Finally, the hype settles down. But we still don’t know much more than we did a few days ago.
The rite of spring known as the NFL Draft came and went with its usual, accompanying cacophony of opinions and overanalysis.
A simple fact remains, though, after all the “war rooms” have been converted back to their normal states: No one knows which teams did well and which teams did not.
We all can root for our favorite teams to select players we think will be good. We can all debate why we think a particular team’s draft was good or not so good.
But when you get right down to it, we just don’t know which players will be good and which ones won’t.
Those are helpful reminders for me as I think about the Broncos’ 2009 draft.
Many people thought the Broncos would emphasize defense. They didn’t. They selected four defensive players and six offensive players. I expected the Broncos to come out of the weekend with a balance of offensive and defensive players. They were closer to that than they were to emphasizing defense.
Broncos Head Coach Josh McDaniels said they stuck to their board. They didn’t take a defensive player simply because there are certain needs on that side of the ball. How can you argue with that?
It is clear that Coach McDaniels believes the Broncos have many positions that need to be fortified. I believe the Broncos took some good steps in improving their roster.
– They drafted Georgia running back Knowshon Moreno 12th overall. I believe Moreno will be an outstanding NFL running back. He is tough, versatile and still young, having played only two years of college football. There is a big part of me that will be surprised if he isn’t the Broncos’ starting running back come September.
Remember, a good running game is a great friend to a defense. If Moreno helps the Broncos up their first down total per game, that is more time the defense gets to be on the sideline. Given the Broncos’ struggles getting tough yards in the red zone the last few years, a running back like Moreno might mean more points per game, too.
– I like the free agent signings of safeties Brian Dawkins and Renaldo Hill. They bring talent and experience. They also bring some age to the position. The Broncos drafted two safeties, Darcel McBath of Texas Tech and Notre Dame’s David Bruton. The Broncos needed depth and needed youth at this position and they got both.
They also apparently got a great special teams player in Bruton. Coach McDaniels called Bruton the best special teams player in the draft. I don’t think any of us need to go back over the special teams numbers from a year ago. Again, if the special teams coverage units improve, other teams will have worse field position, thus helping the Broncos’ defense.
– The Broncos tried to shore up the interior of their offensive line. Ryan Clady ad Ryan Harris are the bookend tackles but the Broncos needed to add some depth to the interior of the line. There are still some questions as to whether center Casey Wiegmann will be back.
– I like the pick of CB Alphonso Smith out of Wake Forest. I know the Broncos gave up a first round pick next year to get Smith. I generally don’t like to see a team do that. But in this case, now is the time. I like that Coach McDaniels and Brian Xanders were aggressive and went after a player they believe will help them.
I also chuckle at the assumption that the pick the Broncos traded to Seattle will likely be a top ten pick. It might turn out to be just that. But we don’t know that yet.
My good friend Stan Cotten announces the Wake Forest games and has seen Smith play for four years. Stan has great things to say about Smith, most notably that “things seem to happen around him.” Smith was a playmaker who covered some of the best receivers in the country (including first-round picks Maryland’s Darrius Heyward-Bey and Hakeem Nicks of North Carolina). Does any of this make Smith a can’t-miss NFL prospect? Of course not. But I won’t bet against him yet, either.
– Without question, the Broncos drafted high-quality people in this year’s draft. I had the opportunity to talk with all five Saturday draft picks and I was thoroughly impressed. All five young men were articulate, sincere, smart and caring. Yet I could also sense they were intensely competitive. I know a successful NFL team has to have talent. If these guys have the talent to contribute, then the Broncos will undoubtedly be far better than we could even hope for.
For as much as I think the Broncos helped themselves in the draft, there is no doubt that questions remain, the biggest of which relates to the defensive line. How good will this unit be? There were no high-profile additions to this area of the team, either through free agency or the draft, so can the players the Broncos have added show themselves to be talented NFL players?
What will the defensive scheme ultimately look like?
Who will emerge as the starting quarterback and will Kyle Orton or Chris Simms be effective?
What will be the make-up of the Broncos offensive backfield?
