ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Trader John Elway was at it again.
After trading for quarterback Joe Flacco, trading away former quarterback Case Keenum and having little choice but to put cornerback Chris Harris Jr. on the trading block, the Broncos’ general manager began his 2019 draft Thursday by trading back 10 spots.
With Iowa tight end T.J. Hockenson going to Detroit with the No. 8 pick, Elway swapped his No. 10 overall draft selection with the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for their No. 20 pick in the first round, No. 52 in the second round and third-round selection in the 2020 draft.
With that No. 20 pick, Elway took Iowa's other tight end, Noah Fant.
"We felt at 20 we would have an opportunity to get a really good football player and we got another second (round pick) this year and a third next year," Elway said in an interview with 9NEWS immediately after selecting Fant. "We're really excited it worked out for us. Noah, the great athlete that he is, he can really run at the tight end position."
It’s quite a haul and it makes sense as the Broncos, who are coming off 5-11 and 6-10 seasons, now have three picks in the first two rounds to address their many other needs.
On Day 2 of the NFL Draft, the Broncos will have their own No. 41 pick in the second round, Pittsburgh's No. 52 pick in the second, and Denver's own No. 71 selection in the third round.
"I think that's the meat of the draft, those first three rounds," Broncos head coach Vic Fangio told 9NEWS. "We feel this draft is deep into the first couple of rounds. We were excited to possibly add another good football player there."
Elway did not have the trade with Pittsburgh in place when the Broncos went on the 10-minute clock with their No. 10 pick. They were ready to take a player when the deal with the Steelers was executed in the final minute. The Steelers took inside linebacker Devin Bush.
"There was a lot flying around," Elway said. "We had a lot of opportunities at 10. We had another team involved, too. We ate up a lot of our time before we made the decision to go back."
Next up Friday: A possible trade involving cornerback Chris Harris Jr., who has skipped the team's voluntary offseason program because he's not happy with his current contract. A source told 9NEWS a "couple teams are biting" on Harris but the team wasn't far enough along to get a deal done Thursday.
Day 2 – rounds two and three of the draft – figures to be make-or-break for a Harris trade as the Broncos likely would want a second- or third-round pick, or a player of similar value, in return for Harris. If Elway doesn't get in return for Harris, he has vowed not to trade him, the source said.
