What a weekend. The draft is now history. Some thoughts on the big weekend.
1) LET’S ALL BE HONEST ENOUGH TO SAY WE REALLY DON’T KNOW HOW WELL THE BRONCOS DRAFTED. With the plethora of opinions and evaluations, we like to think we know how well they did. The fact is, however, we don’t know how good it is. We don’t know how any team did.
I know that sounds like any easy out but for me, it is the absolute truth. It simply takes time to find out how well a team drafted.
In the lead-up to the draft, we hear and read analysts talk and write about certain players. Thus, we tend to think those are the best players. Then, we hope that the team we root for drafts some of those players. The fact is, there are a lot of really good players available. Many of them we haven’t heard of or seen play. And virtually none of us have ever broken down film on them.
2) THE BRONCOS HAD A PLAN AND STUCK TO IT. There really is something to be said for this. Like all teams, the Broncos spent countless hours scouting, evaluating and ranking the available players.
“Everybody’s graded on our board and we have them ranked,” Broncos Executive Vice President of Football Operations John Elway said after Thursday’s first round. “We’ll stay true to that. That’s what we worked three weeks on, to set that board the way we thought it should be set, ranking these players. The board is going to stay exactly where it is and we’re going to continue working off that board.”
They did just that. I love it. Have a plan; believe it the plan; stick with the plan. Debating the merits of that plan is certainly fair game. The players will provide the final evaluation over time.
3) I GENERALLY LIKE WHAT THE BRONCOS DID. First off, the emphasized game performance, effort and attitude. Too often, teams put a lot of stock in pre-draft workouts. No doubt there is a place for those. Ultimately, I want guys who made plays on the field. The Broncos seemed to emphasize that.
Next, the Broncos talked about the importance of character and they drafted accordingly. None of us are perfect and all of us need second and third and fourth chances. It seems, however, that the Broncos steered clear of guys who had major character issues. I applaud the Broncos for this. Give me some players who are hungry. Give me some players who WANT to work their fannies off. Give me some guys who care about one another and sell out for each other.
Finally, I like the players they picked. Many are wondering about taking Derek Wolfe high in the second round. I’ll admit that I was surprised when I heard the pick. After learning more about him and hearing him talk, I simply cannot wait to see him play. I believe he’ll make a difference this season.
Many people are also questioning the selection of ASU quarterback Brock Osweiler in the second round. I absolutely love it. In the NFL, a team simply cannot risk getting caught without the next guy at quarterback. I have no idea if Osweiler will eventually become a great player. But I really like the fact they now have a young, talented player at that position.
The Broncos filled position needs by drafting two defensive linemen, an offensive lineman, a running back, a linebacker and a cornerback. Plus, they selected a player who could be the heir apparent to Peyton Manning.
Now it will be fun to find out how good those players are.
I know many of you have shared your thoughts about the Broncos’ draft. Now that you have had some time to let it settle in, how do you think they did? What did you like and not like?
Thanks for reading and sharing.
Sincerely,
Mike
Tags: 2012 NFL Draft, Mike Rice
Great read Mike. I for one an holding apinion on the draft until I see what the product is going to produce. Personally I think we have some of the best there is in the front office as far a slecting talent, so we shall see how their selections go in the next year or two.
Peyton looks GREAT in orange!!!
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/blog/eye-on-football/18912616/peyton-manning-dons-new-denver-broncos-jersey-for-directv-commercial
More pics of Manning in orange:
http://news.directv.com/2012/04/30/peyton-manning-broncos-jersey-exclusive/
I am ready for training camp to start how much longer we got?
Only time will tell on the draft picks, but love the new uniforms.
Manning looks awesome in orange! I hope to hear him say, ” This one’s for Champ!” while hoisting the Lombardi Trophy in less than a year from now!
I thought it is important the way that peyton is getting with his new teammates. Peyton and Decker at the Rockies game is just an example. The way that the Rockies opened their training facillities to aid in his rehab shows a committment from the community. I look for a long and productive stay for OUR quarterback. Sounds to me like he is fitting in nicely, and way to go Rockies.
