12th, Ryan Clady at #1
42nd, Eddie Royal
108th, Kory Lichtensteiger
119th, Jack Williams
139th, Ryan Torain
148th, Carlton Powell
183rd, Spencer Larsen
220th, Josh Barrett
227th, Peyton Hills
CONGRATULATIONS fellas, Welcome to the Denver Broncos, that was a special day for you, your families and a lifetime experience no matter what round you were drafted in. Cool stuff!!
Great day for a player to see his dreams come true. I’m anxious to hear everyone’s comments. My first comment was there was amazing speed amongst that group of guys. Pretty impressive.
I still remember the day I was drafted like it was yesterday. It was a big day. Watching the T.V. surrounded by family and a few of my team mates at my home in Miami.
I’d already been drafted by the USFL, New Jersey Generals (remember those days?) and my team mate Jim Kelly was drafted and headed off to the Houston Team so New Jersey traded them my rights so Kelly could try to get me to sign with the USFL. Interesting times.
The USFL actually offered more money but had no severance or retirement, etc and the NFL was my dream and coming to the Denver Broncos with a QB named John Elway was something no one could compare.
It was fun watching all the families of the players enjoying the day. My father and mother were on cloud 9.
I’m curious on all your feedback you BRONCOMANIACs!!!!!!!!
Tags: Uncategorized
I’m glad that we drafted Ryan Clady. Once hes picked up the blocking scheme, I think that hes going to be a nice great player. The Eddie Royal pick was a good decision and all because we need a good kick returned however I’m disappointed that we passed up on Limas Sweed. I would have to give this years draft a B+. I think denver also picked up some great players in rounds 5-7.
I thought that overall this draft class will add a lot to the team. The Broncos clearly needed some more depth after all of the injuries last year, and this class definitely did that. How exciting is the pick for Royal, many people would say a reach, but we needed a return guy and this guy has it all. Explosive speed and tremendous strength (25 reps of 225 at the combine) will get me excited everytime he touches the ball. Plus CB, RB, DT, C, FB, S, and LB. Addressed all the needs and not one issue with character. Great job Mike, excited to see the impact that these make on the field. Look for Torain to make a huge impact and be a force running the ball. Ryan Clady is an instant impact player that will let Jay sleep easy at night for the rest of his career! GO BRONCOS
Great Draft! I love the Clady pick to add a solid anchor on the o-line. I also like the Royal pick even though some people think that it was a reach. I think he has great talent and great character, so that is good to see. This may be the best 2nd day of the draft that we ever had. Kory Litchensteiger will probably end up taking over for nalen when he retires. All the draft experts think that Jack Williams was a great pick in the 4th round. Ryan Torain will eventually have a big impact on the running game. Carlton Powell looks like a solid pick as well. Don’t know much about the LB from Arizona but hopefully he works out. I thought the 7th round went outstanding! We got a fast safety who could very well make the team in Josh Barret. We also got a possible starting FB in Peyton Hillis. I can already see how he could be effective in the red zone because he has great hands (play action toss to the FB for a TD). Solid picks!
Go Broncos!
eddie royal was a good pick cause we need a good return man and he’s great after the catch… Shanahan knows what he’s doing have faith
I dont get what denver was thinking on passing on tashard choice, and takin that other do nothin running back. But besides that i think we did ok, the safety in the 7th round GREAT PICK hope his injuries are behind him. And i think aldridge the free agent will be better than the RB we drafted, and dont we already have a player just like him or not even as good as selvin young we definetly messed up on passin on choice.
