The Denver Broncos knew who they wanted in the NFL Draft.
They just couldn't pull off the trade they needed.
Denver was targeting Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty. But in the end, they couldn't get up high enough on the board, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.
Jeanty went No. 6 to the Las Vegas Raiders.
"The Broncos considered moving up in the first round for running back Ashton Jeanty," Fowler said. "They called around to teams picking in the top 10. But the price simply would have been 'too heavy' for Denver’s liking, per a source. And the team eyeing Jeanty (the Raiders at No. 6) was a division rival, thus not a likely trade partner."
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Jeanty was the Heisman Trophy runner-up to Travis Hunter in his final college season.
He led Boise State to the College Football Playoff with a 2,000-yard season.
Jeanty could've gone from the Broncos to the Broncos if Denver pulled off the trade.
Instead, Jeanty joins Geno Smith, Brock Bowers and Pete Carroll in Las Vegas.
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Jeanty is primed to be an NFL star right from the outset.
The Broncos did a good job to wind up with solid rookie runner R.J. Harvey out of UCF, so they might be just fine in the backfield behind Bo Nix.
But it certainly would've been exciting if they found a way to get to Jeanty.
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