Broncos general manager George Paton now has two more darts to throw at the board — the final two darts of the draft.
The NFL announced its compensatory picks for this year’s draft in the midst of the “legal-tampering” frenzy Monday, and the Broncos received two extra picks — choices Nos. 256 and 257 to wrap up the seventh and final round of this year’s selection meeting, to be held in Pittsburgh on April 23-25.
These two selections take the Broncos’ total draft haul to nine selections, including three in the seventh round. They have choices in the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and seventh rounds.
With the compensatory picks set, the Broncos know their exact draft slots:
Round 1: No. 30 overall
Round 2: No. 62 overall
Round 3: No. 94 overall
Round 4 (from New Orleans): No. 108 overall
Round 4: No. 130 overall
Round 5: No. 170 overall
Round 7: No. 246 overall
Round 7 (compensatory): No. 256 overall
Round 7 (compensatory): No. 257 overall
They don’t have a sixth-round pick, having swapped that to the New York Jets in the deal to acquire John Franklin-Myers two years ago.
Compensatory picks are awarded based on a calculation that takes into account acquisitions and departures via unrestricted free agency in the previous year, from the start of the league year until the Monday after the NFL Draft
The players who were taken into account for the Broncos’ tabulation were as follows:
ADDITIONS: LB Dre Greenlaw, S Talanoa Hufanga
DEPARTURES: LB Cody Barton, P Riley Dixon, CB Tremon Smith, RB Javonte Williams, QB Zach Wilson
BRONCOS NOW IN POSITION TO DRAFT “MR. IRRELEVANT”
The Broncos now have the final pick in the draft, and if they hold onto it, they would conclude the draft for the first time in nine years.
That last pick in the draft is dubbed “Mr. Irrelevant” and is feted at “Irrelevant Week” ceremonies in Newport Beach, Calif. in late June. This year will mark the 50th anniversary of “Irrelevant Week.”
Denver’s most-recent “Mr. Irrelevant” was quarterback Chad Kelly, selected in 2017. He lasted on the roster into midway through the 2018 season until the team waived him after an arrest for criminal trespassing. Kelly later entered a guilty plea for the incident, in which he entered a home uninvited after attending Von Miller’s annual Halloween party.