Breaking down potential fit for Broncos’ in-house 30 visits ahead of NFL draft

For Oregon guys at least and there are a lot of Oregon guys in this draft class getting an evaluation within Denver s walls is simple enough Head coach Sean Payton and general manager George Paton have sat in pre-draft meetings crushing tape and Payton has picked up the phone then and there and called Bo Nix for his thoughts Beyond former Ducks though the process of gathering prospect intel on future Broncos is much more complex In addition to Zoom calls and standard combine and Pro Day visits another big clue to an organization s interest in a prospect is the visit where clubs host players at their facilities to conduct a mix of interviews or physical exams Good luck though trying to accurately throw darts connecting draftees to organizations based on those meetings A variety of teams use them for a multitude of reasons with agents across the NFL carrying the belief that they hold little weight in projecting who a franchise will indeed draft Of validated Broncos visits by CBS Sports in only three RB Blake Watson CB Quinton Newsome and safety Omar Brown later ended up in Denver Maybe it s Can he learn what we are trying to do mentally Paton noted describing the reasons the Broncos would bring in a prospect for an in-house visit Maybe he has something off the field we want to address Maybe it s someone who didn t go to the combine and we want to bring them in to get a physical so we can draft the sportsman Maybe we are just trying to recruit a college free agent The Denver Post has substantiated prospects per sources that the Broncos have visited with this draft cycle Here s a breakdown on their probable draft slot with Denver the temperature on organizational interest and a few notes RB Jaydon Blue Texas Achievable fit Third round Temperature Lukewarm Why bring him in Blue profiles as a Darren Sproles-esque fit in Payton s offense as an RB who can flash out of the backfield but he also didn t play a ton of snaps in college DT Vernon Broughton Texas Manageable fit Fourth round Temperature Lukewarm Why bring him in Broughton s got good size and decent athleticism but has just total college starts under his belt S Kitan Crawford Nevada Manageable fit Fourth round Temperature Warmer Related Articles NFL draft Three first-round bargain frameworks that could make sense for Broncos on Thursday night Broncos top priority heading into NFL draft Outfitting Bo Nix with more playmakers Broncos Journal Should Denver take Omarion Hampton or TreVeyon Henderson at No Renck File With Broncos now contenders Sean Payton must be bold in NFL draft Broncos mock draft What if Denver beefs up defensive line depth in first round Why bring him in Crawford is super athletic -second -yard dash but has just one year of proven college production in the Mountain West TE Harold Fannin Jr Bowling Green Feasible fit Third round Temperature Lukewarm Why bring him in Fannin set the world on fire at Bowling Green with catches for yards last year But his combine results weren t quite as eye-popping TE Terrance Ferguson Oregon Realizable fit Third round Temperature Warmer Why bring him in This doesn t technically count as a for the Broncos as Ferguson s a Littleton native and came by the facility on a local visit WR Matthew Golden Texas Doable fit First round Temperature Warmer Why bring him in Could be to judge Golden s intellect and feasible fit in Payton s system beyond top-of-his-class speed and get several physical notes on him after Golden suffered an ankle injury in Texas College Football Playoff semifinal WR Bryson Green Wisconsin Accomplishable fit Priority free agent Temperature Cool Why bring him in Green s athleticism is off the charts with a informed -inch vertical jump at Wisconsin s pro day but the receiver totaled just catches in eight games at Wisconsin last year CB Maxwell Hairston Kentucky Practicable fit First round Temperature Cool Why bring him in Hairston might be the fastest man in the draft -yard dash at combine He missed five games in with a shoulder injury so his visit could ve been for clinical reasons TE Gunnar Helm Texas Viable fit Fourth round Temperature Warmer Why bring him in Another local product out of Cherry Creek High Helm sprained his ankle at the combine and recorded less-than-ideal measurables RB TreVeyon Henderson Ohio State Viable fit First round Temperature Scalding Why bring him in The shifty Henderson might well be the Broncos guy at No especially if Payton wants to build a backfield tandem with returning Audric Estime RB Kaleb Johnson Iowa Doable fit Third round Temperature Cool Why bring him in Payton likes big-bodied runners and Johnson was a bell-cow at Iowa yards TDs in but he doesn t have extensive usage as a pass-catcher or pass-protector OL Nash Jones Texas State Feasible fit Sixth round Temperature Lukewarm Why bring him in Jones has five years of college experience under his belt but played at lower-profile programs Incarnate Word and Texas State and didn t get invited to the combine RB Quinshon Judkins Ohio State Achievable fit Second round Temperature Lukewarm Why bring him in Maybe the visit is a smoke-screen for Buckeye backfield-mate Henderson Or vice versa Either way Judkins is pretty much the opposite of Henderson QB Cam Miller North Dakota State Doable fit Priority free agent Temperature Lukewarm Why bring him in Miller s likely an undrafted fit for a unit as a veteran out of FCS North Dakota State and the Broncos could look to bring him in post-draft for competition DT Walter Nolen Ole Miss Practicable fit First round Temperature Warmer Why bring him in Nolen checks all the boxes in production and size but might carry character concerns as ESPN s Jeremy Fowler broadcasted there are several NFL scouting reports that show Nolen has a history of walking off the practice field mid-session due to frustration EDGE Elijah Ponder Cal Poly Manageable fit PFA Temperature Lukewarm Why bring him in Ponder s another guy from a lower-level plan in Cal Poly with great college production who wasn t invited to the combine WR Hal Presley Baylor Workable fit Priority free agent Temperature Warmer Why bring him in Presley wasn t a dominant receiving threat at Baylor catches yards as senior but was extremely working as a run-blocker and could have depth value LB Jailin Walker Indiana Workable fit Sixth round Temperature Cool Why bring him in Walker was really good last year at Indiana after three years at James Madison but wasn t invited to the combine and has flown under the radar at an undersized -foot- OT Trey Wedig Indiana Feasible fit Sixth round Temperature Lukewarm Why bring him in Wedig is another promising depth fit on the OL Denver will likely spend more time on late-round offensive linemen than early-round fits that didn t get invited to the NFL combine Want more Broncos news Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis