{"id":4160,"date":"2025-04-27T11:54:09","date_gmt":"2025-04-27T11:54:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/4160\/"},"modified":"2025-04-27T11:54:09","modified_gmt":"2025-04-27T11:54:09","slug":"broncos-fourth-and-seventh-round-picks-defined-mostly-by-potential-and-traits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/4160\/","title":{"rendered":"Broncos fourth- and seventh-round picks defined mostly by potential and ‘traits’"},"content":{"rendered":"

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. \u2014 The Denver Broncos gambled on traits in the back half of their draft.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Fourth-round choice Que Robinson has plenty of special-teams work<\/a>, but being a \u201ccore four\u201d player on the college level, even in the SEC, isn\u2019t going to get you drafted. With just five starts and 5.5 sacks in four seasons at Alabama to his name, his production doesn\u2019t match up well compared with other edge rushers.<\/p>\n

Seventh-round pick Caleb Lohner<\/a> doesn\u2019t 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. <\/p>\n

But their presence in the Broncos\u2019 draft class comes down to one word above all:
\u2028\u201dTraits.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRobinson obviously had different traits that we were looking for. Same with the tight end (Lohner),\u201d Paton said<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTraits\u201d can be a tantalizing word.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s 2006-07 decline.<\/p>\n

BUT \u201cTRAITS\u201d CAN HIT BIG, AND THE BRONCOS ARE HOPING FOR THAT NOW<\/p>\n

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 \u2014 one more than Lohner \u2014 to a five-time Pro Bowler.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow in Jimmy\u2019s case, there was a lot more. He was a Combine invite,\u201d Payton said. \u201cWe\u2019re late in this draft and you\u2019re rooting for some guys and you see upside in 6-foot-7, 245 pounds. You can see the basketball skill set, that\u2019s easy, at a high level. Then you\u2019re looking at a small amount of playing time and yet enough to where you\u2019re watching them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Payton looked at Lohner\u2019s Pro Day workout and saw how the size and movement could translate.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen 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\u2019s a lot of developmental upsides,\u201d Payton said, \u201cand we\u2019re excited about that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hitting on Lohner would shake up the long-term complexion of how this year\u2019s tight-end class is viewed. Unusually deep, the Broncos did their homework on the group, evidenced by the slew of formal Combine interviews<\/a> and 30 visits<\/a> with players at the position.<\/p>\n

But they didn\u2019t 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<\/a> with only sketch information \u2014 height, weight, position, name. <\/p>\n

Lohner\u2019s football resume is as thin as a promise. The basketball ledger is far more robust.<\/p>\n

But promise \u2014 and specifically the promise of traits, and what those have meant for basketball players in the past \u2014 is what the Broncos are betting on. <\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cHistorically speaking you can take certain players maybe and settle on them, but if you find some traits that project,\u201d Payton said.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026 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\u2019s these later picks. We\u2019re anxious to see how they evolve.\u201d<\/p>\n

Robinson and Lohner may not make or break the Broncos\u2019 2025 draft class. But they\u2019ll provide a test to see whether this philosophy pays dividends \u2014 a test that won\u2019t see even the first valid results for at least two years.<\/p>\n

\"YouTube<\/p>\n

\t
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