Old news, but if anyone missed this interview, check it out. How could you not love this guy??
http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/7870133/peyton-manning-visits-old-friend-todd-helton-colorado-rockies-game
The rams released Gaffney who was their leading receiver last year. It’d be nice to bring him back here!! He has always been a reliable receiver!
buck – we’re on the same page today.. Lol
I’m willing to bet money that Manning will embrace the mentor role with Osweiler… Any takers???
I like the new uni’s, but I do think we need to think about giving the old uni’s with the D on the helmet a slightly updated look and go back to those. The Giants did a similar thing a few years ago, and so did the Jets, as well as the Chargers and Bills. Retro is in baby!
Your best contribution to Bronco fans ever Mike, refreshing. It never ceases to amaze me the number of analysts and bloggers that know what the future holds for these young men. My hat is off to you! Go Broncos!
I’ve been saying that for a while OT………..While I love the orange……….we need to at least get back to that old D logo in some capacity.
so the new blogs look cool. i happen to agree with you ot, i think manning knows he’s at the end of his career and will want to give extra help to oz unlike some people who say he never has and never will. the thing that changes it is he knows the end is near, and he’s a good guy, and thats the truth. he will want to help. i just simply cannot imagine him choosing not to help oz and i’m pretty sure i’m right on that. I also am liking the wolfe pick more and more, it seems like you dont get any better effort and that counts for alot. other than that we’ll see in about 3 years like mike said.
Great write up Mike! I agree 100%, it’s hard not to get caught up in how the self proclaimed “experts” have the players ranked going into the draft.. I love that we drafted hungry guys, with something to prove and who are of good character, as we’ve been burned more than once with that, and you’d like to think you learn from your mistakes – we clearly have, well done! The Colts failure to draft a back up QB before the 6th round, reared it’s ugly head last season, again, lesson learned. Osweiler reminds me of Rivers (in a good way), Wolfe is a monster who will impact games starting week one. Hillman seems like a great kid who I truly believe is a diamond in the rough, Bolden was a good calculated risk and Blake offset that risk by being a very safe and solid pick. I don’t know too much about the other two guys, hopefully they surprise us. I was also pretty satisfied in the CFA signings, as my understanding of the draft is that it used to be more rounds, so there is a lot of solid talent out there beyond the 7 rounds they have now.
Go Broncos baby!!!
Mike,
I really like the first pick…. Derek Wolfe !! Originally thinking Reyes might be the man, but the triumvirate obviously liked what they saw in the “Wolfe Blitzer”!! Really liked what he had to say in his presser and it’s obvious the kid is a true football player… great pick!
Didn’t really know too much about Hilman, but viewed some highlights and the kid looks very elusive and can take it to the house on any given play!! (99 yd play really stood out).
Osweiller looks like he has all the tools. JE was high on him so that’s good enough for me.
Addition of Youth & Depth at the rest of the positions should really help out.
I think that if Hillman works out like they anticipate………NoShow will be cut before the season starts. Either that or he tweaks an ankle or something in a pre-season game……..lol
Lmfao @ Wolfe Blitzer!
This was a great write up Mike. I am all for players with character. I thnk thats what makes the Broncos the best. As far as the helmet thing, no way go back. My tatt would have tobe changed and don’t look forward to that. I am certainly no expert when it comes to the draft but I think Wolfe will make us all proud and who knows abot the big OZ may be great.
buck – if (when) we go back to the old D uni’s, your tatt will increase in value, being a collectors item!
