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Denver Broncos are a walking billboard for every Illinois football recruiting trip

Bret Bielema has built Illinois football into a program that puts players into the NFL, and the Denver Broncos have liked what is coming out of Champaign.
ByRees Woodcock|
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Illinois defensive back Miles Scott (10) celebrates after defeating Tennessee the Liberty Mutual Music City Bowl at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025.
Illinois defensive back Miles Scott (10) celebrates after defeating Tennessee the Liberty Mutual Music City Bowl at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025. | Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Illinois football team is winning on and off the field, and it has benefited a team like the Denver Broncos.

Bret Bielema has won 19 games in the last two seasons with the Illini, and he is starting to bring in top 30 recruiting classes. But that isn’t what is most impressive about what Bielema has done at Illinois. What blows me away is player development.

On Saturday, the final four rounds of the 2026 NFL Draft took place. It is always a question mark on who will be taken in the late rounds, and Illinois had a player sneak in the seventh round. With pick No. 246 overall, the Broncos selected Illinois safety Miles Scott.

This is the latest example of the impressive player development that Bielema has instilled at Illinois. Scott wasn’t a highly rated recruit coming out of high school. He was a three-star who was the No. 337 wide receiver in the country and not ranked by many outlets.

Scott walked on at Illinois. He was a wide receiver. After a redshirt, he switched to safety in 2023. The rest is history.

In the next three seasons, Scott started 37 games for Illinois at safety. He was a team captain by his junior year, and this past season, Scott was an All-Big Ten honorable mention player.

For his Illinois career, Scott finished with 184 tackles, 11 pass deflections, and seven interceptions. Denver is now getting a monster who has always had to fight for what he has, and nothing has ever been given to him.

This isn’t the first time the Denver Broncos have elevated Illinois football player development

Going from a walk-on at Illinois to now being an NFL Draft pick is an incredible route to the league. Scott is a really talented player who will help the Broncos from day one.

What is crazy is that Denver took another Illinois player in the 2025 NFL Draft. They selected wide receiver Pat Bryant with pick No. 74 overall. Both Bryant and Scott were in the same 2021 recruiting class. They entered the Illinois program together.

While Bryant was a more highly regarded recruit than Scott, he still wasn’t a top player. Bryant couldn’t even crack the top 1000 nationally. Yet, he managed to impress NFL decision-makers, and he was a third-round draft pick.

The Broncos are not just getting talented players from Illinois, but they should be a commercial for every recruiting trip Bielema and his coaching staff make. Come to Champaign, and we can develop you into an NFL Draft pick.

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