I have followed the speculation for months now, and I am glad it is over. Looking at all the mocks, most were way off. I love Clady, we needed him and now Jay can be comfortable knowing that Ryan has his back. This also makes the rest of the line better, by putting people in better positions. If Royal get us at least 10 to 15 yards more in field position this season, he will be well worth a 2nd. I know very little about some of the others, but if we can get 1 or even 2 starters out of it that would be great. I would be happy with 1 starter and some good roll players.
this was great draft i say better then last year because we got players that we really need. i really like the clady and royal picks. i honestly think we need a good back up Jay cuz i seen rasmy play he doesnt impress me some might think this is stupid but i think we need to pick up chris simms or daunte clupepper. who agree also i like the rookie free agency i think th UTEP wide out is going to be like Rod Smith and i think The Houston RB will be nice in our system. who doesnt agree
I wonder what the reason was on why we draft Eddie Royal over Desean Jackson. Jackson is faster and a better returner and I think about has the same skill as Eddie Royal as wide receiver. I think Jackson had some character issues that was the overall reason we choose Royal over Jackson.
John-Jake-n-Jay
7;16,6
Srry man but Desean Jackson is not any better, in fact way worse then Eddie Royal, so for those who are not sold on Eddie Royal check this vid out, I became a believer after this, Shanahan can spot talent… http://youtube.com/watch?v=rloo1rd4Bl4... Our draft was great, and I really like DT Powell of V-tech, and CB Jack Williams of Kent. This year is going to be great, and guys remember that if the Broncos can have a good offense, that keeps our Defense rested and they’ll play a lot better than last year, and we definitely improved the offense with Clady, so Im looking forward for the Preseason already, CANT WAIT!!!
Cooper,
My favorite selection is Spencer Larsen. This kid is a tackling machine and can perhaps be the second coming of Karl Mecklenburg. I also think Eddie Royal is excellent and Ryan Clady is outstanding. Peyton Hillis and Ryan Torain should also be helpful in the running game, while I hear this Jack Williams can run a 4.3 40 and has solid coverage skills. Perhaps Garrett Hartley will be our kicker of the future, he was solid in college so he seems to be a nice acquisition.
1) I would rather have Eddie Royal any day than Desean Jackson (if you don’t understand character……)
2) That was the best 7th round I have ever seen. I am so relieved that we went after a fullback.
3) If they spread the field Alridge is gonna be spectacular. (He will go no-where if there is 8 in the box)
4) They really need to pickup Art Carmody, at least for competition sake, very disappointed that he isn’t here.
Seriously, how do you “not” go after the “all time” scoring leader for a placekicker ? (Carmody)
Makes no sense.
I thought Jackson went before the 42nd? I have no idea who Royal is (or anyone else really, since I don’t watch college football) but I was sure we were going to draft Limas Sweed. He was there for the taking. Not saying it was a bad pick because I don’t know — I just hope this isn’t like the year we decided to draft Ashley Lelie instead of Javon Walker…despite him being a Raider now, he still is a good player who I hope Champ can hold down…
I’m optomistic about the draft. I didn’t see much film on any of these guys , just the clips that the NFL network ran when they were drafted. The film they showed on Clady really scared the heck out of me , basically of him not paying attention and missing the calls. Pulling the wrong way , etc. I hope those were isolated incidents and not thing that happened on a regular basis.
I really liked What I saw with Eddie Royal, looks to have Great vision in the open field. Probably the best pick in the draft for the Broncos this draft!
I thought the 4th round was outstanding, Litchensteiger is the perfect Bronco type OL but heavier. Great leverage and tenacity, gritty. I think he will play for a long time. Williams looks to be a great athelete and playmaker, he to I think will play in the NFL a long time.
I havent’ heard much about the rest of the guys. The Broncos have a nose for running backs so Torian will most likely be good. I’m glad they drafted a fullback but I heard he can block for beans, what good is a fullback that can’t block? Hopefully he can be taught if our smaller RB’s are going to survive next season. I was suprised we didn’t draft one of the top kickers. Free agent signing have some pretty impressive stats, we may pick up a couple of those guys for the regular season.
Let’s face it ,only time will tell with any of these players. The Broncos have done an outstanding job the last couple of years adding players so I’m pretty optomistic this year will be no different! GO BRONCOS !
Coop, LOVED THE DRAFT!
imready, keep in mind…there isn’t a player in the draft you can’t find mistakes on including Jake Long who went #1. I saw those same clips and thought, “Well you wanna show me 4 times he made mistakes, now show me 500 where he was solid.” It’s all in how you perceive the “experts” and their tape watching skills. At any rate, he’s going to be great.