Damn, looks like we got some decent players haha
http://www.denverbroncos.com/multimedia/videos/Draft-Picks-Making-Plays/0fe64794-3269-4294-8cd5-ced34d04a44d
Mike,
Outside of what I considered “reaches” and my sadness over not getting guys I wanted (except C Blake and in the round i wanted him too), it was a decent draft. Thats the best grade i can give it now until we find out more. I said something similar in the last blog that we consider some things reaches just based on the so called experts ranks and all that. They often rank incorrectly, there are different ranks, and im sure our guys had thier own Ranks as well. Was shocked to see Wolfe taken over my DT choice Still but he sounds like a great guy that never takes a play off (its impressive when this is said of a DT as alot of them are often accused of taking plays off) also that he was like the most productive. While I have no film on wolfe I watched highlights and like the way he gets after the QB. We need a quick inside guy to get at the QB for teams with prominent passers. Also love his height at 6’5 (one of the reasons I like Brockers and Still). Brock is a toss up, Hillman is a relative unknown that could lack durability and the rest we will find out more about. We are stll waiting for guys from last year to bloom so we will see how it all goes. We will see how good thier draft philosophy is. We have only seen em draft 2ice now and I would all Last years Draft a fail to date (as only 1 year has passed). I lost some excitement this season but its slowly building up again. A different type of excitement.
Later days, TRB
OT – not to be confused with Wolf Blitzer from CNN…lol.
OT Check out my twitter pic that is what the updated D should look like on the helmets
https://twitter.com/#!/DenverOranges
Wolfe Blitzer! Awesome!
Mike, great post. I have to agree………unless you’ve got a crystal ball, there’s no real way of predicting how any of the draft picks from any team will pan out. I appreciate the fact the EFX had a plan and stuck with it………and that’s really all we can ask. They’re really beginning to put their stamp on this team and I love it!
DO – that’s a cool design bro! I think if we go back, we should go back to something that more closely resembles the old logo. I like the ones we got, and your design looks like something we could use with these uni’s, but I do see a lot a parallels between this team and the team in ’97, perhaps going back from where we started will have the same effect??
Pretty slow day… Perhaps this will spice things up.. Pretty funny that the Pats haven’t one the big one since they got caught cheating… The NFL also destroyed all the evidence on this, so no one really knows to the extent as to what was really going on… I’m also not exactly sure why Bruschi’s opinion on this would hold any weight either considering he was on those teams, and the fact that he says Harbaugh should have “loyalty” suggests that he should keep his mouth shut, indicating there is something to cover up IMO
http://espn.go.com/boston/nfl/story/_/id/7877552/john-harbaugh-baltimore-ravens-new-england-patriots-titles-stained-spygate
Where’s AB, Haven’t seen a good argument(debate) on the new website. Thought we could count on you AB. LOL
Start the petition and I will sign it OT
I think I read somewhere that a team has to file any uniform changes with the league in advance, maybe as far as a year or two..
Perhaps Mike can clarify?
Jacoby Jones was released by the Texans he wouldnt be another good WR pickup however IMO we are pretty set at WR.
by Andrew Mason, CBSSports.com
Denver waived WR Tim Toone on Monday afternoon. Although the Broncos didn’t draft any WRs, their roster was bulging with receivers after they agreed to terms with undrafted free agents Gerell Robinson (Arizona State) and Eric Page (Toledo). With the release of Toone, Denver has a dozen WRs.
Seems like the Internet is working slow in Alaska…..
Was that already said OT about Jones? When reading back If it was I must have missed it. But I just heard about it.
Also its really busy for me right now going through all the mocks that I have to.
Oh and I dont know how true it is since its coming from my local news but according to our sports caster here John Elway has given Brock the OK the wear #7. I highly doubt its true cause my local news caster well isnt great. Anyone have any info on that?
Alaska that’s crazy it would be cool but what if Brock never plays a down in Denver hopefully Elway will wait and see how he progresses first
Yea I thought sorta the same thing. Also if Brock does wear 7 and he fails (miserably) then 7 would be tarnished a bit I think. I dont think Elway would want that to happen. I just wanted to see if anyone had any decent info on it.
Like I said I highly doubt it was true cause the local sports caster isnt very good at what he does. I mean back when Lebron was a NBA FA he reported he was going to sign with LA Lakers. Lol.