Will the NFL suspend wide receiver Brandon Marshall and if so, for how many games?
Those and other questions remain. I don’t have the answers to those questions and ultimately, the Broncos don’t either right now.
That’s OK. Just like we don’t know which teams had good drafts at this point, we also don’t yet know which teams will be good and which ones won’t.
But it sure is fun talking about it.
What are your impressions of the Broncos draft? Thanks for reading and offering your thoughts.
Later this week, I’ll bring you some highlights of my interviews with some of the Broncos draft picks.
Best,
Mike
Tags: 2009 NFL Draft
I love our picks! I think that with Hillis and Moreno and the offensive line of destiny, Orton will have a career year. I’m excited about special teams as well. Prater should have a much better year now that he’s had time to adjust to being ‘the guy.’ On a side note, I still play NCAA ‘08, and I can never sack Boise State’s quarterback around the left. Thanks a lot Clady.
While watching the draft it left me more confused what McD and X were doing. Why no front seven? But after reading some quality posts over at MileHighReport.com, I started to understand what was going on, and I must say, I really like it. It shows that McDaniels and Xanders have more faith in our current DLine players then what was available in the draft.
So at first I didnt get it, but now I am pretty happy with the draft. Im excited for the new season! Can’t wait to get me a new orange jersey, although I dont know yet which player to get.
Does anyone know how good Chris Baker is? We just signed him along with 14 OTHERS! But anyway, is he a NT or DE for us and is he a potential good starter?
Also are any of the other 15 any good? That ex-marine Rulon Davis seems good. I terms of this off-season and the draft, I’ve gone from happy to unhappy to happy to unhappy to happy to unhappy to happy. So now i’m happy! Initially i thought this draft was a disaster, “Where’s the Defense!” but now i like the picks we got, moreno should be a great weapon to add to a superb offense that in my opinion is better than last year, ayers will be great as a LB or DE and i like th CB Smith and the QB and Centre we got. That left with one dillemma, NT. Hopefully either Baker is good enough or we can get someone else. My prediction, we win AFC West and lose in the playoffs but Orton will be great, i like him.
My opinion is that our offense is going to be one of the best again!!! Now with a running game with Moreno and Hillis in the back field it will help keep defenses honest!!! And who ever the starter is at QB, they will succeed, with the WR’s we have (Marshall, Royal, Stokley, McKinley in the draft, and Gaffney from N.E.) how could you not succeed as lond as the running game also performs!!!
Still, I am worried about our defense. I hope Mike nolan came work some magic and the transition to the 3-4 will work. I am hoping that Carlton Powell will be healthy this year and can play because he was a beast in V.T.!!! He can definately help out the D-line!!! R. Ayers another big addition!!! But will it be enough??? We will see. And I hope the special teams step it up this year!!!
Only one thing to say, Denver Broncos all the way, 2009 and forever!!!
OK i personally would have liked to see some DL or a ILB in round 2 but whats done is done.
In round 5 i think Jasper Brinkley could have been our guy because he was a bit under the radar after coming off an unjury.
I researched Chris Baker and I saw some places projecting him as a 4th rounder. He is a large guy that can help the interior of any d-line. i think he will rotate in at starter with either J’Vonne Parker or Ronny Fields. I think since Fields has experience he will start. but goot rotational guy in Parker
Rulon Davis is gonna be a monster. I have a friend, who knows a Marine and said that they are crazy and are like trained killers, so that means he has to have some sort of mean streak. HE IS GONNA ROCK THE WORLD!!! I think he might seriously destroy an offensive tackle this season!!!
It would be down right rude for the comish to suspend BM at any point now. If he was going to be suspended, they should have advised the Broncos of that before the draft so the Broncos could draft accordingly. But to penalize him now or in the neat future would be just rude and unprofessional.
Mike great perspective as usual…As for the CFA Baker, Carter, and Davis are going to be impact players in the long run. The one question I have is why so many DB we hit that all over the place; FA, draft, CFA. I know we had a need there but wow. Olsen played on the D side of the ball in HS, so is there any rumor out there he might go back to that side and take NT?
