Denver Broncos Honest Draft Recap Rounds 2-4
Read Time:12 Minute, 22 Second
I will break this honest review into two separate chunks, this article will be for rounds two, three and four. I will review each pick, talk about team needs addressed, players that were maybe passed in favor of the player selected, the players strengths and weaknesses, and give each a perceived grade based on the criteria above. I don’t claim to have future sight, so obviously can only grade and speculate based on film the players put out in college and assuming each player works hard and is given some form of opportunity.
The draft is an absolute crap shoot, most people recognize that 1/3 of the league today is comprised of first round draft picks, but the other 2/3 come from the later rounds. This stat is somewhat misleading because obviously significantly more players are selected in rounds 2-7, so of course there are more players from those rounds, but the likelihood of a player taken in the first round being successful is higher than a player taken in a later round. That doesn’t mean later round players cannot be successful, it means the statistical analysis suggests it is much more probably a first rounder is a hall of famer or even a starter than a player taken later in the draft.
In my previous article before the draft, I spotlighted some positions that I believed to be positions of need that differed from many in Broncos Country, but I feel justified in my analysis after not a single inside linebacker or offensive tackle was selected. I spotlighted a tight end, defensive end, cornerback and running back as positions of need. My article was written before the Broncos resigned Melvin Gordon III and so that position was no longer required to get running back depth. I didn’t see outside linebacker as a position of need because the team resigned Malik Reed, found a gem in last draft in Jonathan Cooper, and had converted Baron Browning to a pass rusher in the off-season. With that out of the way, here are the four picks the Broncos selected in the 2022 NFL draft.
64th overall Nik Bonitto – Outside Linebacker Oklahoma
I think that this pick seems to make sense, there were many fans that thought Nakobe Dean should have been the pick considering both Kenny Young and Alexander Johnson have both not been resigned, but the Broncos spent one of their top-30 player interviews on Bonitto and the reality is that the team will always benefit from elite pass rushing depth. Nakobe Dean seemed to be a position of need and Dean had fallen from a top 20 projected pick to the bottom of the second round. There were injury and surgery red flags, and without a first or another second round pick, it felt like the Broncos likely had to make a pick for a player that could contribute this season and wasn’t a risk to miss significant time. It appears the Broncos have made the roster decision to add more depth to an already stacked room to ensure the team isn’t plucking pass rushers off the street midseason in response to injury and depth chart issues.
All of that to say, I think Nik Bonitto is a solid pick at a position of need, but with a first-round talent falling so far, many will compare Bonitto to Dean for their careers if Dean, in fact, becomes a star like many project. Enough comparison though, Bonitto is an incredibly fast and athletic outside linebacker that has elite first step quickness, college productivity, he’s limber and fluid at the point of attack, and he has high IQ for dropping into coverage and supporting the defense from more than just a pass rush perspective. He will go down as a very high value pick, playing a specific role, that will come in and add value to a team well stacked across the board. Ejiro Every has familiarity with insane depth at the pass rushing positions, last season winning a Super Bowl with Aaron Donald, Von Miller, and Leonard Floyd.
In post draft interviews GM George Paton said more than once that Nik needs to get stronger so that he is a bigger impact against the run, so body development and attacking run blocking offensive linemen seems to be areas that he can improve. One of the benefits of this draft selection is that the team now has upper echelon talent in the pass rush from its starters and now some bench productivity. It looks like the starters will be Bradley Chubb and Randy Gregory, but the depth position of Jonathan Cooper and Nik Bonitto will provide a spark and rotation for a constantly fresh pass rush. This is reminiscent of the Von Miller/Demarcus Ware starters supported by Shane Ray and Shaq Barrett.
The Broncos are seemingly starting this season with Randy Gregory rehabbing a surgery and Nik Bonitto could very well slot in as a starter for week one. All true Broncos fans are rooting for Bradley Chubb to have his second healthy season of his career and earn his second pro-bowl nod, but in case history repeats itself, the Broncos have young explosive depth to ensure opponents cannot sit in the pocket undisturbed.
Grade: A
80th overall Greg Dulcich – Tight End UCLA
Noah Fant was a top 20 pick in the 2019 NFL draft and was constantly slated as a potential breakout player over the last three seasons. As we all know, Noah Fant was a piece of the Russell Wilson trade, his absence leaves a hole at starting tight end that needs to be filled. The Broncos still have Albert Okuegwebunam on the roster who many believe will slot in as the starter. When healthy, Albert O is an absolute game breaker. He is huge, fast, strong, constantly open, and could be a candidate for a breakout player in the 2022 Denver Broncos fantasy standings.
Albert O has played in 18 games in two seasons missing time with a torn ACL and other injuries. I hate to hold injuries against a guy, but the reality is that if you aren’t on the field, you’ve got no football value and your potential talent means absolutely nothing. So, the team brings in Eric Tomlinson as a supplemental blocking tight end and drafts this young stud Greg Dulcich from UCLA. Now, if Albert plays all 17 games this season and proves everybody wrong, this pick could look like a bit of a bad selection, but not hedging your bets and trusting a player that hasn’t been able to stay healthy as a backup TE for 17 games, can do so as a starter, seems more ridiculous.
Greg will be huge in jumbo and goal line multi tight end packages, he will be a great seam and deep threat tight end with reliable hands in plays that Albert Okuegbunam isn’t on the field. Dulcich is a 6’4” 250 tight end that ran a 4.69 forty-yard dash that is quarterback friendly and can make plays to high point the football. Dulcich is another value pick in the third round as an athlete that measures well, has great tape, tested well at the combine, and is project to eventually be a solid starter in the NFL. His hair on top is a bonus, as my man has that middle of the back flow!
