Jahdae Barron asks to thank everyone in the organization after Broncos drafted him

This is Sean Payton's 45th draft, and on Thursday night he witnessed a first.

Texas safety Jahdae Barron, whom the Broncos drafted 20th overall, asked to speak to the entire draft room over speaker phone.

"[He has] a bright energy to him," Broncos coach Sean Payton said, via a transcript from the team. "For the first time, I've never had this happen, where he politely asked, When we're finished, could you guys put me on speaker phone?' After he finished with [owner] Greg, Mr. Penner, he put him on speakerphone. He thanked everyone in the room for the process and talked about his mother and the journey. I've never had that happen."

Barron explained why he did it during an introductory news conference Friday.

"They changed my mother's life," Barron said, via video from Zac Stevens of DNVR Sports. "Any other team could have changed my mother's life, [but] they didn't pass on me. They took the opportunity, so I just wanted to thank everybody that was a part of doing that because it was a collective group. . . . I just felt the need in my heart to tell everybody thank you, and I'm very appreciative of them just changing my life and changing my mother's life."

Barron joins a secondary that includes Pat Surtain II, the defensive player of the year in 2024, Brandon Jones, Riley Moss and Talanoa Hufanga.