Well, I too am more settle about how things are going, but the way I see it now… we are going to endure a season that will that will make or break spirits… Cannot Wait!
Rulon Davis was named after Rulon Jones, that is awesome!!! I hope that guy brings it.
Larry Foote got released by the Steelers, looks to be about cap room space. What do you think the chances are of getting him to at least workout for us?
How Bout That Draft???
The following is a short and simple survey for my Statistics Class. Please fill it out and return it to me. Thank you for the help everyone and let’s go broncos in 2009!
Cutler2B-Marsh
1. Overall are you happy with the guys Denver picked up in this years draft? (Y, N, Maybe)
2. Regarding Knowshon Moreno (RB-UGA): Is he stating Running Back material? (Y, N, Maybe)
3. Regarding Alphonso Smith (CB-WF): Is he going to start on week one? (Y or N)
4. Regarding Knowshon Moreno (RB-UGA): How many yards will he have this season?
5. Regarding Jay Cutler (QB-Chicago Bears): Was trading Cutler a good move? (Y or N)
6. Regarding Alphonso Smith (CB-WF): How many interceptions will he have this season?
7. Regarding Robert Ayers (DE/LB-Tenn): How many games will Ayers start?
8. Regarding Robert Ayers (DE/LB-Tenn): How many sacks will Ayers have this season?
9. Regarding Darcel McBath (FS-TT): Will McBath be a starter week one? (Y or N)
10. Regarding Richard Quinn (TE-UNC): Is Quinn more valuable as a blocker or receiver?
If you could fill this out and either repost it, send it to me on Bronco Country (same user name), or email it to me at anthonydenny@beyondbb.com or anthonydenny2009@live.com. Thank you for the help and let’s go Broncos in 2009!!!
He a beast Bronco Britt. I coverd him while he was in college. I he did not get arrested 2 time. He would have been drafted. He was one of the guys that got thrown off Penn State when all that stuff was going on. Thats why he went to Hampton.
Larry Foote and Leroy Hill if release would you guys think they would fill the hole for Denver?
I know L. Hill is young and Seattle just took the tag off him. They still tryna sigh him back. They in talks now! As for L. Foot it’s all if we need him. I don’t thing we do.
Mike,
Thanks for bringing your clear perspective again! I think they all sound like class guys being brought into a class orginaztion. I am sure they saw some things during the mini camp that made them stop and think about how they were going to handle things on draft day, ie pick a qb or nt at a high price. I’m not sure if I like the fact either of getting rid of our other 1st pick but i’m sure salary cap has to play into their figures each and every year that is present or future. I was thinking they would hold onto that in case Orton or Simms didn’t work out the way they liked, they could’ve used it on Bradford, McCoy or maybe even Tebow. Just my thoughts.
Have a good day, can’t way for camps to start
Chomping on my bit, a Bronco Bit that is!
Rice, yes most of us have orange&blue colored glasses when it comes to our Broncos But we love it. Here is what I noticed about the draft, McD, GMX, and KK stayed to their word as far as best available player of need. Not one of the players drafted does not fit a need. YES I would have loved for a DL player or two but the one available at the selection time “did not fit the Bronco type”.
I believe the first three players selected are starters, Moreno (RB), Ayers (DE) and Smith (CB).
There are three or four CFA players that will make the squad (I think). I have been high on Chris Baker. Ex-Penn State, went to Hampton due to off-field issues. But have heard nothing since 2006.
Coach Nunnley and Martindale have to be comfortable with most of their players to start with because of no further offer and I can not believe that some of the FA DL players do not fit the Bronco type.
I am anxious to hear Coach after the May 1-3 mini camp. Maybe he will let out a little more news.
bntbroncos, ddenver, and greatness007 I believe salary cap will prevent us from making an offer to either Larry Foote or Leroy Hill.