Dulcich will likely play the same role that Albert played last season, supporting Noah Fant as the backup. Albert received 40 targets which he converted into 330 yards and two touchdowns in 14 games played last season. That kind of production from Dulcich doesn’t seem unreasonable to me, assuming he is never thrust into the starting lineup. If he receives the opportunity to be a starter at some point this season, it seems unlikely that he will relinquish it easily.
Grade: B+
115th overall Damarri Mathis – Cornerback PITT
Two minutes before the Broncos were on the clock, I tweeted that I thought the Broncos should go Zyon McCullum and Kingsley Enagbare at 115 and 116 to cover the cornerback and defensive end needs spotlighted in my predraft strategy article. Both players were on the top of the ESPN big board and many draft experts had them as some of the best remaining players when the Broncos were on the clock. I got the positions right for both selections, but the players’ names I missed on. Instead of Zyon McCullum, the Broncos selected Damarri Mathis cornerback from Pitt.
Mathis is a 5’11”, 200lbs, redshirt-senior, cornerback that ran a blistering 4.39 forty-yard dash and had the stats in college to support his NFL bid. His NFL draft profile graded him as an average backup or special teamer and on draft night they highlighted his aggressive tackling and ballhawk nature. This guy joins a top-heavy cornerback room that has Patrick Surtain II, Ronald Darby, K’Waun Williams, Eassang Bassey, and Michael Ojemudia. There is an opportunity for this guy to be a day one impact guy on special teams, and possibly solidify himself as a depth player battling Bassey and Ojemudia for reps on defense.
Ronald Darby doesn’t exactly have the cleanest track record for playing a full season, so Mathis is another depth guy that supports a position group the Broncos aren’t confident will have its starters every game this season. One of the things it seems was apparent after the draft, was that the Broncos viewed their special teams’ units as a weakness in 2021 and wanted to shore up their depth and speed to improve their third phase of football. Special Teams Coordinator Eric Stokes hopefully can elevate the Broncos special teams to a new high, after three seasons of Tom McMahon and fans screaming at how bad our special teams were, Stokes can be a breath of fresh air with added draft pick investment into the success of those units.
Grade: B-
116th overall Eyioma Uwazurike – Defensive End Iowa State
As mentioned above, I thought Kingsley Enagbare from South Carolina was such a value pick at 116 covering the Broncos Defensive End needs. Turns out, the were at least on the same page in terms of position, but instead landed on the 6’6”, 316lbs Eyioma Uwazurike from Iowa State. I personally didn’t spend much time watching his tape and was not the most knowledgeable about the selection, but the amount of twitter hype around this guy gives me hope that he was the correct selection. The Broncos had a need at defense end as Shelby Harris was one of the pieces involved in the Russell Wilson trade, leaving a bit of a talent gap in the starting DE position.
Dre’Mont Jones and DJ Jones seem to be the two that we are confident will start along the defensive line, so Eyioma will be battling with McTelvin Agim, DeShawn Williams, Mike Purcell and fellow draft mate Matt Henningsen for that last position and to be part of the rotation. His NFL draft profile labeled Uwazurike as a good backup with the potential to develop into a starter which seems like a perfect role on the Broncos depth chart.
His upside that he is 6’6” with huge arms and huge hands. One of the biggest impacts that Shelby Harris had was his knack for getting his hands up in the passing lanes and deflecting footballs and getting batted balls. The size and athleticism of Uwazurike can hopefully help fill that void! His draft profile and college tape put him as a defensive tackle, but when he was drafted, he was labeled a defensive end, so to me that says he’s more just a defensive lineman for a 3-4 defense with his size, strength, and athleticism.
This dude also had NINE sacks in 2021 playing at Iowa State, he’s gigantic, athletic, productive, and a perfect prospect to come in and develop in Denver in our deep defensive line room.
Grade: B
Summary
My opinion of the first four picks in the draft, despite not having a first-round pick and only the final pick of the second round, is that the Broncos found athletes at positions of need with upside to support depth and special teams. This roster has been missing a quarterback for the last seven seasons, and the addition of Russell Wilson will put that theory to the test. Without any glaring roster holes, the Broncos used their picks to draft players based on potential and developmental talent at positions in need of depth to support the roster long term. These players seem to be guys that have opportunity to break onto the field in 2022 as special teamers or backups but could be thrust onto the field as the result of the next man up philosophy.
I think the value of these guys will be felt more in 2023 as they grow and the starters in front of them start to become free agents. I believed this similar concept after last season’s draft, where the Broncos picked guys that would have more impact this coming season like Surtain (who was insane last year but allowed us to let Callahan leave in FA), Javonte Williams (who is likely to be the starter this coming year even though we brough Melvin Gordon back), and Quinn Meinerz and Baron Browning that are both depth guys that are still developing into their eventual roles when contracts start expiring.
Overall, I think the Broncos got a grade for rounds 2-4 of a B+. I do think the Nakobe Dean pick will come back to haunt the team and the first draft selection of Bonitto seems to put additional unnecessary pressure and some writing on the wall for Bradley Chubb to stay healthy and produce at a pro-bowl level to stay on the roster after 2022.
I don’t necessarily disagree with the pressure and getting some injury insurance for Chubb, but I think that dude is really a good person and again holding injuries against players is so sad. That dude has the Broncos rookie sack record and a Pro Bowl appearance in his only healthy season. When he is on the field, he is elite, but availability is the most important ability in football. Let’s hope Bradley receives this message and responds in an All-Pro way and Bonitto is an amazing depth pass rusher behind Chubb and Gregory for the next five years.
GO BRONCOS! #DB4L
Happy
100 %
Sad
0 %
Excited
0 %
Sleepy
0 %
Angry
0 %
Surprise
0 %
1
0
Average Rating