Every NFL team loves its draftees the day they\u2019re selected.<\/p>\n
Nobody goes to a group of reporters after a day of April work and says, \u201cBoy, that didn\u2019t go our way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even considering the rose-colored baseline every player gets at the outset of his career, Broncos general manager George Paton and coach Sean Payton seemed particularly pleased Friday night that they were able to land LSU defensive lineman Sai\u2019Vion Jones at the end of the third round.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe fits our mold of defensive line,\u201d Paton said after engineering a trade up to No. 101 overall, noting Jones\u2019 size, strength, versatility and growing pass-rush arsenal<\/a>. \u201cI think what sticks out with him is just how hard he plays. The motor \u2014 he goes 110 miles per hour every play. So he fits in with our group.\u201d<\/p>\n Payton indicated the Broncos didn\u2019t just think he\u2019d be gone by their first Saturday pick (No. 111 overall), but they were surprised he lasted as long as he did.<\/p>\n \u201cBoth George and I felt like, 14 picks earlier, he was going to be a hard one to get,\u201d Payton said. \u201cWe just felt like that player was going to come off the board. Fortunately for us, he was there still.\u201d<\/p>\n If Jones goes on to have a productive NFL career, the Broncos will have that trade \u2014 but also two others that preceded it \u2014 to thank.<\/p>\n If Paton and Payton hadn\u2019t moved back twice earlier Friday, they wouldn\u2019t have had the capital to convince Philadelphia to trade them No. 101.<\/p>\n Those are just some of the moving parts<\/a> from a wild draft weekend on the trade front for the Broncos.<\/p>\n They started with seven picks and finished with seven, but that\u2019s about the only symmetry. Denver swung four trades \u2014 three back and one up \u2014 involving a total of 20 picks. At one point or another, they held 17 different slots out of 257 total.<\/p>\n Of their original set, the only pick Denver actually used was No. 20 on Texas cornerback Jahdae Barron<\/a>. The Broncos actually considered trading back from there, too, Paton said Thursday night, to take a running back (Ohio State\u2019s TreVeyon Henderson, sources said) later in the first round.<\/p>\n Instead, they happily nabbed Barron but then had to wait out a rugged start to the second round in which tantalizing skill position players came flying off the board.<\/p>\n The Broncos knew they\u2019d have to get exceedingly lucky for Henderson, fellow OSU back Quinshon Judkins or LSU tight end Mason Taylor to make it to No. 51. Indeed, all three and others were gone by No. 42.<\/p>\n Payton and Paton, though, had fallen in love with UCF running back R.J. Harvey<\/a>.<\/p>\n As their pick at No. 51 approached, they sized up the teams behind them \u2014 Tennessee, Tampa Bay, Green Bay, the L.A. Chargers and Buffalo \u2014 and saw nobody in desperate need of a running back.<\/p>\n They\u2019d been talking about a trade back with Carolina, a whopping four picks per side to make the math work, and executed it.<\/p>\n \u201cThe framework happens before in a lot of these trades, especially with Carolina,\u201d Paton said.<\/p>\n Then Detroit wanted to move up from No. 60 to No. 57, a jump over two more teams with terrific running backs in Houston and Baltimore.<\/p>\n Denver figured it could bump back again and still get Harvey. Well, probably.<\/p>\n \u201cThe risk you run isn\u2019t necessarily with the in-between teams, it\u2019s the potential team that may (trade into the gap),\u201d Payton said. \u201cIt certainly paid off.\u201d<\/p>\n The end result of those trades slid Denver up in both the third round (from No. 85 to 74) and the fourth (from No. 122 to No. 111) and turned a sixth (No. 208) into a fourth (No. 130). Then the Broncos used Nos. 111, 130 and a sixth-rounder to move up to No. 101 for Jones, plus No. 134, which became Alabama edge rusher Que Robinson.<\/p>\n According to the Jimmy Johnson trade value chart, one method of several for determining the value of draft picks, the Broncos came out ahead on their first two trade backs (plus-10.2 points and plus-12, respectively), which is to be expected.<\/p>\n The trade up for Jones ended up being perhaps their best work.<\/p>\n They came out slightly ahead (plus-6.4 points) on the move-up for the promising 21-year-old, who had 7.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks for the Tigers last fall. Usually, teams pay at least a small premium for moving up the board.<\/p>\n Denver\u2019s first three trades netted a combined 28.6 points. That\u2019s the equivalent of No. 157 overall, a mid-fifth-round pick.<\/p>\n More practically: Without the pair of fourth-rounders acquired in the trade-backs, they likely don\u2019t get Jones. Then they got good value on the trade-up, too.<\/p>\n Denver\u2019s final move was to slide back from No. 197 overall in exchange for Nos. 216 and 241. That was the only trade that Denver sacrificed value (minus-6.6 points). The end goal was clear: Two darts rather than one.<\/p>\n The Broncos got punter Jeremy Crawshaw at No. 216 and then were able to secure lottery ticket tight end Caleb Lohner at No. 241<\/a> rather than competing for him in the post-draft free agency rush.<\/p>\n All in all, the Broncos went best player available in Round 1 and then used the way the board stacked up on Day 2 to squeeze a little extra juice out of their positioning, create some value and land three players they wanted on Day 2<\/a> rather than two.<\/p>\n Whether it pays off, of course, remains to be seen.<\/p>\n Broncos\u2019 2025 NFL draft trades<\/p>\n According to the Jimmy Johnson trade value chart, a method of determining the value of picks in the NFL draft, the Broncos came out ahead in terms of pick value after making four trades over the weekend. Here\u2019s a look (Mobile users, tap here to see the charts<\/a>):<\/p>\n Back to No. 57<\/p>\n Traded (Round-Overall) 2-51 3-85 4-122 6-208 Total 623<\/p>\n Surplus<\/p>\n +10.2<\/p>\n Back again to No. 60<\/p>\n Traded 2-57 7-230 Total 342<\/p>\n Surplus<\/p>\n +12<\/p>\n Up to No. 101<\/p>\n Traded 4-111 4-130 6-191 Total 135<\/p>\n Surplus<\/p>\n +6.4<\/p>\n Back from No. 197<\/p>\n Traded 6-197 7-241 Total 5.6<\/p>\n Surplus<\/p>\n -6.6<\/p>\n
\nPick value
\nReceived
\nPick value<\/p>\n
\n390
\n2-57
\n330<\/p>\n
\n165
\n3-74
\n220<\/p>\n
\n50
\n4-111
\n72<\/p>\n
\n7.8
\n7-230
\n1<\/p>\n
\n612.8<\/p>\n
\nPick value
\nReceived
\nPick value<\/p>\n
\n330
\n2-60
\n300<\/p>\n
\n1
\n4-130
\n42<\/p>\n
\n331<\/p>\n
\nPick value
\nReceived
\nPick value<\/p>\n
\n72
\n3-101
\n96<\/p>\n
\n42
\n4-134
\n39<\/p>\n
\n14.6<\/p>\n
\n128.6<\/p>\n
\nPick value
\nReceived
\nPick value<\/p>\n
\n12.2
\n6-216
\n4.6<\/p>\n
\n1<\/p>\n
\n12.2<\/p>\n