Future Broncos: 2025 NFL Draft declarations are rolling in

With the College Football Playoffs winding down, early declarations for the 2025 NFL Draft are rolling in at a fast pace.

The College Football Playoffs and bowl games are winding down, which means a lot of prospects are making their intentions known to make the jump to the National Football League. Over the past several seasons, there has been a significant uptick in early declarations compared to years past. I expect the 2025 NFL Draft will be no different.

This year’s soft deadline for declarations is this coming Monday, whereas the hard deadline is January 15. For those competing in this year’s National Championship later in the month, they will have until January 24 to make their decision. The NFL has an official list that they update regularly, and it can be viewed here.

The good news for Broncos Country is that we are seeing a flurry of activity from players at positions where the franchise certainly needs to add talent. Wide receiver, running back, and tight end are all seeing a lot of great players declare. That definitely lines up with the Broncos’ needs moving forward into the future.

While I expect the Broncos to pursue someone in free agency—perhaps Tee Higgins—adding in the draft at wide receiver makes a lot of sense. Courtland Sutton has had a good season, but next season is the last year of his contract, and he will be 30 years old. He leads the Broncos in receptions, yards, touchdowns, and targets.

But I’d have never guessed off the top of my head that Javonte Williams at running back had the second most looks in the receiving game for the team this year. Even with Head Coach Sean Payton’s penchant for utilizing running backs in the passing game. If the Broncos can’t secure a big name in free agency, wide receiver is certainly going to be in play in the early rounds of the 2025 NFL Draft.

As many of us have been saying all season long, surrounding Bo Nix with more friends is the best thing the Broncos can do to be more competitive. We’ve seen some flashes from rookie players and several of them have earned more looks next year, but Denver still needs to be serious about improving the group of skill players around him.

The running game has been hit or miss all season long, which is why I’m a big advocate of drafting one of the top backs early. Moreover, the tight end production for the franchise has been one of the worst in the league. Both positions are some of the deepest in this year’s draft and the Broncos ought to take advantage of that.

Right now, the Denver Broncos are projected as a wild card team and will be one with a victory over the Kansas City Chiefs this Sunday. That means they would be slated to pick no higher than 19th overall in April. However, a loss coupled with wins from other teams within a game of them could propel them close to the 15th selection—giving them a shot at premier talent entering this draft.

Based off the list from the NFL above, what players would you like to see the Broncos focus on? Who are some of your top early entrants in this year’s draft? Is there any dark horse candidate you have for their first pick? Let me know in the comments section.