The Denver Broncos are finalizing their preparations for the 2026 NFL Draft. According to General Manager George Paton, the team has it narrowed down to roughly six prospects they really like for their top selection scheduled toward the end of the second round. Who those players are is a mystery, but that’s why we keep on churning out scouting reports to try and figure out who the Broncos may have interest in.
It’s a long shot the Broncos utilize their top pick in this year’s draft on a defensive lineman. They have a strong defensive line with Zach Allen, D.J. Jones, Malcolm Roach, Eyioma Uwazurike, and Sai’vion Jones. Unfortunately, they lost John Franklin-Myers in free agency but are hopeful Uwazurike and Jones can come in and be productive replacing his snaps.
Advertisement
However, one prospect may be of interest to them is Iowa State standout Domonique Orange. A four-year player for the Cyclones, “Big Citrus” was a formidable defender in their trenches manning down their nose tackle position. He isn’t going to offer much in the pass rushing department, but his run stuffing prowess and ability to take on double teams to open up opportunities for players around him are a plus.
Let’s do a deep dive regarding his strengths and weaknesses, and why and when the Broncos should consider selection him in this year’s draft.
Player Profile: Domonique Orange — Defensive Tackle — Iowa State
Height: 6’2-3/8” | Weight: 322 pounds | Arm Length: 33-3/8” | Hand Size: 10-1/4” | Age: 22 Years Old
Advertisement
40-Yard Dash: 5.17 seconds | 10-Yard Split: 1.72 seconds | 20-Yard Shuttle: 4.65 seconds
Vertical: 31.5” | Broad Jump: 8’8” | Bench Press: 27 reps
Statistics: 50 games played, 24 starts. 66 tackles, 7 tackles for loss, 1 sack.
Film Room & Highlights
Hart’s Scouting Report
Positives:
-
Dominant physical presence with super arm length and strength
-
Ample collegiate experience with nearly 1,500 defensive reps across four seasons of play
-
Good first step off the line of scrimmage which allows him to make plays in the backfield
-
Only had one sack, but notched 30 hurries, 24 quarterback hits, and 41 pressures with the Cyclones
-
Strong run defender who is hard to move off the ball in the A and B gaps and does a good job clogging up running lanes
-
Does have experience in alignments over and outside of the tackle
-
Improved his stamina in ’25 and took on over 150 more snaps (518 total) than his junior season
Negatives:
-
Limited pass rushing arsenal with overreliance on bull rush and low sack production
-
Missed tackle rate over the course of his career was roughly 18-percentl he needs to clean up his technique there
-
Can struggle to combat run concepts that have him moving laterally
-
Needs to play with a better pad level
-
Might only be a two-down (first and second) defender in the league; while improved stamina is noted above, ‘24 tape showed quite a few ‘going cold’ moments
Hart’s Projection: Top 75 Selection — Late Second Round, Early Third Round Value
Why the Denver Broncos should consider drafting Orange
As noted, I don’t believe the Broncos will necessarily go defensive line with their first pick in the draft. Their top five rotation is presumably set with the aforementioned group of players. They already have two quality interior run stuffing defenders in the aforementioned Jones and Roach—with each earning extensions recently.
Advertisement
However, Jones will be 32 next season and carries a cap hit of nearly $15 million dollars. If the Broncos opted to designate him as a post-June 1st cut after this season, they would save $13 million against the cap and accrue just $4.8 million in dead money split through the 2029 season. As of now, they only have $18 million in space for 2027 [not accounting for rollover] with only around 35 players under contract. They’ll have to do some contract shedding somewhere with a potential Bo Nix extension on the horizon.
Long-term, having a player capable of manning down the nose tackle position in their defense is a need. Though I’d argue it’s not one you will see them address with their first pick. Nevertheless, Orange is one of the better interior defenders in this year’s draft whose run plugging prowess and disruptiveness will be valued by NFL teams. I don’t think he is one of the top six players the Broncos are targeting at 62, but feel the late second round, or early third round is where he will come off the board next week.
Read the full article here