And remember that there are good players that become UFA in 2010 that may need to be resigned this year. Like Dumervil, Hamilton, Kuper, Marshall, Orton, Scheffler, and Young.
dlmyers I think Young will get cut. Marshall is about to get paid. I wish I was his agent. Doom has to perform this yr to get resigned. Hamilton is Great he finally got those concusion issue taken care of. Word on the street Sheffler is on the block (trade that is) quiet as it is kept. Kuper might be Hamilton’s replacement.
dlmyers…I understand the cap room will make things hard for us to get one of the two. If McD is looking to run this similar to how the Pat’s run house he may try for Foote on the same style of courtship. Also his play last year was lacking his normal numbers so his stock might be down enough to work that issue. It’s hard to say what next year will hold with the cap, as of now, being a non-issue. We could see some off the chart numbers…And Mr B will be cutting the checks to keep the team intact.
Hey Guys!
Check out my artical on the Broncos Draft:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/163388-broncos-draft-offensive-mind-overpowers-needs
What do you think?
I love the CFA pick ups,esp. Rulon Davis, Chris Baker, Lee Robinson, Everette Pedesleaux(just as powerful as Jarron Gilbert-at a cheaper price).
As for our drafts, I praise our front office for the picks. Pretty smart.
No doubt Moreno is the best back in the draft, if he had stayed a year longer he would be in the top-3 picks next year. But no team in this years top 10 needed a running back that high. Well we grabbed him and we’re not paying him top 1o salary.
Ayers: He is the most versitile LB in this draft, in terms of size and power. And the biggest LB (6′3 275lbs)I’ve seen in this draft. I say Brandon Jacobs got his days numbered come Thanksgiving Day’s game.
Alphonson Smith: Arguably the best CB in this years draft (excell in ball skills, well rounded game) 21 Ints, some what 8 forced fumbles and i think 9 sacks was it? and 25.5 tackles for loss in his college career. Plus, NO character issue like Vontae Davis. He reminds me of Darrent Williams. God Rest His Soul. True we may have given up too much,our 1st pick nxt year, for him but players like him dont come too often. We dont want to look back and regret not picking him up. Plus, he is first round talent and we are paying him second round. And we still have picks in all rounds next year.
ummmm although im a firm best player available person……… Are we forgetting that were in a running division. I mean the cheifs are picked linemen this year and last, and have alot of good runners. The chargers will have a healthy LT… enough said cause we couldnt stop an injured LT. And the raiders have Michael Bush (yes hes better than mcfadden) and Mcfadden and other talented backs… So my question is whos gonna tackle these guys??/
I guess we drafted safties so teams wont get the home runs any more, but I doubt any oppenent we play will have a problem gettin 8 and 10 yards a carry. Granted Ive been wanting us to draft Moreno, since last year, and been calling for us to draft a back in the first round for years…. But all i know is that get ready for more of the last 3 years hey atleast we can cover…. Oh I forgot we cant get pressure on the quarterback
dlmyers - I think you can take Marshall off that list. He is a great receiver, granted. However, we drafted McKinley and got a couple additional receivers within the last few days.
You are the company you keep, and unfortunately Brandon hangs out with the wrong crowd and cannot seem to stay out of trouble. With that said, even though he has great talent, he keeps getting suspended and is a detriment for that reason. If they do sign him again it will be a short term contract as a message, shape up or ship out. Just my thoughts.
broncos20 - couldn’t have said it better myself.
However, we will have to see how Ayers plays out. Even though he is a beast, he was also a 1 year wonder. He could turn out to be a stand out player on the defensive side of the ball, or one of the biggest flops in football.
But with that said, so could any college player trying to make the transition to pro!
dlmyers just so you know Scheffler has said that he wont resign next year, but who knows he said that during the Jay Cutler fiaso so only time will tell.
To Broncs55 i honestly think that Marshall has had his final screw up and is ready to stay focused and besides he’s too much of a commodity with Royal.
But after being super pissed off and anticipating another sub-par season, it actually looks like we’ve done some good. I mean we didn’t get immediate help with Orakpo but we drafted well in day 2 and it looks like McDaniels is drafting for the future. We did well getting help in the secondary but we could of got a little more in the front seven. If doom and ayers are moving to linebacker then i think we’ll do better then last years run defense.
Although we lost Cutler, Orton will do and he has plenty of weapons to play with, including Moreno and Hillis. I think that’s gonna be a great tandem for a long time, SMASH & DASH baby lol!!!!
