Jahdae Barron lamented missing a chance to connect with Pat Surtain II in recent days.
The University of Texas cornerback had been playing phone tag with the Broncos’ reigning defensive player of the year and All-Pro cornerback in the leadup to the NFL draft, put in contact by a financial planner.
Barron, though, didn’t miss the next call from the Front Range.
The Broncos made him the No. 20 overall selection Thursday night in the first round of the NFL draft, adding him to an already strong defense and proving in the process that general manager George Paton and head coach Sean Payton were serious about taking the best player available.
All’s well that ends well for Barron, who now will get to pick Surtain’s brain every day once he arrives in Denver for the offseason program.
“I didn’t even get to hit him back,” Barron said with a laugh in a call with reporters after his selection. “He’s probably going to make me carry his pads for not hitting him back.”
Barron, 23, turned in one of the best defensive seasons in college football for the Longhorns in 2024. He picked off five passes and broke up 11 more, was named first-team All-America by The Associated Press and won the Jim Thorpe Award as the best defensive back in the country.
Then he went to the combine and ran 4.39 seconds in the 40-yard dash at 5-foot-11 and 194 pounds.
“The instincts, the anticipation, the route awareness. Zone coverage, really sticky in man,” Paton raved Thursday night. “Doesn’t give up many completions. I don’t think he gave up a touchdown — we kept looking. The ball skills and the run game. This guy is really good in the run game, a really good tackler. A really good blitzer. He plays all over the field. Really good football intelligence. He just fits everything we’re looking for in a player. You talk about versatility, football intelligence, playmaking ability.
“He’s just going to add to a really good defense.”
Still, this is not a direction most expected Payton and Paton to take in the first round of the draft. Running back or tight end? Absolutely. Defensive line? Sure. Wide receiver? Less likely, but still widely bandied about as a possibility.
“There was a runner we considered in that (No. 20) range,” Paton said Thursday night. “That was more of a trade-back scenario.”
The Broncos also had no intention of trading up, despite rumors swirling in recent days about them being willing to slide up a few spots or make a big vault into the top 10.
“We felt like this was a pick-at-our-number or possibly move back year based on how the board set,” Payton said. “All the teams up (the draft board) were looking to move back.”
Denver did neither. They stayed put and solidified a secondary that for much of the year was impenetrable against the pass but late in the season showed signs of weakness when Riley Moss missed time due to a knee injury.
“We had some injuries and you saw what happened,” Paton said.
The Broncos aren’t devoid of depth at corner beyond the top line of Surtain, Moss and nickel Ja’Quan McMillian — they saw promising signs from 2024 rookie Kris Abrams-Draine late in the season — but they could consider longer-term whether Moss is best suited for the perimeter or could bump inside and play nickel.
“More than 70% of your game is played in these sub packages and when you’re short, boy, that makes it difficult,” Payton said. “This type of player is less available than so many other positions. It’s harder to find these traits and what he does. … He provides flexibility. If you want to play third-down snaps and put Surtain on a certain receiver, you can travel him with one or travel Riley. J-Mac. The four of them — it’s real difficult if you’re light there.”
Barron readily agreed that he could play inside, outside or even at safety and added that he “had an idea” the Broncos might be interested, even though the sum total of their pre-draft contact with him outside of the combine was a Zoom call.
“The only reason I had an idea was because they like guys that are very versatile,” Barron said. “The things that they do on that defense with that defense and with the players, they move a lot of guys around. They do a lot of different looks. At Texas, I played in a lot of different looks. I played in a lot of different spaces on defense in a lot of different roles. It’s a perfect fit. It was perfect.”
It was also unexpected in many ways.
The first round of the draft always felt like the time at which Denver might turn its offseason attention from bolstering its defense to outfitting quarterback Bo Nix with offensive firepower.
They’d already retained defensive tackle D.J. Jones and signed inside linebacker Dre Greenlaw and safety Talanoa Hufanga in free agency.
Instead, Paton and Payton opted to double down and continue fortifying a unit that in 2024, under Vance Joseph, ranked near the top of the NFL in categories across the board.
“I can do a lot of things,” Barron said. “I’m very smart and I’m willing to do whatever to contribute and to make myself a value and a key piece. I can’t wait to learn from Pat Surtain, to be part of the DB culture and the things that he’s doing and the things that they have going down there.
“I just can’t wait to be a part of it all, and it’s really going to be amazing. I’m so excited to play in Broncos Country.”
They did so because they thought Barron was in a different category as a prospect than the offensive skill players left on the board. At No. 20, those included running backs Omarion Hampton and TreVeyon Henderson, wide receiver Matthew Golden and tight end Mason Taylor.
While Denver went defense, others in the division went the other way.
Las Vegas jumped at the opportunity to draft Boise State star running back Ashton Jeanty at No. 6. Then the Chargers followed the Broncos at No. 22 and took Hampton, the North Carolina standout who was frequently tied to Denver in the weeks leading up to the first round. Kansas City rounded out the first round by drafting Ohio State tackle Josh Simmons.
Denver enters Day 2 with several offensive players still available and feeling as though they picked up a premium player at a premium position.
“There were probably six picks we had to get past as he sat there,” Payton said of Barron. “It was value but also knowing what the next few days present relative to the other positions.”
Jahdae Barron is sixth cornerback taken by Denver Broncos in first round of NFL draft
The Denver Broncos took talent over need in the first round of the 2025 NFL draft, selecting Texas cornerback Jahdae Barron with the 20th overall pick on Thursday. Barron is the sixth cornerback drafted by the franchise in the first round, with the Broncos hitting jackpot on several of those selections. Here’s a look:
| Year | Pick | Player | School | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 9 | Patrick Surtain II | Alabama | Coming off NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors, the sky’s the limit for Surtain. |
| 2014 | 31 | Bradley Roby | Ohio St. | Contributor on Super Bowl 50 team had two pick-6s in Denver, but left after 5th season. |
| 2001 | 24 | Willie Middlebrooks | Minnesota | Started just two games for Broncos and was out of NFL after five seasons. |
| 2000 | 15 | Deltha O’Neal | California | Reached Pro Bowl in Year 2, but sent away after four seasons in trade that netted D.J. Williams. |
| 1975 | 17 | Louis Wright | San Jose St. | Borderline Hall of Famer who was a two-time All-Pro and five-time Pro Bowler over 12 seasons. |
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