Mile High Report
With their 74th overall selection in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft, the Denver Broncos selected Illinois wide receiver Pat Bryant. He is a big and physical wide receiver known for his blocking skills and fits the play style and skill set that head coach Sean Payton looks for in his wide receivers.
Bryant wasn’t on the radar of many Broncos fans, but Payton quickly increased the hype around him after he compared him to former Saints great wide receiver Michael Thomas soon after the draft.
“There were so many things about his game that reminded me of Mike Thomas. With respect to Mike, who became… I mean, holy cow. You don’t ever want to put pressure on a rookie like that, We’re just talking about traits. But really explosive off the line of scrimmage, he’s very competitive, very tough. We mentioned this yesterday, periodically, you have more insight into a certain player. Jim Leonhard worked at Illinois the year before we hired him. So Jim had insight into the makeup, toughness. I really think the body of work and all the additional film study, but his size and his hands are outstanding. His competes… I don’t know how many critical… He was just a player who excelled in crunch time. I think he had a walk-off or a couple of these big plays. Obviously , he’s physical, but the player comp for me—forget the jersey number—just a lot of traits that Mike had, especially at the line of scrimmage.”
Michael Thomas at one point was considered one of the top wide receivers in the NFL and was the favorite target of Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees. So, it’s quite the comparison, but Bryant quickly started to prove why Payton made that comparison in the first place.
Bryant would go on to have a solid training camp and preseason and flashed his talent, receiving ability, and sure hands. However, he was buried on the depth chart behind veteran Courtland Sutton, breakout wide receiver Troy Franklin, and Marvin Mims, so it was a slow start for the rookie wide receiver.
However, as the season went on, Bryant became a bigger part of the offense and passing game, catching his first career touchdown during the Broncos’ blowout victory over the Dallas Cowboys. His season-high game came in Week 11 vs. the Chiefs when he had 5 receptions for 82 yards during the Broncos’ thrilling victory over Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.
Unfortunately for Bryant and the Broncos, injuries began piling up late in the year, including two concussions in a short period of time, and he was ultimately a non-factor during their postseason run, which was disappointing. Before that, it seemed like Bryant was pushing to be the Broncos’ WR2 or at least WR3, and you could see the trust and chemistry building between him and quarterback Bo Nix.
Now, in year two with the Broncos, Pat Bryant has an opportunity to make a big jump....
