Nick – Page 40 – Thin Air

#82 – Carlos Henderson, WR, Louisiana Tech

We've taken WR Carlos Henderson from La. Tech in the 3rd rd. He catches the ball really well and is a good special teams player & returner.

— John Elway (@johnelway) April 29, 2017

#51 – Demarcus Walker, DE, Florida State

We've taken DE DeMarcus Walker with our 2nd rd pick. He was a very productive pass rusher at Florida St. and will fit in well w/our defense!

— John Elway (@johnelway) April 29, 2017

Open Thread: 2017 NFL Draft, Day 2

#20: Garett Bolles, T, Utah

Excited that Garett Bolles was available for us to take w/our 1st rd pick. He was the most athletic tackle in the draft & plays w/toughness!

— John Elway (@johnelway) April 28, 2017

The 2017 Broncos Rookie Class

Drafted Rookies

1st (#20) – Garett Bolles, T, Utah
2nd (#51) – Demarcus Walker, DE, Florida
3rd (#82) – Carlos Henderson, WE, Louisiana Tech
3rd (#101, compensatory) – Brendan Langley, CB, Lamar
~~4th (#126)~~ – traded to Cleveland for two 5th round picks
5th (#145, from Cleveland) – Jake Butt, TE, Michigan
5th (#172, from Green Bay) – Isaiah McKenzie, WR, Georgia
~~5th (#177, compensatory)~~ – traded to the 49ers along with Kapri Bibbs in exchange for the 49ers’ 2018 4th round pick
6th (#203, from Tennessee) – De’Angelo Henderson, RB, Coastal Carolina
~~7th (#238)~~ – traded to Green Bay
~~7th (#252, compensatory)~~ – traded to Cleveland for two 5th round picks
7th (#253, compensatory, Mr. Irrelevant) – Chad Kelly, QB, Mississippi

Undrafted Rookies

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

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

A THR-Influenced 2017 Broncos Mock Draft

Last year, I put together a mock draft using The Huddle Report’s two-board system. This year, I shall do the same with Rob Esch’s value board and Drew Boylhart’s talent board. To review, here are the rules that I hold myself to with this exercise:

I will not select a player that the value board does not project will be available for the Broncos at their respective picks. So all players above #20 are off limits, anyone in the top 50 can only be taken with the first round pick, and so on.
I will not project trades up or down as it just makes things too complicated; however, in real life this should never preclude such moves, and you have to be prepared for your draft board to get jumbled.
I will not mock out the 6th and 7th round draft picks, as Esch’s board only goes to 200. However, I will note that Boylhart is unusually high on Chad Kelly, and John Elway has shown a regular habit of drafting QBs late. If he decides to do so again in 2017, perhaps Kelly should be Mr. Irrelevant?

Continue reading A THR-Influenced 2017 Broncos Mock Draft

Have You Checked Your Christian McCaffrey Bias?

I’m on the record as preferring Christian McCaffrey with the Broncos’ first round pick I believe that there is a solid football reason for this preference: explained as early as February 1 here by SterlingMalloryArcher, and receiving my endorsement here as the rare type of player that can pose a three-headed attack: in the running, receiving, and returning games. (You mean Cerberus?)

However, there is another aspect favoring Christian McCaffrey is that I cannot deny. That’s the sentimental factor of his father Ed being one of the most popular Broncos in recent memory, and the desire for Christian to carry on the McCaffrey legacy in Denver. To put it bluntly, that’s nepotism, rarely a justifiable reason.

However, I don’t think I’m alone in this flaw. The consensus on this site feels like it matches my own regarding McCaffrey. It’s probably even more rampant among the Broncos fanbase in general. And as a cursory search of many staff rosters demonstrate, nepotism is a fact of life within the NFL.

While I think the football reasons for rating McCaffrey high are still justified, I think it would serve all of us well if we go through a three-question exercise to challenge ourselves against bias, and ensure that we would treat Christian McCaffrey the same way if he was named Christian Smith–or even Christian Sime.

Name as many incoming 2017 rookies as you can that you would rate higher that McCaffrey from a pure football talent level.
Name as many incoming 2017 rookies as you can, aside from the ones listed above, that you think would improve the Broncos as a whole more than McCaffrey.
Name the teams that, for whatever reason you have, you do not want to see draft McCaffrey.