The Denver Broncos had plenty of holes to fill heading into this year’s draft, and their job was to find the best players available at each spot.
That search isn’t just about talent — it’s about skill, work ethic, personality, leadership, and all the other qualities teams look for in rookies. But the Broncos had one key factor they focused on that most other teams didn’t.
The big buzz in college football has been around NIL deals and the transfer portal lately. Many players jump from school to school, often chasing bigger paydays rather than the best fit.
But the Broncos seemed to take a different approach. Their first pick, Cam Ward, was a transfer from Washington State. The second pick, Travis Hunter, transferred from Jackson State. And the 16th pick, Walter Nolan, moved from Texas A&M to Ole Miss.
Even though many top prospects were transfers, most teams didn’t pay much attention to that trend. But the Broncos did. ESPN’s Jeff Legwold recently wrote about how Denver purposely tried to avoid transfers and instead leaned on players who stayed put.
The piece starts with Broncos head coach Sean Payton, who was asked whether it was a coincidence that their draft class was mostly non-transfers. He was clear: “It's not by accident. There might be some coincidence in there, but in the overview, it's not by accident. Not at all."
Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton during the first quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton during the first quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
Broncos third-round pick Pat Bryant, who spent all four years at Illinois, added some insight: "I think maybe they like guys who stayed and worked through things at one place."
That pretty much sums up what Payton wanted from his rookies. According to Legwold, Payton was after mentally tough players who didn’t leave just for money or other reasons. He wants guys who embrace the grind and figure out how to improve instead of jumping ship.
Take second-round pick RJ Harvey as an example. Harvey started as a quarterback at Virginia but didn’t play a snap his first year. He then transferred to UCF to play running back, where he stayed for four seasons.
Harvey told every team, including the Broncos, that “For me it's about the right situation.” Sticking it out through ups and downs at UCF clearly caught Payton’s eye. The Broncos took him in the second round even though many thought he’d go in the mid rounds — and now he’s in line to be their starting running back as a rookie.
Legwold also pointed out that the Broncos drafted many players with whom they had direct experience.
Coaches like assistant head coach Jim Leonhard and defensive line coach Jamar Cain coached some of these rookies in college — Leonhard was at Illinois with Bryant, and Cain was at LSU with Sai’vion Jones.
There was one exception to their “no transfer” rule: seventh-round pick Caleb Lohner, who played football for Utah last season but was a basketball player at BYU and Baylor before switching to tight end.
The article closes with Payton reflecting on the draft class:
"I had a lot of turnover, and with some of the new arrivals and with coaches we've had, there was a lot of institutional knowledge with some of these players," Payton said.
"The inside info, who they are, that's important to us. We say tough, smart, good teammates, we say those things, but to find it, to really find it ... that's what you want. In this group, we found it in players who had stayed and played where they were for longer than a lot of guys."
Denver targeted players who fit their culture and what Payton wants to build. They wanted guys ready for the long haul, not players looking to jump at the first shiny opportunity. Payton sounds confident about this class and excited to watch them develop.
While the transfer portal keeps growing in college football, Sean Payton and the Broncos prefer the old-fashioned approach. Talent and skill are essential, but mental toughness and loyalty matter just as much.
Players who stick with a program don’t go unnoticed, especially by Payton. Now, it’s up to this group to prove the strategy works and maybe give the Broncos one of their best draft classes.