2025 NFL Draft rumors: Broncos considering this trade move that no other team seems to be interested in

It looks like the Denver Broncos are single-handedly trying to add some drama to the first round of the NFL Draft. With just three days to go until the draft kicks off, there have been exactly zero trades involving a first-round pick this year. 

Every team still has their original first round pick, which marks the first time since the modern draft era started in 1967 that every team has held their original first round pick this close to the draft. One reason we haven’t see any trades at the top of the draft is because no one wants to trade up this year.

Actually, we shouldn’t say no one, because it does appear that there’s one team that DOES want to trade up and that’s the Broncos. According to ESPN.com, Denver has made some “inquiries” about possibly moving up in Round 1. 

The Broncos currently hold the 20th overall pick, so they could be looking to do something small (like trading up to 19th) or they could be looking to make a giant splash by getting into the top 10. Right now, it’s not clear who the Broncos would be targeting, but there are plenty of options. 

When you look at their needs, the Broncos could stand to add an offensive skill player, which could be a running back, wide receiver or tight end. If Ashton Jeanty fell out of the top 10, it wouldn’t be crazy to see Denver try and make a move for him. At receiver, the Broncos could target someone like Matthew Golden of Texas or Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan, who are both expected to be gone by the 20th overall pick. If the Broncos decide to go with a tight end, they could trade up and grab Penn State’s Tyler Warren, who’s widely considered the best tight end in the draft. 

Basically, the Broncos have options and it won’t be surprising if they decide to trade up. During a pre-draft press conference on April 17, Denver general manager George Paton admitted that he was already making calls about a possible trade, although at the time, he didn’t admit if he was looking to move up or down. 

“We’ve made calls —  this week you make a lot of calls and then next week [are] the more serious calls,” Paton said via the team’s official website. “‘Hey, if this player is here, we want to move up,’ or what have you. I’ve talked to most [general managers] in the NFL to set the table or set the plan of, ‘Hey, if your player is here and you move up, what’s the range?’ You start talking parameters.”

Paton also added that trade talks get more “serious” during the week of the draft, so if he’s still making calls right now, that likely means the Broncos have someone they really want to get. 

“It gets more serious next week and then really draft day,” Paton said of trade talks. “Sometimes, you haven’t heard from a team and someone just really wants to come up and they are aggressive [because] their player is there.”

It won’t be surprising if the Broncos trade up and that’s because Sean Payton seems to be a big fan of doing exactly that in the draft. During his final 13 drafts in New Orleans, the Saints made 22 trades and they were all deals that moved them UP in the draft. 

During Payton’s two drafts in Denver, the Broncos have moved up to acquire at least one player in each draft with Marvin Mims Jr. in 2023 and Troy Franklin in 2024. Those weren’t first-round trades, but they do prove that Denver will move up if they find the right player, so the Broncos will definitely be a team to keep an eye on during the opening round on Thursday night.