But the only thing that concerns me is our ability to rush the QB and to stop the run soo i hope sum guys like Marcus Thomas and Jarvis Moss steps up. But this season looks like a playoff season.
Edgerrin James just got cut by the Cardinals, not sure if anyone cares lol.
Hello Rice,
As usual a great job. I want to say a few things. I agree with many of us fans that think that Hillis and Moreno will make an excellent FB/HB combo. Hillis is a superb blocker and receiver and will be a monster on short yardage situations when they are looking for us to go to Moreno. They both are great blockers and receivers so that means that Coach Mac will build some plays that cater to that. I disagree with those that feel that Hillis is going to be cut possibly. I dont think that he will ever get cut EVER he is everything Coach Mac values in that he blocks well he is athletic ect….. I know the offense calls for a FB and we have a great one in Hillis.
I really think our offense will be surprisingly AWESOME because we have an abundance of weapons. We now have 4 players with elite yards after catch (YAC) stats. Moreno, Marshall ( off the charts ), Royal ( off the Charts), Arrington ( a ton of 20 + yard plays ). There are more weapons, but How can you stop one of all of them? You cant.
Every team will have to pick their poison when they play us. do you stack the line against Moreno and Company or Do you double team Marshall and Royal? Either way one or two of our guys will have a killer game and destroy a defense.
Keep in mind also that Mac will run a balanced attack and will give you several different looks with different personnel. Dont be surprised if Hillis runs that goal line play that Vrabel used to do all the time for the Pats. We have infinite possiblities with our new offensive staff and we have solid depth if someone is out or we just need to rest a player.
Special teams will Consist of Arrington and Alphonso Smith. We can rest Eddie. A few other guys might excel in the return game as well but Arrington is already NFL proven 71 returns over 20 yards and 8 over 40 and 2 90+ for TDs
Next Year we will get a Franchise QB - I personally like Tebow he gicves us a lot of options and we should get him reasonably priced. Colt Mc Coy or Bradford both will make great Qb’s but Tebow already knows our offense and can add many demensions with his skill sets, He is not as accurate but coach Mac is familiar with him already and he like to teach winners.
I love Tebows Leadership abilities and his character. He will be great for us because he is a winner and he has a strong will and desire to compete and win that is what we need as the face of our organization.
Until then I cant wait to see what number Moreno will wear. I am a huge FAN. I hope he goes with 34 since he was a Walter Payton fan or maybe 27 will look good on him, or just maybe Terrell might let him wear 30 lol.
Question are we now going to wear the Orange Jerseys more often? I hope so I think they should be our default colors
Who else thinks its time for NEW UNIFORMS?
bigvon great post, to answer your question I like the blue on blue. I’m not a big fan of the orange jersey or the color orange in general. As for a new uniform do you mean like a complete make over like in 97 or just wearing the orange jersey by default?
Great post Mr. Rice! None of us know exactly what these young Broncos are going to do but I gave the boys an A in the poll as far as the players they took in the draft. Why? Because I like the way they went about selecting the players they drafted and Mike Mayock liked the players they selected also. Though I don’t trust McD after the Cutler fiasico, I respect his logical and deductive thinking when selecting players. I also think that many of our young defenders picked in recent drafts are very talented but have not be used to their strongest assets. I think coach Nolan is one of the brightest minds on the defensive side of the football in the NFL and he will get the most out of the players we keep for the upcoming season. The defense will finish no less than the middle of the pack this season , hopefully in the top ten. Go Broncos!
Hey Deify thanks.
We shouldcompletely make over the uniforms, I mean like 97 do something different with the uniform to symbolize a new ERA in the Broncos Franchise.
Not that they uniform is ugly or anything I just like that all the other teams
Lions, Chargers, Jags, 49ers and more are tweaking or changing their uniforms.
bigvon i guess I wouldnt mind a new uniform, but I think if we change the uniform we would have to change the logo too or tweak it. Maybe add the…the breath thing from the old one. Whatever that white stuff that came out of the mouth.
