NFL Fans Suspect Sean Payton Is Eyeing Ashton Jeanty in the NFL Draft After Recent Update From the Broncos

The Denver Broncos were a pleasant surprise in 2024. They went 10-7 and reached the postseason much earlier in their rebuild timeline than surely anyone expected. This success was largely due to their selection of QB Bo Nix in the first round of last year’s draft. Many considered him a mid-round talent, but the Broncos took him No. 12 overall, and he proved to be a solid starting QB in his rookie season.

Head coach Sean Payton and company will look to make it 2-for-2 on first-round picks this Thursday. However, they sit a little bit further back in the queue with pick No. 20 this time around. It was believed they would go best player available there, but Adam Schefter recently reported that the Broncos are surveying the field and keeping options open.

While Schefter listed off a litany of teams looking to trade back in the 2025 NFL Draft, the only one that is making calls about trading up at the moment is Denver. This has led to much speculation about who Payton would be targeting if the Broncos did find a dancing partner.

“There has been, however, a lack of teams willing to trade up — at least so far. Denver is one of those: The Broncos have made inquiries about moving up in Round 1, according to sources. But there aren’t many others. This always could change when players start falling and teams are on the clock,” Schefter said.

One user on Twitter had a very intriguing reaction to the recent report: “They will try and trade up to the 4 spot for Jeanty.” While trading up to No. 4 to take Heisman runner-up Ashton Jeanty would be a little bit overzealous—he is a running back after all—it would make sense for Payton to target a ball carrier a bit lower on the board, given how poor Denver’s ground game has been.

Surprisingly, some more users in the replies suggested Jeanty was the one Payton was eyeing. One said, “Obviously Jeanty,” while another changed up the wording a little bit and went with, “Jeanty for sure.”

There were nearly a dozen replies suggesting Jeanty or another RB for Denver in the draft. One user outlined a possible scenario: “My guess is if they do it, they’ll try to trade up in the 7-10 range if the Raiders don’t take Jeanty. With how deep this class is at RB, it would not be smart to move the amount of assets needed to trade into the top five to try to take him before Vegas picks.”

My guess is if they do it they’ll try to trade up in the 7-10 range if the Raiders don’t take Jeanty.

With how deep this class is at RB, it would not be smart to move the amount of assets needed to trade into the top five to try to take him before Vegas picks.

— Jordan Georgeson (@J_Georgeson26) April 21, 2025

As mentioned earlier, Schefter also listed a bevy of teams that are looking to trade down. The Broncos might want to take a close look at that directory. Any of the four teams Schefter listed picking between No. 5 and No. 15 could be trading partners for them to move up and snag the Maxwell Award winner.

“On the other side of things, the Steelers (No. 21) are among the teams interested in moving back from their first-round slot. That list also includes the Jaguars (5), Panthers (8), 49ers (11), Falcons (15), Seahawks (18), Buccaneers (19) and Vikings (24), who currently have four picks, the fewest any team.”

In other news, Schefter reported that both the Cleveland Browns at No. 2 and the New York Giants at No. 3 have been persistent in their attempts to pry the top pick away from the Tennessee Titans. However, the Titans have held firm and are expected to move forward by selecting Miami QB Cam Ward with the No. 1 overall pick.