Good morning, Broncos fans! I’ll start this by acknowledging my disappointment with last night’s selection, Utah Offensive Tackle Garett Bolles. But while my initial reaction was indeed negative like many of yours, a good night’s sleep always helps bring some perspective. First, I’d like to say that while Bolles was not a prospect I feel was worthy of the 20th pick, he is likely going to be better than Ty Sambailo and Donald Stephenson, if he isn’t already. The Broncos had a gaping hole to fill, and they addressed it. I think they would have been much better served to trade down and take their chances, but they clearly felt Bolles was significantly better than the other top options, Wisconsin’s Ryan Ramczyk (who went 32nd to the Saints) and Alabama’s Cam Robinson, who has yet to be selected.
So we’re on to Day 2, and I am stoked for tonight’s picks. Denver is currently scheduled to make three selections (51, 82 and 101), and if they choose wisely we could see at least a couple immediate impact players added by the end of the night. Of course they may choose to move up, likely sacrificing one of those picks in the process, but as of right now I see a great opportunity to address three needs.
Yesterday’s pick likely takes tackles out of play for today, so let’s recap the other needs we’ve identified:
Primary: Slot WR, KR/PR
Upgrade: TE, ILB, DL
Depth: CB, RB, Edge
Second Round:
Let’s take a look at some players at positions of need who are likely second round targets.
| 2nd Round Rankings: | |||||
| Name | Position | Height | Weight | School | NFL.com Draft Profile |
| Dalvin Cook* | RB | 5103 | 210 | Florida State | Scouting Report |
| Kevin King | CB | 6030 | 200 | Washington | Scouting Report |
| Quincy Wilson | CB | 6014 | 211 | Florida | Scouting Report |
| Chidobe Awuzie | CB | 5117 | 202 | Colorado | Scouting Report |
| Alvin Kamara* | RB | 5102 | 214 | Tennessee | Scouting Report |
| Curtis Samuel | Slot WR/KR | 5105 | 196 | Ohio State | Scouting Report |
| Malik McDowell | DL | 6062 | 295 | Michigan State | Scouting Report |
| Tyus Bowser | Edge | 6025 | 247 | Houston | Scouting Report |
| Jordan Willis | Edge | 6036 | 255 | Kansas State | Scouting Report |
| Tim Williams | Edge | 6027 | 244 | Alabama | Scouting Report |
| Zach Cunningham* | ILB | 6034 | 234 | Vanderbilt | Scouting Report |
| Chris Wormley | DL | 6051 | 298 | Michigan | Scouting Report |
| Adam Shaheen | TE | 6064 | 278 | Ashland | Scouting Report |
| Duke Riley | ILB | 6004 | 232 | LSU | Scouting Report |
| Jourdan Lewis | CB | 5102 | 188 | Michigan | Scouting Report |
| Teez Tabor | CB | 6004 | 199 | Florida | Scouting Report |
| Fabian Moreau | CB | 6004 | 206 | UCLA | Scouting Report |
| Joe Mixon# | RB | 6006 | 228 | Oklahoma | Scouting Report |
| Raekwon McMillan | ILB | 6017 | 240 | Ohio State | Scouting Report |
| Jake Butt | TE | 6054 | 246 | Michigan | Scouting Report |
| Cooper Kupp | Slot WR | 6015 | 204 | Eastern Washington | Scouting Report |
| Carl Lawson | Edge | 6016 | 261 | Auburn | Scouting Report |
| Larry Ogunjobi | DL | 6025 | 305 | Charlotte | Scouting Report |
| Caleb Brantley* | DL | 6025 | 307 | Florida | Scouting Report |
| Chris Godwin | Slot WR | 6010 | 209 | Penn State | Scouting Report |
Several of the top players on this list will likely be long gone by 51, but there’s plenty of opportunity for the Broncos to improve the team here. Let’s take closer look at a few prospects.
Dalvin Cook is a very productive RB who at one time was thought to be a top 10 pick. After stories of his off-field troubles started to surface he began losing momentum. Then he struggled at the combine, showing poorly in agility and acceleration drills. As a result, he’s still available, and it’s hard to say where he’ll land. If he should fall to 51, or close, he seemingly represents excellent value there for Denver.
While we’re talking about talented runners with character questions, Joe Mixon is a very inviting option in round 2 as well. Mixon’s issues are isolated to one incident, but it’s a bad one, and while his victim has publicly forgiven him, there are certain to be some teams who just don’t want to deal with the PR headache associated with drafting Mixon. Like Cook, he would be a nice addition for the Broncos.