I highly doubt Elway would be okay with that. I love Elway and have also met him and got to hang out with him for a little bit but he does a big ego and he should. He was one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game. He wouldn’t let anyone else wear his number. I’d be ashamed if he did. There is and has always been only ONE #7 and that is good ole Johnny Elway!
I don’t care if you’re busy or not.. You’ve made a commitment to this blog, so time to man up! We all are busy, are you saying you can’t chew gum and walk?? Haha.. Just joking bro
I don’t know much about that Jones character, the only Jones I wanted went to NE.. Lol
I highly doubt that report is true, but it’s certainly an interesting rumor, but then again, anything is possible..
Freak thats kinda my thought process. If he did and Brock didnt work out it would be a huge hit to Elways ego and legacy and he wouldnt want that.
Lol OT!!
Jacoby Jones was a pretty good WR for the Texans especially when Andre Johnson went down.
Doubt it as well. Only reason Tripuka made an exception was because it was gonna be a future hall of famer wearing it (even tho we don’t know if he will be the same caliber here). Also as has been previously stated. Elway has a big ego. Like most athletes, especially successful ones. Doubt it. If it was luck he might consider it but Brock is such a Toss up I doubt it. besides why are we talkign about Elways 7? Brock wore 17 in college. Maybe I just don’t know where the numbers stop for the QB position. Anyway,
Later days, TRB
You know I’m just messing with ya.. Think I’m having withdrawals from the draft, and I’m begining to come into the realization that there will be little football news for a while……
This caught my eye from espn:
“In an Insider piece, Mel Kiper thinks Denver will get an immediate impact from defensive tackle Derek Wolfe and running back Ronnie Hillman.”
TRB 1-19 can be worn for QBs. He wore 17 but 17 is currently Andre Caldwells # and the reports came about because of that reason and cause Brock was Elways pick.
NO WAY BROCK WEARS #7!!!! THERE IS ONLY ONE #7, AND ALWAYS WILL BE!!!!
That would be just plain stupid IMO…..
I found this article to be a fairly accurate and fair assessment of the picks.
http://www.rantsports.com/denver-broncos/2012/05/01/2012-nfl-draft-denver-broncos-make-use-if-rounds-2-6/
Great overview SW! Well, the work day is coming to a close here (very slow day if you hadn’t noticed), and I think I’ve done enough damage in here for one day… Lol
If DeCastro is the guy that ElFoXaRio really wanted at 25…then I’m ecstatic we ended up with Wolfe Blitzer (that’s awesome)!
I find it hilarious that we debated for months how Pittsburgh wouldn’t pass on Hightower and he wouldn’t fall to us…instead, the guy they got was the guy that was targeted by us. In a word, ironic!
Broncos Country Strong 2012!
Mike I agree with your article 100%!! I dont see how anyone can say for sure whether we did good or not and I for one could care less how they look on paper… Really, I would wait 2 full seasons before I consider anyone we selected a “reach”… Exciting times to be had in Bronco Country! I just can not wait to see number 18 slinging it all over the field!!!
It will take several years before we will know how this draft was. Same for last year’s class. The verdict is pretty much in on the McDaniel drafts. In the 2009 Draft the only keepers were Knowshon Moreno, Robert Ayers and David Bruton. In 2010
the keepers were Demaryius Thomas, Zane Beadles, J.D. Walton, Eric Decker, Syd’Quan Thompson. Average players or possible pro bowlers? Only time will tell. The last three years that Shanahan drafted (2006, 2007 & 2008), I think proved to be extremely good drafts. One could argue that 2006 was one of the Bronco’s best draft classes ever. Cutler, Scheffler, Marshall, Dumervil, and Kuper. What a draft class. You’re lucky if you get one or two gems in a draft. Some drafts you don’t get any. Obviously it depends on who is doing the drafting. Going back even further the draft classes under coach John Ralston were some of the best in the history of the Broncos. EFX have two drafts under their belts. Let’s review in a couple of years and we’ll know a lot more. I’m willing to give the benefit of the doubt for now. No need to get overly excited nor negative at this point.