The Broncos' 2025 draft class in photos

GM George Paton: "He was pretty high up on our board. What we liked about him is [that] he's a playmaker. He's a football player. He's a fun watch. … Sean and I watched him last week, but we just couldn't stop watching him. Just the instincts and participation, route awareness, zone coverage, really sticking to [his] man, doesn't give up any completions. I don't think he gave up a touchdown; we kept looking. Ball skills in the run game, this guy's really good in the run game, a really good tackler, really good blitzer. He plays all over the field. This guy's got really good football intelligence. He just kind of fits everything we're looking for in a player. Talk about versatility, football intelligence, play-making ability. He's just going to add to a good defense. We're excited to have him."

GM George Paton: "His running style, he's dynamic, really good vision, really good instincts, really good contact balance, highly explosive. We thought maybe he had the best vision in the draft. You see the plus-10s, I think he leads everyone with plus-10 runs. Home-run ability. … We feel like he can improve in the pass game. He wasn't featured there, but we really liked this [running] back."

GM George Paton: "He kind of fits our mold of defensive line. The size — six-[feet] six-[inches], 280 [pounds]. We feel like he can continue to grow in that role. He'll play [defensive] end for us, but he has flexibility down the line of scrimmage. This guy is long. He's strong [and] plays with really good leverage. Then, he's improving as a rusher. … I think what sticks out with him is just how hard he plays. The motor — he goes 110 miles per hour every play, so he fits in with our group. He'll have time to develop as well as he has good guys in front of him."

HC Sean Payton: "[He's] really explosive off the line of scrimmage, he's very competitive, very tough. … [Defensive Pass Game Coordinator/Assistant Head Coach] Jim Leonhard worked at Illinois the year before we hired him. So, Jim had insight to the makeup, toughness. I really think the body of work and all the additional film study, but his size and his hands are outstanding. He competes. … I don't know how many critical. … He was just a player that excelled in crunch time. I think he had a walk-off [or] a couple of these big plays."

GM George Paton: "We've been seeing flashes of him the last four years at Alabama. Really, the last two [years] on defense. But you look throughout the career, just the special teams play. I think he had 16 special teams tackles maybe the last two years. You just see the athletic traits, the athletic ability, the length, the speed, the way he plays, the motor he plays with. He's played behind some really good outside 'backers — Will Anderson, Dallas Turner, guys like that. So, [he] wasn't playing a whole lot. This year, it kind of clicked on defense and then obviously had the injury. He has all the traits you look for at that position and yet in the meantime he can be a hardcore special teamer. So that's what attracted us to him."

GM George Paton: "[W]e felt like he's the best punter in the draft. I think he was the only one drafted but [a] big kid, athletic, grew up playing rugby and cricket. This guy's got a really big leg. You look at his gross [average] that he's had over the last couple of years. The net wasn't as high as this year but in the past, we feel like he can do everything: punt for distance, directionally, controlled hang, really good holder, good teammate. We feel really strong about him."

HC Sean Payton: "You can see the basketball skill set, that's easy, at a high level. Then you're looking at a small amount of playing time and yet enough to where you're watching them. I think the other thing that helped was watching him at the Big 12 Pro Day. There were just a few plays that you see movement skills and it's a lot to work with. If it turns out like the last one did, then we'd be really excited. … When you get a chance to see him play football, he goes through a season of putting pads on but his movement skills and his height, weight and his eye-hand coordination there's a lot of developmental upsides and we're excited about that."