Curtis Samuel is an explosive Slot WR who also spent significant time at RB at Ohio State. He would also fill the void at returner, making him a great choice for Denver. He’s not the most polished receiver, but I believe he has the potential to take the Broncos’ offense to another level. Like Christian McCaffrey, he’s versatile enough to line up in various positions, including the backfield, to keep defenses guessing.
Zach Cunningham is the best remaining potential upgrade at LB for the Broncos. He’s a defensive playmaker who flies all over the field. He makes a lot of arm tackles, which is something he’ll need to improve upon, but I think he will start very early in his career. He’s the three down LB the Broncos were lacking last season.
Malik McDowell is a monster who would look very good at RDE in the Broncos’ base defense. He has some good tape from Michigan State, but he has some bad tape, too. His effort has been brought into question, which can be a bad sign, but if he’s motivated he could really disrupt offenses at the next level.
Chris Wormley is a bit of a dark horse, but he’s an option I really like for Denver’s defensive line. Solid player with a perfect frame and plenty of power. He doesn’t bring much to the table as a pass rusher, but with some work he might be able to improve in that area. The Broncos could do a lot worse than Wormley tonight.
The Cornerbacks, as a group, are the deepest and most talented on the board tonight. There are six legitimate second round options, and frankly I’d be content with just about any of them. Chidobe Awuzie is a good press man CB who seems like a good fit for Denver, but he’s not the only one.
Third Round:
Third round targets, in my estimation, are as follows:
| 3rd Round Rankings: | |||||
| Name | Position | Height | Weight | School | NFL.com Draft Profile |
| Sidney Jones | CB | 6000 | 186 | Washington | Scouting Report |
| Tarell Basham | Edge | 6036 | 269 | Ohio | Scouting Report |
| Ryan Anderson | Edge | 6020 | 253 | Alabama | Scouting Report |
| DeMarcus Walker | DL/Edge | 6035 | 280 | Florida State | Scouting Report |
| Dalvin Tomlinson | DL | 6027 | 310 | Alabama | Scouting Report |
| Jake Butt | TE | 6054 | 246 | Michigan | Scouting Report |
| Derek Rivers# | Edge | 6035 | 248 | Youngstown State | Scouting Report |
| Alex Anzalone | ILB | 6027 | 241 | Florida | Scouting Report |
| ArDarius Stewart | Slot WR | 5111 | 204 | Alabama | Scouting Report |
| Gerald Everett* | TE | 6030 | 239 | South Alabama | Scouting Report |
| Taywan Taylor | Slot WR | 5110 | 203 | Western Kentucky | Scouting Report |
| Samaje Perine* | RB | 5105 | 233 | Oklahoma | Scouting Report |
| Cameron Sutton | CB | 5112 | 188 | Tennessee | Scouting Report |
| Jordan Leggett* | TE | 6054 | 258 | Clemson | Scouting Report |
| Montravious Adams | DL | 6035 | 304 | Auburn | Scouting Report |
| Cordrea Tankersley | CB | 6012 | 199 | Clemson | Scouting Report |
| Kareem Hunt* | RB | 5104 | 216 | Toledo | Scouting Report |
| Carlos Henderson | Slot WR/KR | 5110 | 199 | Louisiana Tech | Scouting Report |
| Kendell Beckwith | ILB | 6022 | 243 | LSU | Scouting Report |
| Jaleel Johnson | DL | 6025 | 316 | Iowa | Scouting Report |
| Tanoh Kpassagnon | DL/Edge | 6066 | 289 | Villanova | Scouting Report |
| George Kittle | TE | 6036 | 247 | Iowa | Scouting Report |
| Carlos Watkins | DL | 6032 | 309 | Clemson | Scouting Report |
| Rasul Douglas | CB | 6015 | 209 | West Virginia | Scouting Report |
| Elijah Qualls* | DL | 6005 | 313 | Washington | Scouting Report |
| Anthony Walker, Jr. | ILB | 6005 | 238 | Northwestern | Scouting Report |
| Vincent Taylor | DL | 6025 | 304 | Oklahoma State | Scouting Report |
| D’Onta Foreman* | RB | 6000 | 233 | Texas | Scouting Report |
Watch for Denver to take a good long look at TEs in the third round. Aside from that, your guess is as good as mine. I couldn’t even get the first rounder right. Until next time, Happy Draft watching, and Go Broncos!