Secondly, Royal is the real deal. There are 2 things that we need to fix and fix immediately this year. The red zone and field position.
RED ZONE. I think with our offensive boys coming back and the addition to Clady and FA’s we improve greatly on this area. Mike knows it’s a concern and better play calling is the ticket. You now have the players to open it up so do it!
FIELD POSITION. Royal! Is he the next Devin Hester? Maybe not, but Chicago is proof that a return man single handedly can take a team to the Super Bowl! They have pathetic QB’s that played with a solid defense and GREAT FIELD POSITION. It’s a now brainer when you only have to drive 35 yards for at least 3 points. Sad thing is they still didn’t draft a QB, what’s that tell ya?
GO GET EM’ BOYS!!
I do like the draft for the most part. Royal, i do understand this pick; but I do question picks 108,139,148,183,220
i love our draft…we drafted need and talent for the future….that saftey we got could very well be are best player out of the draft…..
Clady is the man, coming from Boise, ive seen him alot…however i do wonder if we should have picked up the cat from Vandy cuz he played better comp. every game then Clady
Royal is nice if he can return kicks in the pro’s…
I really dont get why we drafted that corner from Kent…and didnt get Ali Highsmith for more speed and intensity at LB…
i love that we got Woodyard from KY….if anybody seen him vs. LSU this year…i think he had about 10 tackles at halftime…and almost 20 for the game…he is fast and in the mold of Al wilson…..intensity wise! i really hope he sticks with the team…he def. makes up for not getting highsmith from LSU!!!!
Actually, once again, I disagree with most everyone. I think Denver handled the first two rounds completely wrong. I don’t see how we could have passed up the opportunity to pick up an top tier RB. I know that in Denver’s scheme, you could probably get a 300lb lineman to rush for 1000 yrds, but imagine for just a minute what Denver could do with an Adrian Peterson type back. Mendenhall fit the bill perfectly, and the Steelers got a steal with him at the 23rd pick. He is going to make Willie Parker look very average and make that offense tough to beat. I understand the need for an OT, and we did get the best one left on the board, but the draft was so deep at this position, we could have easily have landed a good OT in the 2nd round. I wanted to puke when I saw that we picked up Royal in the 2nd round. I just cannot justify wasting such a high pick on a return specialist, especially when we don’t have a 3rd round pick. This guy is no Devin Hester. He only had 3 returned TDs in his entire college career, so I find it hard to justify a second round pick for someone who might increase Denver’s return average by 3-5 yrds.
On the other hand, I felt Denver made some good picks in the later rounds.
I’m so excited about this draft group,,all are great picks,,,superb round seven..
i like the Jack Williams pick,,,those of you who think he is undersized? he is not much smaller than Bob Sanders when he came out…ran the 40 in the 4.3s..WOW!!…
and the linebackers?cant stop there either,,solid tackling machines..Larzen and the free agent pick-up Wesley Woodyard….this is all too sweet…
I originally was dissapointed when I heard Eddie Royal’s name called. However, after watchtin some videos of him on youtube, I’m now a believer. And the fact that he can rep 225 lbs. more times than Cutler is insane.
I’m liking all the picks as I see them now, but I can’t truly decide until I get to watch them all play, very excited to see how camp goes.
Finally some positive comments… 100% agreed w/ the three up top… Love every one of the picks, and the pick ups after the draft… Great job Shanny and the boys
I agree with lynchifier09, i saw eddie royal’s highlight reel and i think its amazing that he made it out of the first round. Clady will be a beast at tackle for the next 10 years. And everyone should remember that we would never draft someone we dont think can contribute.
SOLID DRAFT SHANAHAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I third that, i you avent watched royal on youtube, do it, this guy is amazing in the open field, he may have only had 3 td returns, but he had a bunch of td receptions that most recievers, even in the pros would have caught for 10-15 yards, he turned up the speed and made those catches some spiffy touch downs, very steve smithy. is smithy a word???
