Month: February 2017

Players To Watch At The NFL Scouting Combine (February 28 – March 6, 2017)

Hello again, Broncos fans! There’s been a lot of discussion regarding draft prospects in the daily threads here at Thin Air, but I thought it would be useful to take a good look at several players who are likely on the Broncos’ radar in one easy-to-reference location. This post (and the comments below it) will serve as a convenient list of names to watch at the upcoming Underwear Olympics in Indianapolis. So let’s get to it.

Continue reading Players To Watch At The NFL Scouting Combine (February 28 – March 6, 2017)

Striking A Balance Between Free Agents And Comp Picks

In today’s Orange Overview, Nick has addressed the error he made in determining the compensatory pick formula as it pertained to Russell Okung. I did want to address comp picks for a minute because, while it’s disappointing the Broncos didn’t get the two third-round picks we thought they might get, that we need to remember about striking a balance between addressing immediate needs and acquiring comp picks.

I think most of us would agree that we don’t want the Broncos operating like the Packers tend to do, in which Ted Thompson seems uninterested in signing any UFA because he’s stubborn about acquiring comp picks, even when the Packers don’t have a lot of UFAs of their own that Thompson isn’t prioritizing for extensions.
Continue reading Striking A Balance Between Free Agents And Comp Picks

2017 Compensatory Picks Announced

The Broncos will get picks in the 3rd (#101), 5th (#177), and two in the 7th (#252 and #253).

Press release is here.

In sum, two adverse changes were made to my Broncos’ projection that I both anticipated might happen.  Danny Trevathan was valued as a 5th rounder, of which I thought was a very close call, and isn’t a huge deal.  But the real blow against the Broncos was that the compensatory formula decided to count the entirety of Russell Okung’s contract (as well as Kelvin Beachum’s, structured the same way).  That caused Okung to be easily valued as a 3rd rounder, and thus canceled out their highest 3rd round CFA lost, and that was Brock Osweiler.  In turn, it freed up a 7th round pick for Vernon Davis.  The Broncos’ other 7th rounder, for Ryan Harris, will be the Mr. Irrelevant pick once again for Denver.  This year, I personally hope they won’t trade it.

Broncos Decline Russell Okung’s Option: A Postmortem

One of the top pending questions surrounding the Broncos before the 2017 league year begins was whether a 4-year option on Russell Okung’s contract would be exercised.  Today, the reports are that the answer is no.  Reactions were swift now that the answer is reasonably known, but I think it’s prudent to take a breath and look at the facts surrounding why the Broncos made this decision.  Then, we can take a look at what the future may hold at the left tackle position. Continue reading Broncos Decline Russell Okung’s Option: A Postmortem