ESPN Analyst Dubbed Broncos’ 5th-Rounder as Immediate Impact Player

Getty Former Missouri CB Kris Abrams-Draine talks to reporters during the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine.

The Denver Broncos had a solid draft class to set a strong foundation beyond the 2024 season.

That led a prominent NFL draft analyst to expect one of Denver’s fifth-round picks to play a key role early in his respective career.

ESPN insider Field Yates dubbed Broncos rookie cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine as a non-round one draft pick that he expects to make an immediate impact.

The Broncos took Abrams-Draine out of Missouri with the No. 145 overall pick in this year’s draft. He was a first-team All-SEC selection in his final season with the Tigers in 2023.

Kris Abrams-Draine Has Unclear Path to Extensive Playing Time

Abrams-Draine will join a cornerback room highlighted by All-Pro Patrick Surtain II. The Broncos have veterans like Levi Wallace, Damarri Mathis and Riley Moss as options, yet no standouts like Surtain.

Yates believes the Missouri product has an unclear path to extensive playing time, but anticipates that will change given his expected value to the defense.

“Abrams-Draine’s path to play time isn’t as clear as others on this list, considering his new team’s depth chart,” Yates wrote in his May 13 article. “But I do feel like his game opens the door to early contributions even so. He has elite route identification and ball skills, logical traits given he was a wide receiver during his first season at Missouri. Abrams-Draine’s size (179 pounds) probably means a slot role, but that’s supremely valuable in today’s pass-heavy NFL.”

Regardless of his role in 2024, Abrams-Draine praised the “good bond” he shared with his new teammates.

“I feel like we have a good bond, all of us, since the first day we met,” Abrams-Draine told reporters on May 11. “I knew Bo [Nix] since high school. We’re both Alabama guys. I knew him, and it’s just cool to be on the same team.”

Rookie CB Will Officially Wear #31 With Broncos

The release of All-Pro safety Justin Simmons on March 7 was undoubtedly a tough sight for Broncos Country. Simmons spent his first eight years with the Broncos and left his mark in the Mile High City.

There will be a new player sporting Simmons’ #31 jersey in 2024 and that honor belongs to Abrams-Draine. The rookie defender shared his thoughts on the recent history of his jersey number.

“I feel like it’s a number at the end of the day,” Abrams-Draine told Chris Tomasson of The Denver Gazette on May 11. “But what [Simmons] did for this organization will never be forgotten. I’ll just do my best [wearing] that number.”

Simmons demonstrated his class by calling on Broncos fans to support Abrams-Draine.

“Can’t believe I have to address this, but if you supported me in Denver, then please support Kris Abrams-Draine. My number isn’t getting retired. I appreciate the support and sensitivity to me leaving, but let’s support the young gun! I know he will make it HIS number,” Simmons posted to X on May 9.

Abrams-Draine expressed his appreciation for Simmons, who helped him feel welcome in the NFL. 

“I feel like I appreciate him for saying that because I’m a rookie trying to learn my way in this league. So, for a veteran like that to have my back, I feel like that’s good for the sport of football,” Abrams-Draine told Tomasson.