I agree with most of you, we improved on draft day and the speed factor impressed me the most. We had a lot of picks so it will be interesting to see how camp opens and how the fellas fair.
It’s a real change when you step on the PRO field. Your practicing against the best guy you ever saw in college every down, every day. If you take a play off, you look pretty stupid pretty quick because either your the hammer or the nail. Keeps things interesting and the intensity never stops.
So what’s your predictions on what takes place between now and camp? Many of you are pretty intuitive? Curious if you have any predictions.
Being as I live in Oregon I really wanted to see Denver pick up Jonathan Stuart as I thought he would be a great addition to our running game,however all the picks were very smart and I am looking forward to a wonderful season GO Broncos!
hey im ready the fullback we drafted came from arkansas where Mcfadden and felix came from both were drafted in the first round runnig backs dont get to be drafted first round unless they have great seasons and great seasons need great blockers on the o-line and at the fullback position. When a team wants to have a dominant running game they go out and get a fullback that can block and a left guard that can move out those big ol DT. To prove my point in Shannys first year he let go of our current fullback and picked up howard griffith walla we had a runnig game and a fullback with soft hands in the red zone. Denver has actually been searching for a fullback since Howard left hence the multiple starters at the position with the only stable starter being Kyle Johnson but he never really picked up how to block in our scheme so hasta luego buddy, we only retained Cecil Sapp in case you are right instead of the guys in the broncos office who know more. Look at the analysis of the pick by the experts they all say he will contribute this year on goal line situations in the pass and as a blocker for our Monster running game.
Denver will finish the pre-season 1-3 due to Adjustment on the left side of the line as Kory Lichtensteiger will be placed in the very physical left guard spot, Ben will slide to the right side where he will see less impact(concussion case now) of course Clady will take a few games to adjust to game speed in the NFL due to the lack of caliber teams he played at Boise State but will retain the left takle spot Pears will beat out Harris on the right. Our starter at RB will be Henry this year and mark my words NFL watch out Travis the Tank Henry is coming, and he brought his speedy little buddies with him (Selvin and Ryan the Terror Torain). Wide receiver will look like this 1.Marshall 2. Jackson 3. A) Stokely for 1st downs and special duties say 30 or 40 yards to pay day 3. B) Royal for 2nd, long 3rd downs and what we all want to see THE GO FETCH PLAY 4. Colbert (possesion guy). At fullback Hillis will be the guy and he is going to be money for Cutler in the Rojo zone. TE is trivial as shanny is not a fan of using his TEs for anything other than blocking. Now on to the D-fense (foot stomp foot stomp). From left to right we will have Crowder, Thomas, Robertson, Dumervil and Moss will split the duties 50-50 on the line while at the LB corp we will have from left to right Bailey, Koutivides, Williams. In the secondary we will have Bailey, Lynch, McCree and Bly.
Looking at what this roster could be this year we are all seing playoffs and superbowl wins let the waiting game begin all.
If you’ve ready any of my posts in past blogs , you would know that I agreed with drafting a fullback. The Broncos have not had a great blocking fullback in a long time and I believe a statement was made that the reason they didn’t worry about having a great blocking fullback was that it inhibited the vision of the running back to see the hole and get thru it quickly. I also believe in my post that I stated that I had read the fullback drafted was not a great blocker, period. I did not say that I knew that as fact. Even if it is true, it doesn’t mean he can’t become a great blocker. It just concerned me.
On Clady , I hope he is the best left tackle to ever hit the NFL. I’m not a big fan of tall O-lineman. Guys like Dumervil make them look like fools. I like stocky guys like Licthensteiger ( but with longer arms at tackle)that can get under d-lineman and can use leverage to get their way. Seems to me that has be always where Broncos have had the most success.
I never suggested that I knew more than anybody in the Bronco front office and again, if you read my posts I have continuously praised their work. You don’t have to agree with my observiations or opinions(and that’s all they are, opinions) , but I would appreciate that you wouldn’t suggest that I’ve made statements that I clearly have not. I am merely a Bronco fan-atic, which I am fully aware of. We all like to speculate and analyze. You are jumping to conclusions if you are suggesting that I think I am right about anything.
