The 2024 NFL Draft is now in the rearview mirror. After a flurry of selections from April 25 to April 27, 257 players were selected to join the NFL.
With that, we give you our full recap of the Denver Broncos‘ draft, with analysis on every selection the team made during the weekend and an in-depth look at their top pick.
For more information on the players your favorite team drafted, it’s not too late to get the 2024 NFL Draft Guide, which includes expanded scouting reports, draft grades, offseason reports, unique advanced data, PFF grades and much more.
Click here for more draft tools:
2024 Mock Draft Simulator | 2024 Big Board | 2024 Draft Guide
2024 Player Profiles | 2024 Mock Drafts | NCAA Premium Stats
2024 Draft Picks
- 1 (12): QB Bo Nix, Oregon
- 3 (76): EDGE Jonah Elliss, Utah
- 4 (102): WR Troy Franklin, Oregon
- 5 (145): CB Kris Abrams-Draine, Missouri
- 5 (147): RB Audric Estime, Notre Dame
- 7 (235): WR Devaughn Vele, Utah
- 7 (256): IOL Nick Gargiulo, South Carolina
Nix — Denver had one of the worst quarterback rooms in the NFL on paper. It’s not a surprise to see them address the position, though the way they did it — taking the QB6 at 12th overall — is a bit surprising. Nix excelled at getting the ball out quickly and accurately in the Oregon offense over the past two seasons. His 70.0% accurate pass rate since 2022 ranks second among Power Five quarterbacks with at least 250 pass attempts.
Elliss — Edge rusher was a need for the Broncos heading into Day 2, and they get some good value here with Elliss early in the third round. In 10 games last year, he racked up 39 pressures, 13 of which were sacks, and won 17.7% of his pass-rushing snaps. Getting their quarterback and edge defender with limited picks in the first two days of the draft is good business by Denver.
Franklin — This is an obvious fit for Franklin, as he will be reunited with his Oregon teammate and 12th overall pick, QB Bo Nix. Franklin averaged 3.32 yards per route run in 2023, the third-best mark among all receivers in the draft class.
Abrams-Draine — Playing opposite Ennis Rakestraw Jr. at Missouri, Abrams-Draine posted a career-high 89.9 coverage grade in 2023 and now provides the Broncos with another great depth piece in the secondary. He forced 34 incompletions in off-coverage from 2021 to 2023, which ranked first among all college cornerbacks.
Estime — Estime’s 94.0 overall grade was the highest among all Power Five backs in 2023. His grade was due in large part to his ability to break tackles, as he forced a whopping 64 misses for the season.
Vele — Vele is the type of wide receiver that many offensive coordinators gravitate toward in today’s NFL. He is solid in mesh concepts, understands reading safeties and linebackers in coverage and knows how to get open quickly. Although he doesn’t necessarily have a signature tool, Vele is a solid football player. He recorded a 69.1 PFF receiving grade in 2023.
Gargiulo — Having played over 350 snaps at left tackle, left guard and center in his career, Gargiulo has proven positional versatility that could lend itself well to holding onto a roster spot in Denver. A transfer from Yale, he has allowed just two sacks on over 1,400 pass-blocking snaps since 2019.
DRAFT GRADE: A-
Rookie spotlight: QB Bo Nix, Oregon
Scouting summary
Some see Nix's age (24) as a negative, but it has made him one of the more knowledgeable quarterback prospects with a better pre-snap understanding of defenses than most at the position. When the ball comes out of his hands, it has a consistent pace with good control.
His pocket presence is good, but he could stand to climb the pocket more instead of fading away. He is an above-average athlete for the position and is always a threat to keep an RPO or scramble.
As a passer, he is also accurate out of structure. He gets in trouble due to his footwork, as his feet are not as light as they could be. His knack for avoiding negative plays, including sacks, is a top-class trait.
Wins above average
WAA represents the number of wins a player is worth over an average college football player and is a metric that evaluators can utilize to assess performance. It combines how well a player performed in each facet of play (using PFF grades) and how valuable each facet is to winning football games. The result is a first-of-its-kind metric that allows for cross-positional valuation and predicts future value at the player and team levels.
How Nix ranks in the stable metrics
While Nix didn’t fare very well in our stable metrics, he thrived in unstable metrics, such as grade under pressure. While it typically fluctuates year over year, Nix earned a career 75.6 grade under pressure in college, a mark that ranks 16th out of 106 qualifying quarterbacks since 2019.
Not only does Nix play well under pressure, but he also avoids sacks at an elite level. In his last college season, Nix held a 1.2% sack rate, ranking second among all quarterbacks.
The bottom line
Nix's experience manifests in the form of pre-snap reads, play under pressure and avoiding negatives. His footwork needs to be more disciplined, and he will take some time to really read progressions better in the NFL, but he is a quarterback with starting-caliber tools in his arm and his legs with added out-of-structure playmaking.
© 2024 PFF - all rights reserved.