The Broncos on Friday night came up with a possible replacement for John Franklin-Myers.

With the No. 66 pick in the third round of the NFL draft in Pittsburgh, the Broncos selected defensive tackle Tyler Onyedim of Texas A&M. There was a need at the position due to Franklin-Myers having signed last month as a free agent with Tennessee.

“Definitely, when we’re taking a player in that spot,” Denver head coach Sean Payton said of Onyedim being a candidate to replace Franklin-Myers. “We discuss vision all the time. So absolutely. (Onyedim is) going to come in and (have to) earn (his) place.”

The 6-foot-4, 295-pound Onyedim played at Iowa State from 2021 to 2024 before joining the Aggies last season, when he had 8.5 tackles for loss, including 2.5 sacks. He was a teammate in 2021 at Iowa State of Denver defensive tackle Eyioma Uwazurike, who is also a candidate to take over for Franklin-Myers.

The Broncos didn’t have a first-round pick Thursday due to having traded the No. 30 selection last month to Miami in the deal for wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, and they entered the night with the No. 62 pick in the second round. But they traded it to Buffalo for No. 66 and the No. 182 selection in the sixth round. They now have seven picks on Saturday’s final day of the draft: two in the fourth round, one apiece in the fifth and sixth rounds and three in the seventh.

“It’s going to be a blessing,” Onyedim said of going to the Broncos. “Being able to learn from the best. They got a really, really good defensive line. I’m excited. I’m happy. I’m ready to go.”

Broncos general manager George Paton said last week they had targeted six possible players to take at No. 62. Even though they traded down, he said Onyedim was one of those six. Payton said Onyedim was in a “group of six, seven, eight players” Denver had targeted entering Friday.

“The tape was good at Iowa State, but we really liked it at A&M,” Paton said of Onyedim doing more pass rushing with the Aggies.

Onyedim said he had last talked to the Broncos on the phone around Texas A&M’s pro day March 25. He said he had talked to defensive line coach Jamar Cain.

“He said he really liked my tape,” Onyedim said. “He really liked the player I was.”

After the Broncos traded down, Onyedim believed he could end up with them.

“I knew (Cain) really wanted me,” Onyedim said. “I saw Denver on the clock and I saw they traded (down). I just had a feeling they were picking me.”

Onyedim could compete with Uwazurike and second-year man Sai’vion Jones to replace Franklin-Myers. Onyedim got to know Uwazurike well at Iowa State.

“That’s my big brother,” Onyedim said. “That’s my dawg. He’s going to be at my wedding and I’m going to be at his wedding.”

Payton said there was “a lot of film” watched on Onyedim.

“I think going through this process, it was really the athleticism and playing a position that it’s always hard to find (of) defensive tackle,” Payton said. “It was the athlete, (his) makeup.”

Onyedim expects to immediately make a contribution.

“I feel like I’m a versatile player,” he said. “I can play anywhere on the defensive line. I feel like my get-off is a really good get-off. I have a really good first step.”

Onyedim was born in Houston and raised in Richmond, Texas. Both his parents are from Nigeria and came to the United States in the 1990s.

Onyedim grew up also playing basketball. But after his sophomore year at John and Randolph Foster High School in Richmond, he focused solely on football.

Payton lauded Onyedim’s character, saying it’s “one of the things” the Broncos liked about him.

The Broncos entered the day having potential needs also at tight end and linebacker. But at tight end Vanderbilt’s Eli Stowers and Ohio State’s Max Klare were both taken before Denver’s original No. 62 pick. And at linebacker Texas Tech’s Jacob Rodriguez, Missouri’s Josiah Trotter, Cincinnati’s Jake Golday and Texas’ Anthony Hill also were gone by then.

“There was a run at certain positions as we figured there would be,” Paton said.

Payton shrugged off the notion that the Broncos needed to add another weapon on offense with their first pick in the draft.

“We’re never trying to worry about the splash,” he said. “We’re really trying to look at it with the proper vision, the proper grade. … It was pretty clear (taking Onyedim) without trying to reach maybe for another position. … That’s being smart to the board.”

It marked just the third time the Broncos didn’t have any picks in the first two rounds of the draft. They had no picks in the first three rounds in 1986 and 1995. But in those drafts they got productive wide receiver Mark Jackson in the sixth round in 1986 and Hall of Fame running back Terrell Davis in the seventh round in 1995.