On the third day of the NFL draft, the Broncos turned to offense.

The Broncos didn’t have a first-round pick Thursday and they selected Texas A&M defensive tackle Tyler Onyedim on Friday. But on Saturday, four of the six players they selected were on offense, including playmakers Jonah Coleman from Washington at running back and tight end Justin Joly from North Carolina State.

“Wanted to get some offensive help as well, more explosion,” said general manager George Paton.

The Broncos selected Coleman with the No. 108 pick in the fourth round and shortly after that took Boise State offensive lineman Kage Casey at No. 111 in the fourth.

In the fifth round, at No. 152, the Broncos selected Joly. They moved up to take him, trading to Cleveland the No. 172 pick in the fifth round and No. 182 in the sixth.

The Broncos then had three picks in the seventh round. They took Illinois safety Miles Scott at No. 246, Utah tight end Dallen Bentley at No. 256 and Buffalo linebacker Red Murdock at No. 257, the final pick in the draft.

That earned Murdock, who had a record 17 forced fumbles in college, the title of Mr. Irrelevant. Paton called that “cool” and said he was pleased with Denver’s entire draft.

“Feel good about the team, feel good about the weekend,” Paton said. “I think we helped ourselves at running back and tight end and just depth across the board. So I think we got younger. I think we got better.”

When Coleman was waiting to get his draft call Saturday, he figured it would come from the Broncos. He had a formal interview with them at the NFL scouting combine in February in Indianapolis and took a top-30 visit to Denver in March.

“I always knew I was meant to be a Denver Bronco,” he said. “Like right after the visit, I knew I was going to be a Denver Bronco.”

The 5-foot-9, 220-pound physical Coleman rushed for 1,053 yards in 2024 for the Huskies but slipped to 758 yards in 2025 although he did run for 15 touchdowns. He was hampered by a knee injury throughout the second half of a season in which he missed one game. When he played, he said the Huskies limited his carries due to “being smart” and looking out for “my future.”

Coleman joins a deep Denver backfield that also includes projected starter J.K. Dobbins, R.J. Harvey, Jaleel McLaughlin and Tyler Badie. Coleman provides security due to Dobbins’ lengthy injury history and is a better pass protector than Harvey, who was taken in the second round in 2025 and rushed for 540 yards as a rookie while scoring a total of 12 touchdowns.

“Just being able to come in and be with guys like R.J. Harvey, J.K. Dobbins and stuff like that,” Coleman said. “You ultimately have a three-headed monster in the run game.”

Coleman, a native of Stockton, California, who has eight siblings, talked proudly about being the first in his family to graduate from college. He is known for his smarts.

“We just talked about pass protection, and I killed it,” Coleman had said Feb. 27 at the scouting combine about his formal interview with the Broncos the previous day. “I was pretty much answering the questions before they would ask me.”

On Saturday, Coleman again talked about his abilities in pass protection.

“It’s really important,” he said. “Now, I get to go protect (quarterback) Bo Nix, and I take pride in that. I may not have all the exciting plays and all of that, but I do the dirty work.”

When it comes to helping protect Nix in the future, Denver took Casey. He might not play much as a rookie but he is a piece that could be valuable in the future. The Broncos have seasoned veterans at guard in Ben Powers and at tackle in Garett Bolles and Mike McGlinchey who are all 29 or older.

“I know especially Garett Bolles,” Casey said. “He’s a guy who I try to model my own game after. I’m excited to actually meet him in person and be part of the offensive line with him. Just the whole offensive line in general, it’s going to be an awesome environment to be part of.”

Casey said he is “quick” and “aggressive” and “an extremely consistent guy.”

The 6-foot-4, 241-pound Joly is regarded as a fine receiver and decent blocker. He called himself a “Swiss Army knife” due to his versatility. He was projected by many analysts as a third- or fourth-round pick and could end up being a steal.

“Anything they need me to do, I’m looking forward to,” said Joly, who caught 49 passes last season for 489 yards. “They just said I have to go out there and ball. They said to me to go play all over the field.”

The Broncos had gone into the draft with tight end as a need due to not having signed an outside free agent at the position. They bring back Evan Engram and they re-signed free agents Adam Trautman, Nate Adkins and Lucas Krull.

Joly played at about 260 pounds in 2025 before slimming down after the season.

“I don’t know if somebody told him he needed to be bigger but that’s not his game,” NFL Network draft analyst Charles Davis told The Denver Gazette. “He’s better closer to 240 than to 260. He dropped a lot of weight in the postseason and looked pretty darn good.”

Scott was a wide receiver at Illinois as a freshman in 2022 before becoming a safety in 2023. He had been teammates in college of Denver wide receiver Pat Bryant and offensive lineman Alex Palczewski, and head coach Sean Payton said the Broncos talked to both players about Scott.

“Me and Pat came in together at Illinois (in 2022),” Scott said. “We were both playing receiver. … I was just with Pat while I was on (a top-30 visit to Denver). So it’s crazy.”

Joly also had come to Denver on a top-30 visit. So three of the Broncos’ seven picks in the draft had visited Denver in March.

“We spent a lot of time with (Coleman),” Payton said. “I saw something that compared his running style, and I think the comparison was J.K., and I think that’s a compliment obviously to the way Dobbins runs. He’s a physical runner.”

As for the Broncos having so many running backs, Payton said they’re “not getting too cute here.” He said they are “trying to find” out who is “the best runner” and how it fits Denver.

Payton called Joly and Bentley “different” types of tight ends. Bentley caught 48 passes for 620 yards in 2025 but is regarded as the better blocker of the two. Joly is considered more explosive after the catch.

“I always feel like my hands work really well,” said Joly, who had about 20 people at his draft party and said everybody was “going crazy” when he got the call from Denver.

Put it all together, and the Broncos considered Saturday to be a good day for their offense.