Texas CB Jahdae Barron selected by Broncos with 20th overall pick in NFL draft

Luca Evans and Parker Gabriel, The Denver Post on Apr 24, 2025

Published in Football

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The Broncos couldn’t pass up the crystal just because they needed a blender.

Denver on Thursday night selected Texas cornerback Jahdae Barron at No. 20 overall, adding a playmaking defender to an already strong secondary and bypassing offensive skill options in the process.

Head coach Sean Payton previewed the potential line of thinking last week during a pre-draft news conference when outlining the decision-making process between need and value.

“Let’s not pass on the crystal for a blender just because we need a blender,” he said.

Denver took his advice to heart.

Barron was almost universally considered one of the best players in the class and Denver, tied for weeks to tight ends, running backs and wide receivers, passed on many options there to take Barron.

Barron joins a secondary anchored by reigning defensive player of the year Pat Surtain II, third-year man Riley Moss and high-quality nickel Ja’Quan McMillian.

The Broncos, rumored by several national reporters in recent days to be considering a trade up, instead stayed true to what Payton and general manager George Paton said last week and throughout the spring. The draft lined up in such a way that they thought a similar caliber player would be available at No. 20 as around the top 10.

All the same, they watched as running back Ashton Jeanty went No. 6 to Las Vegas and tight ends Colston Loveland and Tyler Warren went No. 10 to Chicago and No. 14 to Indianapolis, respectively.

Those were the offensive skill position players that could have made sense for Denver to explore trading up for. Instead, they were comfortable letting a draft believed to be thick in the middle come to them.