Seldom in a draft do all players make the team or live up to their expectations. There are always some suprises too, guys that have more heart than talent or measureables. It will be fun following the stories of all players signed ,either drafted or free agent signings. I, for one, are looking forward to training camp! GO BRONCOS !
[...] Cooper welcomes the rookies. [...]
Broncosfanatic: I suspect you’ve got most of your predictions dead on but I don’t think you’ve accurately sized up our guard situation. Montrae Holland is not coming out of the right guard spot. He’s a beast. I think the LG spot is Hamilton’s to lose but there’s no way they let Lichtensteiger start the first few games over him(don’t forget about Kuper either). I think they brought Lichtensteiger in to study at center before Nalen retires so he’ll probably be taking a lot more reps there than at guard anyway.
I love this draft. We got what we needed on the O Line and for depth at a lot of other positions. From what I’ve read most of these guys are true ballers(instead of workout warriors). I like that in the draft and the rookie free agent signings we picked up three legitimate return guys(Royal, Williams, Alridge). I am a little concerned that some of our pickups have had injury issues, but modern medicine means most of these guys should have productive careers.
Ramboskithefan,
Ali Highsmith went undrafted
We don’t need another running back. We picked the talent where the need was for this team. We don’t need another running back. Even if Travis does get injured, look what Selvin and Hall did with a banged up, beat up O line! Ancho the line, stay healthy and let Shanny open it up with damaging run plays and cannon shots from our boy Jay.
I am a HUGE Shanny believer. I look at the big, big picutre and this man is one of the best coaches to coach the game. When he says that this was the first draft that he has gotten his top 2 pick in his tenure, I’m excited. Furthermore, his comments on Jim our scouting coordinator and his credibility was amazing. That’s the people I will trust making the tough calls.
I’m telling you…..playoffs are here and I would go one step furthre and say we stay in the top #5 offenses and defenses all year.
GO GET EM’ BOYS!
Hey Coop,
Sorry forgot to respond to your question. I think between now and pre season, Shanny and the crew have a ton of evaluations to make. I love our roster and simply think it needs evaluated.
Also, I think some one above pointed out KIDNATEBOY a veteran quarterback. I have to agree.
No dissrespect to Ramnsey, but I would like to see us pick up some one with a little bit more credibility out there. With all the other pieces falling into place from an offensive and defensive perspective I think we need to have a back up plan for Jay? Is Ramnsey it? I’m not sure
GO GET EM’ BOYS!
Hey Jerg I sized up my situation quite clearly before I wrote my post. When our offensive line is working properly we would get around 15-17 TD’s on the ground, this last year we got 10 and three of them came from Cutler(1) and Sapp(2) which means we sere so close all they had to do was lean. Minus Nalen and Hamilton out due to injury the play of the offensive line was a travisty there will be a complete change with the only two from previous years being Hamilton and Nalen. Holland never moved spots on our line all year why? Here is why he couldn’t play anywhere else in our scheme, not good when the biggest thing Shanny likes is versatality. If Denver wanted to groom Kory Lichtensteiger and have him sit while doing so he would have been drafted later like the 6th or 7th round. No my friend It will be all as I say this year Shanny got his guys and they will start not because Shanny wants them to but more likely because they are exactly what Denver needed this time around and fit our scheme so the learning curve becomes next to none this pre-season is a fine tuning job.
