The Broncos used a first-round pick on Jahdae Barron in the 2025 NFL Draft, but the fit is beginning to look shaky.
Barron arrived in Denver with plenty of upside as a versatile defensive back, yet he still hasn’t carved out a starting job in a secondary that’s already crowded with talent. As a rookie, he played just under 30% of the Broncos’ defensive snaps, according to Pro Football Reference, and the early read is that he’s headed into year two in a reserve role.
That’s not exactly a disaster for a team with a loaded back end. But for a Broncos club that sees itself as a Super Bowl contender, the first-rounder was supposed to help right away. Instead, Denver may have spent premium draft capital on a player who didn’t fill one of the roster’s most urgent holes.
Altitude Sports Radio’s Darren McKee didn’t love the choice, and he made the reasoning plain.
“He wasn’t a great draft pick. It’s nothing against him as a player, it’s about what they needed at the time and the depth they needed to fill. And corner and safety wasn’t it," McKee said.
The problem for Barron is simple: the road to a starting job is crowded from every angle. To get on the field full-time, he’d have to beat out Riley Moss for the outside corner spot opposite Pat Surtain II or push Ja’Quan McMillian out of the nickel role.
Denver had a chance to open that nickel lane this offseason when McMillian hit restricted free agency, but the team kept him on a one-year, $5.767 million second-round tender. That move closed off Barron’s clearest path to a starting role and left him searching for another opening.
And that’s where the draft debate starts to get louder. If the Broncos were trying to maximize their Super Bowl window, there were other players still available when they were on the clock who could have helped in more immediate ways.
One obvious alternative was running back Omarion Hampton. Running back is no longer a pressing need in Denver after J.K.
Dobbins put together an impressive 2025 season before his injury and the team drafted Jonah Coleman in this year’s draft. Second-year RB RJ Harvey is also in the mix and had a 12-touchdown rookie season.
Still, the Broncos finished No. 16 in total rushing yards last season, and Hampton could have brought first-round juice to a backfield behind one of the NFL’s best offensive lines. The Chargers took him just two picks later.
Another possibility was inside linebacker Jihaad Campbell. That spot is one of the few question marks on the Broncos’ roster entering 2026, and Campbell would have lined up with Denver’s longer-term outlook there.
The Broncos signed Dre Greenlaw to a hefty three-year deal just last offseason, so linebacker wasn’t treated as an immediate hole. But Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad are both in the final years of their respective deals, and the team passed on a strong free agency linebacker class this offseason.
Singleton and Strnad are projected as the starters entering 2026, but the depth behind them is thin. Singleton has also been a liability in coverage at times.
Campbell, meanwhile, made an immediate impact with the Eagles, outplaying Singleton and ranking as the NFL’s No. 5 coverage linebacker via Pro Football Focus.
Then there’s the pick that looks like the biggest swing of all: Carson Schwesinger. He was even more productive than Campbell as a rookie, and the numbers back it up.
Schwesinger posted over 100 tackles and three sacks, while PFF credited him with 54 defensive stops, 22 more than any other rookie. That performance earned him Defensive Rookie of the Year honors.
Schwesinger would have checked both boxes for Denver - help now, and a long-term answer at linebacker. If his career keeps tracking the way it has started, the Broncos’ decision to pass on him could end up as one of the 2025 draft’s biggest what-ifs.
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