Broncos add Jim Thorpe winner to secondary with first-round pick in 2025 NFL Draft

Travis Wakeman

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Broncos add Jim Thorpe winner to secondary with first-round pick in 2025 NFL Draft image

The Denver Broncos let the draft come to them in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, selecting Texas cornerback Jahdae Barron with the No. 20 overall selection. 

The Broncos decided to wait until later in the draft to get their running back, despite Omarion Hampton and TreVeyon Henderson being on the board when they went on the clock. Another popular mock draft pick, Emeka Egbuka, went with the pick right before to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

Barron was considered by many draft analysts to be the best cornerback in the entire class and he won the Jim Thorpe Award last year, given to the best cornerback in the nation. In 57 games at Texas, Barron had over 200 tackles and eight interceptions. 

Adding him to a secondary that already includes the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year, Pat Surtain II, was apparently too good to pass up for the Broncos. The Broncos can slide Barron into the nickel corner spot or put him on the outside in place of Riley Moss. 

Cornerback was not seen as the team's biggest need, but George Paton and Sean Payton clearly went with the best player available approach as Barron was the top-ranked player on the board by many analysts when the team went on the clock. 

 

The Broncos may have to answer questions about players they didn't take with this pick (Hampton, Henderson, Matthew Golden), but it's hard to argue with this selection as it adds to a defense that was already looking like it could be one of the best in the entire league this season. 

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In a division that features Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert, loading up in the secondary is a good plan. 

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Travis Wakeman

Travis Wakeman has been covering the NFL since 2012 when he started with Bleacher Report. After reporting about the Broncos there until 2016, he joined the FanSided network as a site expert covering the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers while simultaneously covering the Broncos at Broncos Wire when that site launched. He then took over the Broncos site at FanSided in March 2020 and covered the team there until spring of 2024. A lifelong Broncos fan and fan of the game, Travis is filled with sometimes useless NFL knowledge, but it always serves him well in any trivia contest. You can follow him on Twitter/X @traviswakeman10.