{"id":740463,"date":"2026-02-09T14:42:20","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T14:42:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/740463\/"},"modified":"2026-02-09T14:42:20","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T14:42:20","slug":"broncos-make-curious-pick-in-nfl-mock-draft-from-bucky-brooks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/740463\/","title":{"rendered":"Broncos make curious pick in NFL mock draft from Bucky Brooks"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In his latest <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nfl.com\/news\/bucky-brooks-2026-nfl-mock-draft-1-0-cowboys-double-up-on-defense-rams-snag-qb-prospect\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:2026 NFL mock draft;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">2026 NFL mock draft<\/a> for NFL.com, Bucky Brooks has the <a href=\"https:\/\/broncoswire.usatoday.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Denver Broncos;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Denver Broncos<\/a> making an interesting selection late in the first round.<\/p>\n<p>Brooks has the <a href=\"https:\/\/sportsdata.usatoday.com\/football\/nfl\/teams\/denver-broncos\/332\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Broncos;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Broncos<\/a> picking Toledo safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren at pick No. 30. This is his commentary with the pick: &#8220;Adding a playmaking safety will <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nfl.com\/news\/bucky-brooks-2026-nfl-mock-draft-1-0-cowboys-double-up-on-defense-rams-snag-qb-prospect\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:enable the Broncos;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">enable the Broncos<\/a> to continue suffocating opponents with sticky coverage. McNeil-Warren is a rangy defender with the instincts and awareness to eliminate deep throws between the hashes.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>That would be a curious selection because Brandon Jones (2027) and Talanoa Hufanga (2028) still have time before their contracts expire, and using a first-round pick for a developmental safety would be a surprising move when the team has other, more pressing needs.<\/p>\n<p>Jones was named a Pro Bowl alternate in 2024 and Hufanga was named a second-team All-Pro in 2025, so it&#8217;s not like Denver needs to prioritize upgrading the safety position. It&#8217;s never too early to begin planning ahead, but the Broncos should probably use their first-round pick on a player who can make an instant impact in 2026.<\/p>\n<p>Social: Follow\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/broncoswire.usatoday.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Broncos Wire;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Broncos Wire<\/a>\u00a0on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BroncosWire\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Facebook;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Facebook<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/thebroncoswire\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Twitter\/X;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Twitter\/X<\/a>!\u00a0Did you know:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/broncoswire.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/nfl\/broncos\/2019\/08\/03\/denver-broncos-famous-fans-celebrities-include-paul-george-amy-adams\/79446413007\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:These 25 celebrities are Broncos fans;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">These 25 celebrities are Broncos fans<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>This article originally appeared on Broncos Wire: <a href=\"https:\/\/broncoswire.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/nfl\/broncos\/2026\/02\/09\/2026-nfl-mock-draft-broncos-curious-pick\/88548406007\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:2026 NFL mock draft: Denver Broncos make curious 1st-round pick;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">2026 NFL mock draft: Denver Broncos make curious 1st-round pick<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In his latest 2026 NFL mock draft for NFL.com, Bucky Brooks has the Denver Broncos making an interesting&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":740464,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2062],"tags":[10886,232,8592,231,258,2426,52670,7,6,187,3319],"class_list":["post-740463","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-denver-broncos","tag-brandon-jones","tag-broncos","tag-bucky-brooks","tag-denver","tag-denver-broncos","tag-denverbroncos","tag-emmanuel-mcneil-warren","tag-football","tag-nfl","tag-pick","tag-talanoa-hufanga"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116041203489551396","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/740463","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=740463"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/740463\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/740464"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=740463"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=740463"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=740463"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}