Month: April 2017

What Working The Draft Board Is Really About

We have all made our opinions known about the Broncos using their first-round pick on Garett Bolles and a few wondered if the Broncos could have traded up for somebody else (say O.J. Howard) or moved down the board.

While I wasn’t a fan of the Bolles pick, I want him to succeed and wish him luck. But I do think it’s worth exploring the question about the Broncos moving up or down the board and when it makes sense.

We tend to think that moves up or down the board make sense based on the player a team is interested in, but there’s more to it than that. Whenever you move up the board, you want to minimize your risk because you can’t always guarantee that the player you move up the board for will pan out like you think he will. And when you move down, you want to ensure your maximize your return from moving down so that it’s worth it, regardless of whether or not you miss out on the player you want by moving down.
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Broncos Draft Preview 2017, Part 4: Rounds 2 and 3

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.

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The 2017 Broncos Rookie Class

Drafted Rookies

Undrafted Rookies

Visit the open thread for undrafted free agents for developing news.

Broncos Draft Preview 2017, Part 3: The 1st Round

Hello, Broncos fans! Today’s the big day. Well, the first of three big days, really, and frankly this year I’m looking forward to Day 2 more than Day 1. The discussion regarding who they’ll select tonight has been going on for months now, and “at the end of the day” (that’s me doing my best Mayock) none of us know much about how they’re going to use it. Like most teams the Broncos head into tonight with a single pick, and the pressure is on to make it count. In reality, though, the draft is so much more than just the first round. Nevertheless, tonight’s decision is an important one, so if you haven’t reached complete speculation saturation allow me to walk you through what Elway and company might be thinking.

Continue reading Broncos Draft Preview 2017, Part 3: The 1st Round

2017 Mock Draft

I wanted to do a mock draft that might show what it would look like if we traded up for Ed and Lisa’s little boy Christian. I can’t see moving all the way up to five or six to get in front of Carolina, but if he makes it past the Panthers, I believe he’ll make it to Indy @ 15.

So, this is the trade I proposed to Howie Roseman this morning and he accepted. Broncos send 20, 51 and 127 to Philadelphia for 14 and 77.

I brought us back up to ten picks by swinging a second deal with John Lynch that sent 101 to the 49ers for 109 and 161.

Here’s what I was able to buy after all the wheeling and dealing.

1/14 Christian McCaffrey RB Stanford: Are you not entertained?

3/77 Taylor Moton OT Western Michigan: Four year starter. Powerful and still developing right tackle.

3/82 Cooper Kupp WR Eastern Washington: Highly productive and extremely polished slot receiver.

4/109 Shaquill Griffin CB Central Florida: Signed with UCF to play alongside twin brother Shaquem who only has one hand. Aggressive press corner who will require refinement at the next level. Showed tremendous speed, burst and ball skills at the Combine. Some believe he’s a workout warrior and his production didn’t match up to his talent, but he’s a solid prospect who is only available this late due to the depth @ CB this year.

5/161 Michael Roberts TE Toledo: Massive tight end with huge catch radius and his hands measured just an eighth of an inch off the Combine record. Unstoppable in the red zone in the MAC.

5/177 Deatrich Wise, Jr DE Arkansas: Naturally strong, run stuffing DE, who may have been miscast in a 4-3. Father played in the CFL. Hard worker and team captain, but lack of short area quickness will limit him.

6/203 Jayon Brown LB UCLA: Speedy and undersized with a love for the game. Latest in a line of excellent linebackers from UCLA. Terrific in coverage and a special teams demon. Great locker room presence. One of my favorite players in this draft.

7/238 DJ Jones NT Mississippi: Squatty but athletic nose tackle. His best film will remind you of former Lions standout Jerry Ball. Has conditioning issues that need to be addressed.

7/252 Jerry Ugokwe OT William & Mary: Nigerian native who walked on and started 42 straight games. Looks the part and is very coachable. High character young man who excelled academically. Only began playing as a junior in high school and will require a lot of refinement.

7/253 Dylan Cole LB Missouri State: Super intense and productive small school hitting machine. Put up ridiculous pro day numbers, but lack of agility shows up in coverage.

Revisiting the Broncos’ First Round Picks Since 1995

Happy draft day, fellow Broncos fans!  At Over The Cap, in lead-up to this weekend Jason Fitzgerald did an exercise in which he looked back at the Jets’ 1st round picks and reviewed what they realistically could have done better with some of them.  This was a simple enough exercise that I thought I’d do the same for the Broncos.  Jason went back to 1995 for the Jets, of which I think is a suitable year for the Broncos as well since that was Mike Shanahan’s first season in charge. Continue reading Revisiting the Broncos’ First Round Picks Since 1995