Mike,
Thanks for sharing your insight on Alphonso Smiths’ days at Wake Forest. I liked his interview here on the website. A sharp kid!
I’m glad we picked RB Knowshon Moreno and feel he will be a complete back for the Broncos. A solid choice overall with 12th pick.
DE Robert Ayers looks to be solid pick and has some good moves when rushing the QB.
OG Seth Olsen is a solid pick as well. He will be groomed to replace LG Ben Hamilton, who still has a couple of good years, but is our lightest offensive lineman…although he is tough as nails. Chris Kuper is solid at RG and now has 3 years experience under his belt.
Safety David Bruton from Notre Dame should do well for us. A co-worker of mine who is a Notre Dame fan says this kid is a hard hitting safety !!
QB Tom Brandstater looks to be the player Coach McDaniels can work with as he will have time to develop him into an NFL QB. He did well at the combine as he turned alot of heads. Does a good job of hitting his recievers in stride. Had a great game this year when Fresno State upset UCLA in Pasadena.
I do like our draft picks especially since Bruton has special teams skills. I really believe in Robert Ayers and I know Darcel McBath is a good player as I’m a Big 12 junkie in college football. As for royalbroncofan1’s assessment that Fresno State’s win over UCLA was an “upset,” that’s ridiculous. UCLA sucked last year but Brandstater is still a good quarterback. War Eddie Royal being the NFL’s offensive player of the year. Marshall is good as are Scheff and Stoke, but Royal will forever have a special place in my heart because of what he did in his first ever start against the Raiders.
Finally we got a back a real one, not another Shanahan undrafted lottery pick !!!! I dont know about the rest of you guys, but i was so sick of him thinking he could throw anybody back there and crank out a 1,000. Peyton probably would have done it if he started all year but he was in good company in college McFadden and Jones. Ayers pick for the new 3-4 scheme couldnt have picked it better. Alphonso Smith can you say Champ Bailey JR ?? The pick of Quinn the TE baffles me but i think ill trust McDaniels on this one he sees something we don’t see. McBath , hell yeah, Dawkins is gonna teach him well. I think Eric Dickerson is gonna have to sweat his record this year with Denver’s O-Line and Moreno’s ability i think its on!!!! As far as the LeRoy Hill talks , if they can get him go for it, who wouldnt want a line up of Williams, Bailey, Davis, and Hill with the rookie Ayers subbing in on that !!! RICE you said it best about the RB being the Defense’s best friend, for the past 3 years our defense has not been bad at all, they just been tired as hell. Relying on Selvin Young who cant carry the call more than 30 times without getting hurt, and all these undrafted no names that Shanahan thought he could turn into the next Terrell Davis. Wow now we got the next big RB out of Georgia.
Nice article - thanks. It is definetely too early to know how this draft will pan out, but isn’t this uncertainty the stuff fun about speculations (what if …) is made of.
What if we had traded up in the 2nd round from 48 (+84) to 39 for Ron Brace? The Jags might have been a willing trade partner. The took their second OT with this pick. Who could we have gotten at 79? Maybe McBath or Quinn.
Obviously I consider Brace + McBath/Quinn a better use of picks 48, 79, 84 than McBath + Quinn. But - as the article states - it is too early to know.
i think we have to sickest uniforms/logo in the nfl…blue on blue definitly…and the old orange with blue helmets at least once a season…new era is understandable for suck teams like detroit…
bradjamesbroncofan: It’s never easy to win in front of 80,000 fans at the Rose Bowl regardless of their won/loss record, so yeah it is an “upset”. (PAC -10 vs. WAC ). UCLA is my alma mater - saw plenty of those games -live.
Thank you Mr. Rice,
Great post. I just had one comment, I think Mark Cooper said Casey Weigmann got the pay check He wanted, but I haven’t heard anything else on the matter. What do you know about this, that we should know.
TIME OF POSSESSION ! ! !
GO BRONCOS ! ! !
