On ESPN.com, Mel Kiper, Jr. and Todd McShay have both released new mocks — and both cover the first three rounds of the draft.
Both are available using ESPN Insider, so for those of you that don’t have it, here’s the rundown on their predictions.
The Broncos have four picks in the first three rounds — one of just two teams along with New England to have four picks among the first 70 — and Kiper and McShay have the club taking the same player on three of the four picks.
McShay and Kiper both see Alabama’s Marcell Dareus headed to Denver as the second overall selection.
McShay: “The Broncos are in desperate need of a true impact defensive tackle to anchor new coach John Fox’s 4-3 defense and will be holding their breath until Carolina picks. Denver will be thrilled if Dareus falls here because he fits the mold of an every-down difference-maker and also carries minimal baggage.”
Kiper: “There are several guys Denver could take here to bolster their defense, but Dareus makes a lot of sense. A scheme-versatile player who can be a disruptive, penetrating force as an interior lineman, or a fantastic pass-rusher as a defensive end in a 3-4 scheme, Dareus is a safe pick. He doesn’t have remarkable quickness, but his agility and versatility at a full 319 pounds is the stuff of an elite lineman. Denver could also consider a corner or linebacker here, but Dareus fills a significant, immediate need.”
In the second round, the Broncos have two selections — Nos. 36 and 46 overall.
With those picks, Kiper and McShay both see UCLA safety Rahim Moore and Notre Dame tight end Kyle Rudolph donning orange and blue in the NFL. The only distinction is that Kiper sees Moore as the earlier selection, while McShay has Rudolph going at No. 36.
In the third round, the two ESPN personalities finally differ, as McShay sees Denver going with North Carolina inside linebacker Quan Sturdivant, while Kiper predicts the pick will be a defensive lineman — Christian Ballard, from Iowa.
As for some other updated mock drafts, Dareus seems to be the consensus.
Sports Illustrated’s Don Banks agrees that Dareus will be Denver’s pick.
“If anybody really is cooling on the draft prospects of the Alabama defensive tackle, I couldn’t uncover the origin of their waning interest,” he wrote. “As one talent scout told me: ‘He’s a great kid and he plays good. The rest is just agent talk.’ Works for me. Dareus to a Broncos team that is transitioning to a 4-3 defense under new head coach John Fox is as logical as any projection anyone will make this year.”
On CBSSports.com, Chad Reuter and Rob Rang both see Dareus in Denver.
Reuter: “Da’Quan Bowers failed to put up the exceptional pro day needed to quiet fears about his health, so Denver instead picks the playmaker on the interior needed to play off edge rushers Robert Ayers and Elvis Dumervil.”
Rang: “The Broncos have a variety of needs, but none bigger than at defensive tackle. Denver finished 31st in the NFL in run defense last year and recently released former starters Justin Bannan and Jamal Williams. Dareus is the best run-stuffing defensive tackle in this class and among the safer picks. Barring a trade down, he should be a no-brainer here.”
As for FoxSports.com, Adam Caplan goes with Dareus as well.
“With the decision to go to a 4-3 scheme on defense, the need for interior defensive linemen like Dareus has taken on an increased importance in recent months,” he wrote. “He would come right in and start. Bowers also could come right in and play.”
FoxSports.com has also compiled a couple other mocks from Peter Schrager, Scout.com and WalterFootball.com. WalterFootball goes with Dareus as well, but Scout and Schrager are dissenters, going with Nick Fairley and Patrick Peterson, respectively.
Two more dissenters include CBSSports.com’s Pete Prisco and Clark Judge, who predict Peterson and Fairley, respectively.
Prisco: “You can never have enough good corners these days, and Champ Bailey isn’t a kid anymore. Peterson will be an elite cover player.”
Judge: “When John Fox took over Carolina he had the second pick and chose Julius Peppers. It’s deja vu all over again.”
With less than a month to go until draft day, there’s a pretty extensive update. We’ll see how many opinions change between now and then.
