Denver Broncos Draft Strategy
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The NFL draft is coming up, on April 28th, and the Denver Broncos have done a ton of their roster improvements through trades and free agency this season, so with their first selection of the year being the last pick of the second round, what exactly is their draft strategy? What are their positions of need since the fallout of the Free Agency season and the Russell Wilson Trade? Are they a BPA team now or do they simply have a few roster holes they are trying to plug showing they are contenders with their new quarterback?
Draft Strategy
I think that this roster is officially in contender mode, meaning the players drafted in the last 3-4 drafts maturing and taking big steps forward is one of the major ways this team gets better. They have used draft capital and a deep talent pool to land a top 10 quarterback in the league, we believe this is a top 10 defense in the NFL, and the offense is stacked with young talent expected to explode onto the scene in 2022.
So with the 2022 draft, this team should 100% plan on taking highest graded players at positions of need to address roster weaknesses instead of taking the highest graded player on their draft board for each pick. It is no longer the case that the roster has a ton of holes to fill and best player available is the only strategy, now George Paton can approach the draft with a positional hitlist and build a plan of how to go and get the guys they have targeted. This doesn’t mean that if a completely unexpected elite talent falls to pick 64, they don’t capitalize on that, but it means that they have the luxury of reaching to get the guy they want over picking whoever falls.
If I were evaluating the roster top to bottom, I see a roster that has talented players at nearly every position, there are a few places that could always be improved and a few positions that could use depth, but the roster vision to me seems complete and whatever players that are acquired on draft week will be icing on the cake. Let’s also be explicit that this roster looks complete, in a vacuum, where no injuries happen and this roster is available all 17 regular season games and playoffs next year. Even as an eternal optimist, I know this is unrealistic and the best teams in the NFL are the ones that can field the “next man up” mentality and continue to be successful.
Positions of Need
I think that the Broncos roster as it currently sits, has a few spots id love to see addressed early and a few placed I’d love to see some depth pieces grabbed. I think that the trade of Noah Fant left a hole at tight end that is currently being filled by Albert Okwuegbunam, whom I love, but the reality is that in two seasons he has 18 games played and zero starts. I think it would be foolish to believe that his 2022 season will be his first year starting and the first year he plays all 17 games. The Broncos also brought in Eric Tomlinson as a blocking tight end and have a pretty deep practice squad of tight ends, but upper end talent at the position would be nice to address.
I think that the Defensive Back room is going to need some depth, as the current roster features Pat Surtain II, Ronald Darby, K’Waun Williams, Michael Ojemudia and Essang Bassey as the only guys who played last season. Again, Ronald Darby doesn’t have the best history with staying healthy for a full season, so bringing in a project/developmental cornerback for depth will be essential.
I think many fans would say that Middle Linebacker and Right Tackle represent two big holes, but I think the front office did a good job of getting serviceable players at both positions in the free agency period. I believe that bringing back Calvin Anderson as the swing tackle, bringing in Billy Turner and Tom Compton at right tackle, resigning Josey Jewell and Jonas Griffith as well as brining in Alex Singleton solidify both of those positions. Now a 4th-7th round pick at either position for depth, makes sense to me, but 2nd-3rd should be other positions.
Defensive End is another position that I think needs to be addressed early, as the depth chart on Our Lads shows DeShawn Williams as the starting Defensive End, which in my mind, is big dropoff from Shelby Harris. Not that he’s a bad player, and I actually like him as a rotational guy, but the starting defensive end next to Randy Gregory is going to need to be a bigger thread than DeShawn Williams.
Finally, I think this roster needs a backup running back that can play a similar role that Javonte Williams played last season, 6-10 carries a game in the clearly backup position. The roster currently features Mike Boone and Demarea Crockett as the only other halfbacks on the team, and Boone looked good in limited minutes last season. But a true running back that could step in and be the feature back in an emergency.
My Draft Strategy and Picks
I think that considering the above roster holes, the team needs to get a defensive end or a tight end with pick 64 and the players I’ve been keeping my eyes on are TE Trey McBride from my Alma Mater, Colorado State University and Kingsley Enagbare defensive end from the University of South Carolina. I think that both of these positions have a serious risk of being either injured or not good enough with the current state of the roster.
I also think that cornerback should be one of the first three positions selected unless a star running back or inside linebacker has fallen to the Broncos unexpectedly. The broncos currently have eight draft picks and could be one of the teams that are looking to move up and get possible role player guys during the draft. I wouldn’t be shocked if they end with only five selections and had moved up a few times to draft a targeted player.
All things considered, below are the results of my PFF Mock Draft Simulation:
Notes:
- I feel super sad that I wasn’t able to get a tight end despite looking in every round for one, this draft just never fell a way that getting one made sense.
- I also feel like the players available at the 3rd round pick 75 never align with the positions of need, every time I do this mock, we have to reach on a corner or tight end or take a linebacker.
- This could spell that either they move up or down from this position to get a player at a draft position that makes them a more valuable selection
- I think there is a world where the team trades a 4th and a 5th to move up into the bottom of the third or top of the fourth for a targeted player.
- Nephi Sewell is the younger brother of Penei Sewell, the offensive tackle that went high in last years draft.
- Punter in the 7th makes sense. This draft has two great punters from San Diego State and Colorado State that could open the competition with Sam Martin and give the Broncos flexibility with his big cap hit.
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