Yippee-ki-yay, the Broncos must draft Four Horsemen who will play in the Super Bowl and New Mile High Stadium at Lone Tree.

In the afterglow of the fresh free agent flourishing signings of tight end Evan Engram, inside linebacker Dre Greenlaw and strong safety Talanoa Hufanga, how about running back Omarion Hampton, cornerback Maxwell Hairston, tight end Terrance Ferguson and wide receiver Tez Johnson?

Two played at Oregon with Bo Nix. One is his “bro’’ and should be nicknamed Tezmanian Devil, and the other was born in Littleton. Another rushed for 3,565 yards and 36 touchdowns in three seasons at North Carolina and would replace a fellow former Tar Heel running back who had 2,297 yards and 29 touchdowns in three seasons. The fourth prospective Broncos’ player produced the fastest 40 at the NFL Combine – an amazing 4.28.

Beware of Bo’s Broncos. In their separate second seasons with the Broncos John Elway and Peyton Manning led the franchise to 13-3 records. The Broncos won 10 in Bo Nix’s rookie season.

With the addition of seven draft picks, the Broncos’ roster will include 40 players 25 and younger. A whole lot of those guys could play in the third rendition of Mile High Stadium – a retractable dome palace east of I-25 and south of E-470 where vast open acreage and the Lone Tree City light-rail station are located, and the elevation is a higher 5,948 feet. By 2030, they could play in the Broncos’ 10th Super Bowl.

Are we ahead of ourselves and themselves yet?

Sure, but it is well to recall that the Broncos should have beaten the Chiefs twice last season and outscored the Super Bowl losers 52-16.

Coach Sean Payton said at the Combine that improvement is a strategy.

Wishing and hoping are not.

The Broncos certainly have improved in the off-season already with the reduction of their 2024 dead cap money of $89 million ($53 mil because of Russell Wilson) to approximately $33 million for 2025.

Broncos ownership, not to be confused with the 1970s Walton Family TV show – has broken ground on a $175 million expansion of the training facility at Dove Valley (only 11 minutes from Lone Tree), acknowledged that potential sites are being considered for a future stadium, as the current lease ends in 2030, that obviously would be funded mostly by The Family, which continue to show willingness to spend money on veteran free agents and increase current contracts.

Coach Sean Peyton may have found his “fusion force’’ in tight end-wide receiver threat Evan Engram, who at 30 will be in his ninth season and is only four receptions shy of 500 and 72 yards short of 10,000 yards.

Because of his presence, the Broncos can draft a running back in the first round. Assuming Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty won’t last long enough to play more years for a Broncos team, the best choice available will be Hampton.

The hard-charging, evasive 6-foot, 221-pound Hampton’s 22nd birthday is Sunday.

He was one of the most impressive offensive performers at the Combine even though runners don’t run against anyone except the clock (4.46). The Broncos interviewed Jeanty and Hampton and at least seven other running backs, including Mr. Popularity Cam Skattebo.

Hampton also caught 73 passes for 635 yards (16.7 average) and four touchdowns at North Carolina.

The Broncos will grab a young tight end third, and Ferguson is the local Heritage High favorite and a former Nix teammate. In their two seasons together at Oregon the pair connected on 72 passes for 11 touchdowns. At the Combine the 6-5, 247-pound Ferguson was first among tight ends with a 4.63 dash. He can catch and block.

Maxwell “Smart’ not only has lightning speed, but he could become the third or fourth cornerback immediately with the Broncos, if he gets in the weight room (at 5-11, 183) and gets with the system.

Johnson and Nix played and lived together in high school and would transfer to Oregon, where in 2023 Tez had 86 catches for 1,182 yards and 10 touchdowns. Tez definitely is the “little brother” at 5-11 and only 154 pounds, but he will be available in a later round and wants to reunite. Why not?

So far so good for the Broncos, who have only 39 shopping and studying days until the draft.