The Denver Broncos have made their 2025 first round draft selection, the Denver Nuggets join the Colorado Avalanche in being down 2-1 in the opening round of their respective playoffs, and the Colorado Rockies continue their early season woes in Kansas City despite three home runs by Jordan Beck over the course of a doubleheader against the Royals. Happy Friday, let’s dive in.

Denver Broncos

For months, it appeared the Denver Broncos would look to add an offensive weapon, like North Carolina running back Omarion Hampton, tight end Colston Loveland, or wide receivers Matthew Golden or Luther Burden III. But instead, the Broncos let the best player on the board fall in to their laps: Texas cornerback Jahdae Barron, whose talent easily could have resulted in his name being called in the Top 10.

There’s still plenty of draft to go, so the Broncos can address specific position needs later. But at this time, Denver opted not to use their first round pick on upgrading Bo Nix’s offense (which could definitely use more firepower) but instead to get deeper at the already strong position of cornerback.

If Barron pans out to a Pro Bowl-caliber cornerback, which is quite possible, the Broncos could have one of the scariest cornerback tandems in the league for years to come, with reigning Defensive Player of the Year Pat Surtain II still in his prime.

SEE ALSO: Sak Sports Blog 2025 1st Round Draft Grades

University of Colorado Football

We can’t mention the 2025 NFL Draft without mentioning the drama and intrigue that the University of Colorado’s two star players had to offer.

Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter was widely expected to be taken with the second overall pick, but it ended up being the Jacksonville Jaguars, not the Cleveland Browns, making the selection after a trade. Hunter and the Jaguars both seem genuinely excited to be together, which is probably a much better situation than if Cleveland picked Hunter out of obligation.

Hunter has even said the Jaguars will continue letting him play both sides of the football, to whatever degree possible.

His quarterback, Shedeur Sanders, still hasn’t had his name called, as the potential Top 10 prospect continued to slide throughout the night, and he remains on the board heading in to Friday’s second round.

Sanders will likely come off the board in the early second round, or even with the 33rd overall pick, which belongs to the Browns.

The New York Giants initially seemed enamored with Sanders, but ultimately traded back in to the end of the first round to select a different quarterback: Jaxson Dart from Ole Miss.

SEE FULL ARTICLE: Jacksonville Jaguars Trade Up to Select WR/CB Travis Hunter with Second Overall Pick

Denver Nuggets

After winning Game 1 on their homecourt last Saturday, the Denver Nuggets have dropped two games in a row to fall in a 2-1 series hole against Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, and the Los Angeles Clippers.

While the Nuggets lost by just three points in Game 2, the Clippers absolutely showed out in their first-ever playoff game in their own home arena: the Intuit Dome. The Clippers won 117-83, taking a seven-point lead by the end of the first quarter and never looking back.

Harden, Leonard, and Norman Powell all hit three three-pointers each, and veteran Nicolas Batum had 12 points on four-of-six three-point shooting off the bench. The Clippers ended with an extremely balanced box score: 21 from Leonard, 20 each from Harden and Powell, 19 from Ivica Zubac, 12 from Batum, and 10 from Derrick Jones Jr..

The Nuggets, on the other hand, basically got nothing outside of their two best players, Nikola Jokic (23 points, 13 rebounds, 13 assists) and Jamal Murray (23 points, 4 assists.) Besides that, only Aaron Gordon (6-of-16 shooting) scored in double digits with 15 points.

Michael Porter Jr. (2-of-9 shooting, seven points in 35 minutes) is playing through injury and probably needs to take a step back in the rotation if he’s going to continue to play at limited capacity. Russell Westbrook (three points in nine minutes) also sustained an injury and had to leave the game early.

The Nuggets are officially on alert and desperately need to win Game 4 to avoid a 3-1 series hole heading back to Denver. Jokic pleaded with his team in the huddle that he can’t be the only one scoring, there’s a lot of talent on the floor besides himself.

Whether that talent wakes up and shows up for Saturday’s Game 4 is anyone’s guess.

Colorado Avalanche

The Colorado Avalanche also face a 2-1 series deficit, against the Dallas Stars, the team that eliminated Colorado from the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season.

Like the Nuggets, the Avalanche won Game 1 (but this time on the road), dropped Game 2, and now dropped Game 3. The Avalanche held an early 1-0 lead on a historic night at Ball Arena: the return of Gabriel Landeskog after nearly three full years off the ice.

But that return was spoiled as the Avalanche went 0-for-6 on the power play, and then Nathan MacKinnon was dinged for a penalty late in the game that directly led to Stars goal.

Dallas went on to win in overtime, taking a 2-1 series lead.

If the Avalanche can win Game 4 on their home ice on Saturday, it’s an even series again, and anything can happen. If the Stars win Game 4, they can advance to the second round with a win in Game 5. To say Game 4 is huge in this series is an understatement.

Colorado Rockies

Last, and yes, least, the Colorado Rockies dropped both games of a doubleheader yesterday against the Kansas City Royals on the road, making up Wednesday’s rainout.

In the first game, the Rockies and Royals traded runs early, with scores being recorded in five of the first six half innings, resulting in a 4-4 game heading in to the fourth inning. But it was all Royals from there on, and German Marquez was tagged with the loss and six earned runs in 4.0 innings pitched.

Rookie Chase Dollander took the loss in Game 2, falling to 1-3 on the season, after allowing five earned runs and seven hits in 4.2 innings pitched.

Left fielder Jordan Beck was the highlight of the day for the Rockies, smashing a home run in Game 1 and two home runs in
Game 2 for three on the day.

The Rockies fall to 4-20 on the season (which yes, has meme-worthy implications) and a staggering 1-14 on the road.

Colorado hosts the Cincinnati Reds tonight at 6:40 PM Mountain Time, at Coors Field.

Previous Roundups

4/9/2025
3/29/2025

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