-Gray Caldwell, DenverBroncos.com
Tags: 2011 NFL Draft
great jaiquawn jarrett video link there. not so sure about him but he looks pretty good in that short clip. that would let us get rudolph if we thought jarrett was gonna be there in round 3. but i wouldnt draft jarrett in the 2nd. he didnt face quality enough competition. an nfl prospect is supposed to dominate there but he looks promising enough for an early 3. the colts really like him and may snag him with their 2nd. in the end would like to have him tho.
oh and i cant remember who it was but someone was posting about blue moon beer and made it sound so good when i happend to see it while looking for my beer, i grabbed a six pack. i’m glad i did cuz that was a good beer. very crisp with a great after taste. not alot of it down here in louisiana but i know where to get it now and i’m gonna start drinkin it! goes great with crackins for those of you who know what those tasty gems are. thanks for the tip.
It`s Dareus At #2. I have just made an executive decision. Thats that. Enough said. LOL
Louisiana, Blue moon is a good smooth beer and it`s far better on tap. I had a few last night on tap and was pleased.
@weatherman,
sorry about the Miller trading down thing. I think I read it on sports yahoo mock 4.0..not at all credible like those nfl guys..
I never considered what Bay said, might not be any trades w/ no CBA.idk.
Yeah I was thinking of the Eli-Rivrs trade. meant to say, find a trade buddy and trade that pickd player for theirs plus anothr pick or 2..
I’m just throwing stuff out…But its risky.Fox might not want to mess his first pick his first season.
Dear NFL and NFLPA,
PLEASE work out your differences with all haste. The lack of a CBA is causing me to languish. Without free agency and pre-draft trades, I am completely and utterly bored. You wouldn’t want to hurt some teams’ chances by not letting them reach their trading potential, would you? NFLPA, not allowing teams to make trades could truly harm some of your members who may get traded to a starting position on another team. PLEASE get something done! I’m dying here!
Sincerely,
Utterly bored footballMANIAC
PETERSON!!!!!!!!!!!!
Back to my grilling!
2Ps = D in 11
Louisianabroncofan, in regards to Patric Peterson being a once and a decade corner. We pointed out earlier this year that there is a corner that statistically was better than Peterson that played for Florida so if that is your argument then why not get the better corner next year?
Judge Susan Richard Nelson told the NFL and NFL players that she will impose forced mediation on them early this week, sources familiar with the situation told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.
The league had wanted more mediation in Washington D.C., while federal mediator George Cohen and the NFL Players’ Association wanted mediation in Minnesota.
Judge Nelson will decide what she feels is best and announce her decision early this week.
Judge Nelson had a one-hour conference call Friday with both sides and said she would use the weekend to figure out a solution, a source told ESPN’s John Clayton.
Tebow time!
http://m.nfl.com/site?t=1XGF3PNyzQa0lUNOdvYafQ&sid=nfl2
I still want Chris Prolinski or however you spell his name, imagine those two hard hitting safety starting for us for the next at least 4 years.
Mikey I am on the Chris Prolinski band wagon, I think with our 7th we can grab him.
Bay
In your contest……If you believe we will trade a pick; how should you show it and do we need to add the picks we believe we will recieve?
hey broncos country, been reading blogs since last off season figured it was time to make my own posts lol. anyways I hope we get peterson and draft DTs with 2 round picks, get a safty with our 3rd round pick.
welcome aboard arch. since uve been reading im sure u already know i dont dissagree with you lol
ps: new blog
Kengro, simple, just write down the first four players you think we will pick and the spot at which we will pick them. So the rules stay the same whether we trade our picks or not.
And BTW, the CB mikey is referring to is Janoris Jenkins from the Gators who last year shut down all big SEC WRs including Julio Jones and A.J. Green.
So take this PP fans:
Dareus in 2011 and JJ in 2012!
Broncos should trade down from #2 to #8 and pick up 2 to 3 additional picks. The #2 pick is worth 2600 points and the #8 is worth 1400. So Denver should be able to pick up Tennessee’s 2nd (worth 460 points) and 3rd rounder (worth 350 points) and another late round pick (200 points). Then Denver has picks 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, plus later rounds. With 6 picks in the first 4 instead of 4, Denver should have the strongest draft of any team.
Not done yet trading down either. Denver should trade down it’s #36 pick if Rudolph is gone to pick up a later 2nd round pick plus a 3rd.
Then Denver control 7 picks in the first 3 rounds.
With that, they have the nucleus of a new Orange Crush.
What’s better yet is that it’s entirely possible Peterson could still be there at the #8 pick or Miller. For sure, Fairley will be there.