the decade and played a role in precipitating the team’s 2006-07 decline.
BUT “TRAITS” CAN HIT BIG, AND THE BRONCOS ARE HOPING FOR THAT NOW
But this can also lead to some hits, with patience and time. Sean Payton found this out with one of his best tight ends, Jimmy Graham, who transformed from a basketball player with just 17 receptions and five touchdowns — one more than Lohner — to a five-time Pro Bowler.
“Now in Jimmy’s case, there was a lot more. He was a Combine invite,” Payton said. “We’re late in this draft and you’re rooting for some guys and you see upside in 6-foot-7, 245 pounds. You can see the basketball skill set, that’s easy, at a high level. Then you’re looking at a small amount of playing time and yet enough to where you’re watching them.”
Payton looked at Lohner’s Pro Day workout and saw how the size and movement could translate.
“When you get a chance to see him play football, he goes through a season of putting pads on but his movement skills and his height, weight and his eye, hand coordination there’s a lot of developmental upsides,” Payton said, “and we’re excited about that.”
Hitting on Lohner would shake up the long-term complexion of how this year’s tight-end class is viewed. Unusually deep, the Broncos did their homework on the group, evidenced by the slew of formal Combine interviews and 30 visits with players at the position.
But they didn’t bite until selecting a player who few pundits had going off the board. NFL.com did not have a page worked up for Lohner on its draft tracker; it hastily created one with only sketch information — height, weight, position, name.
Lohner’s football resume is as thin as a promise. The basketball ledger is far more robust.
But promise — and specifically the promise of traits, and what those have meant for basketball players in the past — is what the Broncos are betting on.
And traits like length and speed are what the team is hoping will turn the promise of Robinson as a pass-rushing edge rusher into a diamond in the rough to add more depth to their rotation.
“Historically speaking you can take certain players maybe and settle on them, but if you find some traits that project,” Payton said.
“… We talk about this all the time. Ninety-five percent of the discussion about the draft is the first round. When you really evaluate a good draft, it’s these later picks. We’re anxious to see how they evolve.”
Robinson and Lohner may not make or break the Broncos’ 2025 draft class. But they’ll provide a test to see whether this philosophy pays dividends — a test that won’t see even the first valid results for at least two years.
