2021 NFL Draft: Denver Broncos wish list for next offseason

2. Offensive tackle

Even if the Denver Broncos don’t use their top pick on the offensive tackle position in the 2021 NFL Draft, it would be a shock to see them skip the tackle position completely like they did in the 2020 NFL Draft.

At the very least, the Broncos need a talented backup plan in place for whatever they choose to do in 2021.

Although he’s barely been on the field at all, the Broncos are married to Ja’Wuan James at least for the 2021 season, probably through the 2022 season. If he’s the right tackle, and he is actually on the field (he struggled with a knee injury in 2019, opted out in 2020), they should be pretty set there.

Garett Bolles is the current left tackle and no one knows what he’s going to do in 2020. The Broncos declined his fifth-year team option, so he is presumably on the outside looking in if his play doesn’t drastically improve in year two under offensive line coach Mike Munchak.

The offensive tackle position needs to be addressed, and the 2021 NFL Draft class has some talented players at major schools like Alabama’s Alex Leatherwood, Texas’ Samuel Cosmi, Michigan’s Jalen Mayfield, and Clemson’s Jackson Carman, as well as small school products like North Dakota State’s Dillon Radunz and Northern Iowa’s Spencer Brown.

The Broncos could look into drafting a couple of tackles in 2021.