A Surprising Takeaway Emerges From MHH's War Room Broncos Mock Draft

In a practical sense, there was one major takeaway from our annual War Room mock draft.

Each year, Mile High Huddle gets together all of our podcasting hosts to execute a full seven-round Denver Broncos mock draft. It's is a War Room Roundtable and it's one of, if not the, most anticipated episodes of the year. 

Last night, we got together as draft week officially begins. Because it was a live podcast streamed across five different platforms, we decided not to do any trading. We just stood pat and debated and deliberated over all 10 Broncos' selections. The prospect with the majority vote in each round was who we took. 

I'm going to lay out how the draft unfolded and what the haul looked like. Then I'm going to share with you the biggest takeaway from this exercise in the plausible. 

Round 1, Pick 15: Mekhi Becton, OT, Louisville

Round 2, Pick 46: Brandon Aiyuk, WR, Arizona State

Round 3, Pick 77: Akeem Davis-Gaither, LB, Appalachian State

Round 3, Pick 83: Amik Robertson, CB, Louisiana Tech

Round 3, Pick 95: Keith Ismael, C, San Diego State

Round 4, Pick 114: Terrell Burgess, S, Utah

Round 5, Pick 179: Antonio Gibson, WR/RB, Memphis

Round 6, Pick 182: Larrell Murchison, DT, N.C. State

Round 7, Pick 253: Isaiah Coulter, WR, Rhode Island

Round 7, Pick 255: Reggie Robinson, CB, Tulsa

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I know what you're thinking. 'No receiver in the first round? Get right out of town!'

Here's the thing. As we hit 'go' on the mock draft simulator, we sat back in horror as a doomsday scenario unfolded ahead of the Broncos in round one. 

By the time the Broncos rolled around at 15, all three of Henry Ruggs III, Jerry Jeudy, and CeeDee Lamb were off the board. Our next-best option, OT Tristan Wirfs, went way early at No. 6 overall. 

It felt like we were between a rock and hard place, although I personally wouldn't lament the Broncos landing an OT prospect like Becton in round one. I understand that fans would. 

Additional names we debated at 15 included Alabama S Xavier McKinney, Baylor WR Denzel Mims and LSU WR Justin Jefferson. But for the majority, it was simply too early to take Mims or Jefferson. And Becton received more votes than McKinney. 

The Takeaway

The teams ahead of the Broncos that are obvious threats to draft a WR, guess what? They drafted a WR in this mock simulation. 

That means that if GM John Elway is dead-set on landing one of the top-3, he's got to orchestrate a trade-up. He's got to get to pick 10 at the latest. 

It'll cost the Broncos at least one third-round pick and maybe an additional fourth but it'll guarantee that elite WR prospect. It's the only way. 

That's why you're seeing so much smoke flying from Dove Valley. That aspect, I believe, is true. I'd wager serious coin that Elway has been working the phones to explore the cost of trading up. 

Whether he does it is another story. But it's the only way to guarantee the one of Ruggs, Jeudy, or Lamb end up in the Orange and Blue. 

The most favorable trade partners would be the Cleveland Browns at No. 10 and the San Francisco 49ers at 13. The Niners were the last team to take one of the Big Three WR in our simulation. 

Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen and @MileHighHuddle.