ESPN analyst: Broncos should go safety in Round 1, and he explains why

Most pundits on what Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton likes to call the “draft bus” have the team going for a tight end or a running back with its first-round pick at the No. 20 overall spot.

ESPN’s Jordan Reid sees things a little differently.

In the two-round mock draft he posted at ESPN.com earlier this week, he had the Broncos selecting a safety with their Round 1 choice — South Carolina’s Nick Emmanwori. This comes on the heels of Emmanwori posting one of the all-time great Combine workouts for a safety. Highlighting the day’s work for the 6-foot-3, 220-pound safety was a 4.38-second 40-yard dash time.

The best vertical jump (43") and broad jump (11'6") of ANYONE at this year's Combine.

South Carolina safety Nick Emmanwori is one to watch 👀@Eman7Nick | @GamecockFB pic.twitter.com/158IrIOzkE

— NFL (@NFL) March 4, 2025

Emmanwori steps into a draft environment that has become unfavorable for safeties in the early rounds. No player at his position has even been a first-round choice since 2022, when three safeties went off the board in Round 1, highlighted by the Baltimore Ravens selecting Kyle Hamilton with the No. 14 pick that year.

All Hamilton has done is collect first- and second-team All-Pro plaudits in the last three seasons.

“Yeah, safety is always a touchy subject,” Reid explained on a conference call with media from around the league Wedneesday. “Just because there’s some guys that don’t go in the first round and everybody wonders why when this guy went on to be super productive or there’s some guys that do go in the first round and end up being worth it. Kyle Hamilton is one guy that immediately comes to mind that a lot of people are wondering why he slipped to the No. 14 overall pick.

“And it’s different for every single team. Just like with running back is different as far as how you value those guys.”

While safety isn’t a top-of-the-checklist need for the Broncos — the “must-have,” in the parlance of Payton during Super Bowl week — it does lurk as an area of potential interest, as both Denver starting safeties have expiring contracts after the 2025 season.

The Broncos veered away from the realm of highly-paid safeties last year when they jettisoned Justin Simmons. Safeties Brandon Jones and P.J. Locke have a combined cap figure less than that of Simmons alone during his final Denver season. Positional value played a role in the Broncos’ decision.

But Reid believes that a safety of Emmanwori’s athleticism and physicality could transform Denver’s defense.

 

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“If you have an elite-level type of safety or upper-echelon type of prospect at safety, I’ve always been of the belief that they can completely change your defense. And I think Nick Emmanwori definitely can be that type,” Reid explained.

“And he’s not your traditional single-high free safety that can change everything on the third level. But as far as the second and the first level, I definitely think he could be that force multiplier just because he can wear so many hats on the back end. He could play strong safety, he could play rover, you could blitz him as a nickel.”

Last year, Jones handled a decent share of the work venturing into the box. Emmanwori could check many boxes, Reid notes.

“There’s so many different things that he can do and especially when you get a freak athlete like that, adding him into the secondary, I think he could be another added piece to a very talented defense that played well last year,” Reid said.

The Broncos defense flourished in the first three months of the season, but buckled late. Its safety depth was tested at times, as well.

It seems likely that the Broncos will address safety at some point in the offseason. But positional value might factor into whether Reid’s mock-draft hunch proves correct.