Mel Kiper makes first mock draft pick for Broncos and goes way off the grid

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ESPN NFL Draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. has the Broncos making an off-the-wall pick at No. 30.

It's still February, but you have likely already seen a ton of mock drafts and between now and the time the 2026 NFL Draft officially takes place, you'll see hundreds more. However, the innovator of the mock draft concept, Kiper, has released his first mock draft of the season and that is one that usually gets people's attention.

So who does he have the Broncos taking with the No. 30 pick in the first round? CJ Allen? No. A wide receiver? No. Instead, it's a guy you may not have even heard of... Toledo safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren.

That seems like a pick that comes out of left field, but just last month, Bucky Brooks of NFL.com actually mocked that same player to the Broncos.

Broncos spend No. 30 overall pick on Toledo safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren

"The Broncos have two solid safeties in Talanoa Hufanga and Brandon Jones, so this pick might not reap immediate rewards. But neither did the Jahdae Barron pick last April. Denver is planning ahead in the secondary and building something there, as coach Sean Payton focuses on keeping this defense strong. McNeil- Warren is a bit of a sleeper right now, but I think he could have been a top-15 pick had he played for a Power 4 team. His performance against Kentucky at the beginning of the season got my attention. He had 11 tackles and a fumble recovery in that game. His tape shows real speed to the football, and he has five interceptions and 12 forced fumbles over his four-year career", wrote Kiper.

Certainly, there is plenty of talent here and if you've seen this guy play, you know he is the type of player that too many draft analysts and perhaps, too many teams, are going to sleep on. That said, the Broncos taking a safety in the first-round when they already have Hufanga and Jones, as mentioned, in place, would be a strange decision.

Kiper makes a strong point about the team making a concerted effort to keep the secondary in tip-top shape, but there are more pressing areas of need.

That said, McNeil-Warren's physical traits and size (6-foot-2, 202 pounds) are tantalizing. He is a true under-the-radar player who could explode onto the NFL scene and make the team that drafts him very proud. If the Broncos passed up CJ Allen in favor of him, that would be hard to digest, at least at first, but if Allen is off the board and there is no obvious selection at No. 30, such as Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq, then this is the kind of pick that could become one of the best values of the entire first round.

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Many fans are going to look at Kiper's selection and feel like he's way off base, but this would be a tremendous pick to add to an already strong defensive group.