All of you who think that McCree is going to just beat out Hamza like its nothing better check your selfs..cuz he gets beat way to much!!! Hamza has the size and speed and hunger for that starting position!! yah i know Highsmith didnt get drafted due to issues about his background….but he was one of the best players on the LSU D!!! im just saying he would have been nice, just incase Boss doesnt pan out!! all and all i just hope we kill everybody next year…….down with the bolts and rivers!
our draft this year wasn’t filled with superstar names and questionable picks (ie Maurice Clarett) granted if Clarett would have went off like everyone though he would have and SHOULD have, that would have been one of the best if not the best sleeper pick in recent history….at any rate, no our draft wasn’t the guttsiest and most highlighted, but it was good in the sense that we needed people that could help on the o-line (Clady and Lictensteiger or whatever, you know who I’m talkin bout) and on special teams….if you see we drafted 2 guys out of VT, you know you where the term “Beemer Ball” comes from, the guru of all special teams….our areas of weakness were addressed….we got a exciting return guy in Royal and a guy in Powell that knows how to get his hands up and block kicks as well as get in at DT….I think our additional picks are going to promote competition at every position and thats always good, that means the best guy will start come gametime….I loved this draft, yes it was safe and there wasn’t to much hype built up, but it served it purpose….one thing I have to remember is we dont see the ins and outs of the talent evaluation process as in depth as the coaches and scouts do…so I trust their judgement and evaluation….I think people are sleeping on Denver this year in the AFC west and they shouldn’t be….we’re gonna be alright I tell ya , we’ll be just fine….lets do it Denver!
emaldo,
I seond that response. Nicely put!
GO GET EM’ BOYS!
just to comment on something i read earlier, i wouldnt just go ahead and slap a “slot” label on royal. speed isnt his only strength, he is also a solid catcher. And someone like him is going to make defenses nervous about playaction. That could make defenders a little nervous about immediately coming up to play the run. That makes me think we could have an amazing running game this year
what does everyone else think?
whoa BroncosFanatic4..
I like your line-up …just going over it makes me feel excited about the upcoming season….cant wait…but where would you place Josh Barrett at??
oh,,we cant doubt the Rb pick up, Torian, this guy is huge for a RB..picture a slightly smaller version of Brandon Jacobs but wiht the same intensity and power,,well may not be as physical as Jacobs but in time will tell….talk about another redzone weapon along with Hellis and a healthy Henry…thats exciting…
and about those of you wondering about Ali Highsmith, I think i read it somerwhere that he was signed in free agency…
As for what i think of whats going to happen b/t now and camp, theres still a lot of talented college free agents and I wouldnt be surprised if Coach Mike makes some signings and cuts…but thats just my opinion,,,
hei emaldo,
i agree with u too on the sleeper part…GO BRONCS!!!
I like all the picks. Clady is just what the doctor orderd and Royal is a great pick up because We needed the help on special teams
about the mcCree and abdullah debate. I read somewhere that Lynch will not necessarily be an everydown safety. I like abdullah and his heart and game, he has great potential. Does anyone know if his brother was drafted this year? We have a lot of talent and i agree that we will be a hard team to beat. I don’t know if anyone remembers a blog mason wrote last year on injuries. But he stated how many “man-games” were missed and put up a comparison from previous years. The year we got to the AFC championship last, we had the fewest injuries. The years with the record being not so good, most injuries, last year was the most man-games we have missed in a decade. Lets all pray we stay healthy this year and be thankful that this draft landed us some great depth. And for my two cents on our front 4 on D, dont forget we are getting a healthy ebenezer ekuban back. And by the way coop, thanks for staying active in your blog, this is the first one since andrew mason left that has had great interactive comments. keep it up guys! Go Broncos!!!!!!!!
Ali Highsmith was signed by the Cardinals.
Hussein Abdullah was not drafted.
RE-Elvis Dumervil
DT’s-Dewayne Robertson, Alvin McKinley/Marcus Thomas
LE-Tim Crowder
OLB’s- D.J. Williams, Boss Bailey
MLB- Spencer Larsen/Niko Kuotouvides
CB’s- Champ Bailey, Dre Bly
FS-Josh Barret
SS-Hamza Abdullah
That is my ideal starting lineup.
didnt we release mckinley? and where does lynch fit in this?
very interesting
the website still shows mckinely on the team roster
Yeah… terrible lineup if Lynch isnt in there… thats like having 10,000 dollars when you’re 10,000 in debt and dont use that 10,000 to pay it off