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

The Broncos couldn’t pass up the crystal.

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 at those positions to take Barron.

The 2024 Jim Thorpe Award winner as the nation’s top defensive back, Barron joins a secondary anchored by reigning NFL defensive player of the year Pat Surtain II, third-year man Riley Moss and high-quality nickel Ja’Quan McMillian.

“I bring a lot of versatility to the defense,” Barron said. “I’m going to play my role, master a position and learn from the vets. I can’t wait to learn from Pat Surtain. I can’t wait to learn from Coach Joseph. It’s going to be amazing. It’s literally going to be amazing. I’m going to embrace the opportunity and I’m going to live up to the opportunity.”

Barron said he can play outside or in the slot and also said he’d jump at the chance to play safety. He’s got several Texas teammates on the 2025 Denver defense already in safeties P.J. Locke and Brandon Jones and defensive lineman Malcolm Roach.

The Broncos, rumored by several national reporters in recent days to be considering a trade up, instead stayed true to what Payton and GM 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.

Barron was ranked No. 10 overall by NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah and ranged from No. 8 (ESPN’s Jeff Legwold) to No. 30 (The Athletic’s Dane Brugler) among several sets of prospect rankings.

CB Jahdae Barron

Round/pick: 1st/No. 20

Age: 23 years

Height/weight: 5-foot-11/194 pounds

College: Texas

Hometown: Austin, Texas

Notable: Barron didn’t quite have the pre-draft buzz of cornerbacks like Travis Hunter or Michigan’s Will Johnson, but was one of the more productive DBs in the country last year at Texas, with Pro Football Focus pinpointing Barron allowing just a 54% catch rate in 2024. The All-American has tremendous ball skills, with five picks and 11 pass deflections in 2024, and ready-made NFL speed with a 4.39-second 40-yard-dash. He played a majority of his snaps in 2024 at outside corner, but has some experience at slot, a versatile pick for the Broncos’ secondary.

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