After finishing with their best record since their Super Bowl 50 victory, the Denver Broncos are clearly on the rise. The team ended the 2024 season at 10-7, with rookie quarterback Bo Nix leading the way. Starting all 17 games, Nix threw for 3,775 yards and 29 touchdowns, showing impressive poise and the ability to manage the game.
With Nix looking like the future face of the franchise, the Broncos could be on the verge of something special. However, before they can truly start contending and making deep playoff runs, they’ll need to strengthen the supporting cast around him and are predicted to trade up for a versatile playmaker in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Broncos Predicted To Pick Colston Loveland After Trading Up in 2025 NFL Draft
While the top-ranked Broncos defense continued to keep the team in contention for most of the 2024 season, Nix not only managed the game, he made a difference. Though Nix ranked one slot below his predecessor (Russell Wilson) in PFSN’s 2024 QB Rankings, the former Auburn Tiger/Oregon Duck finished third in the AP’s Offensive Rookie of the Year voting.
In Nix’s rookie season, most targets went to Courtland Sutton and Javonte Williams. The offense tallied the 10th most points scored league-wide but was slightly below average according to PFSN’s Offense Rankings.
The Broncos’ tight end group was a non-factor for the most part. Twenty-six-year-old Lucas Krull led the group in targets with 23, while 27-year-old Adam Trautman had the most receiving yards with 188.
However, Denver’s tight end woes are predicted to change in the 2025 season. NFL.com’s Gennaro Filice predicts the Broncos will trade up and pick up a versatile playmaking weapon for Nix in Colston Loveland as the 13th overall pick.
“No stranger to trading up in Round 1, Sean Payton vaults up the board for a tight end, though maybe not the one you anticipated,” Filice said.
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“The Broncos coach has been telling anyone who will listen that his offense needs a “joker,” but what kind of joker does he desire? Tyler Warren, who has become the general mockosphere’s TE1, is a traditional “Y,” combining bruising playmaking ability with stout blocking. Loveland, on the other hand, is more of the modern passing-game weapon at the position, running receiver routes in a tight end body. Payton could prefer the latter.”
Loveland is a versatile receiving threat who profiles more as a big slot receiver than a traditional tight end. The issue will be a lack of separation ability, which will test Nix’s accuracy. However, he is a player the Broncos could line up all over the field to create mismatches. He is a little smaller than Jimmy Graham, but that could add value if he can also take snaps in the backfield.
As a true freshman at Michigan, Loveland flashed promise, accruing 16 catches for 235 yards and two scores. In 2023, he was one of the offense’s most dynamic, reliable weapons and a driving force for the team’s national championship run.
Catching passes from J.J. McCarthy, Loveland recorded 45 receptions for 649 yards and four touchdowns in 2023, earning first-team All-Big Ten honors in the process. He regressed slightly last season, logging 56 receptions for 582 yards and five touchdowns.
PFSN’s Latest Draft Projections
In PFSN’s latest mock draft by Justin Lewis, the Broncos are predicted to pick Missouri’s Luther Burden III as their assigned 20th overall pick.
“Luther Burden III has a knack for making huge plays in important moments, usually on slot fades and while flashing only one hand out to finish the catch. The highs are incredibly high, but the lack of nuance as a route runner and the amount of volume he receives crossing the field or on screens compared to winning 1-on-1 matchups is alarming for his projection as a separator at the next level.
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“Nevertheless, Burden’s natural fluidity, conspicuous explosiveness, and violent agility with the ball in his hands should realistically extend to his natural separation ability at the NFL level.”
Meanwhile, Loveland slipped out of the first round in Lewis’ draft. He, however, landed with Denver in PFSN’s Feb. 15 seven-round mock draft by Ben Rolfe.