Folks,
Great discussion. I’ve enjoyed reading your thoughts and appreciate your kind words, too. It will be fun to watch and find out which of the new players will be contributors. I try not to get too excited about the draft picks/college free agents and I try not to get too down about them at this early point in the process.
monodono…I won’t refute what Mark said because I’m just not sure. I’ll have to check into Casey’s status. I had not heard that he said he is definitely coming back yet, let alone sign a contract. But he might have done one or both of those things.
royalbroncofan1…no problem. I know Stan wouldn’t say Smith was a really good player at Wake if he weren’t one. Hopefully that translates to the NFL.
imready…I usually take the approach that I trust someone until they show he isn’t worthy of that trust. Just because things went south with Cutler doesn’t mean to me that McDaniels can’t be trusted or doesn’t know what he is doing. Time will tell.
I’ll say this…if for no other rerason than his own job is on the line, I trust that Coach McDaniels is making the very best decisions that he believes need to be made. Many of those decisions have been big, as in franchise-changing big. But at this point, that doesn’t make any of them right or wrong. The fun is in finding out.
Broncs55…well put about Ayers.
m.c. the great…you make a good point about the defensive line. It is still my biggest area of concern. But I think about what my colleague Dave Logan said recently. Dave said that good football players are found everywhere. It’s simple but true. You don’t have to be a high round draft pick, have big stats in college or anything like that. You have to be able to play when the games count. And there are a lot of guys that show they can do that despite initially being unheralded.
I was glad to see the Broncos signed some free agent defensive linemen. And they still have some returning players who will be in a completely new scheme. I want to see if any of these guys emerge as solid to top-notch players. If they do, then the Broncos could be really good. If they don’t, then get keep an extra pencil handy when keeping track of the opponent’s yardage.
myleshigh…I completely understand your position about trading a future first round pick for a lower selection in an earlier year. At the same time, if the staff had Smith rated as one of the higest, if not the highest cornerback, then why not take him now? We all know that the future is now in the NFL. Don’t tell me about how many first round picks you have next year, show me you want to be good this year? The Broncos did that and for that reason alone, I like the move.
When you add up the type of player and person Smith seems to be (remember he returned kicks and was a standout punt/kick blocker at Wake), let’s see what this young man can do.
bntbroncos…I just don’t know if there are plans to try certain guys at different positions than the ones they have been playing. There’s always a possibility but it’s just too early for me to say.
Perspective is the exact concept I’ve been trying to keep at the forefront of my mind. Sure, we’re all fans at some level and we want the Broncos to be good. But no matter what we think, we just don’t know because there has been no opportunity to get a true feel for what individual players or the team will be like.
TonyTZ7…I have no inside knowledge but if Marshall were going to get a lengthy suspension, I have to believe the Broncos would have known that before the draft. We shall see what transpires.
bigvon…I think the Broncos’ offense will do a good job o controlling the football and they also have guys who are capable of making the big play. Nobody had even heard of Matt Cassell before last year and there weren’t many people who believed he was able to accomplish what he did. He wasn’t perfect, but he was, in most games, at least solid. I think the Broncos offense will be pretty good.
To me the big question surrounding Peyton Hillis is his health. He suffered a pretty bad hamstring injury. But during the last mini-camp, I asked him if he believes he’ll be fully healthy and ready to go this season. He said he believes he will be. Remember, though, never say never when it comes to anything in the NFL.
The Bronco Brit…it really is tough to know about free agents. Sometimes guys are good enough to get drafted but don’t. Remember Rod Smith was an undrafted free agent. Most free agents don’t go on to have the kind of career Rod had but you just never know. Sometimes it takes a guy a little while to settle in and develop.
chemaster…there was a lot of talk before the draft about the Broncos taking Ron Brace in the second round. With the trade they made with the Seahawks, they still could have taken brace but opted for Smith. That tells me the Broncos thought Smith was a better player. We’ll see how it turns out.
Thanks again to all.
Mike
I am looking forward to a Broncos v Bears Super-bowl and our first round pick traded to Seattle being number 32.
The way I see it Smith is a first round talent and so trading a first round pick is fine in my book. McDaniels wants to win from the start and trading in this way is the way to go.
Keep up the good work with these blogs.
This moment will live in Infamy in Broncos History