Just a season removed from a Super Bowl Championship, you’d think the Denver Broncos would just be some improvement, and maybe a player or two, away from a return trip. But this is a team with some real problems and an entirely new coaching staff.
Gone is Gary Kubiak, who retired after last season due to health problems. Gone too is defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, who almost single-handedly kept the Broncos in the playoff hunt down to the wire in 2016. Denver has two young quarterbacks it likes, but only one, Paxton Lynch, with the potential to be a franchise guy. If new head coach Vance Joseph is smart, he’ll hand Lynch the keys this year and build around him.
With that in mind, the Broncos have to focus on their offensive line early. They’ve already added a couple of pieces in free agent tackle Memelik Watson and free agent guard Ronald Leary, but there’s three other spots to improve upon and Denver really needs to take a hard look at all of them.
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Round 1, Pick 20: Garrett Bolles, OT, Utah
It seems almost silly to have the first offensive tackle coming off the board here at No. 20, but that’s how my draft board goes. This isn’t a deep tackle draft, with Boles and Cam Robinson possibly the only two worth first round picks. Boles seems to have jumped Robinson on most boards at this point so I’m slotting the 6-5, 294-pound left tackle with the Broncos. Boles was the most hotly recruited JuCo left tackle in the country a couple of years ago and was an All-PAC 12 selection last year.
Round 2, Pick 51: Dan Feeney, OG, Indiana
Feeney might be the top guard in this draft and by adding both him and Bolles in the first round, the Broncos instantly upgraded their entire offensive line. At 6-4 and 305 pounds, Feeney can be the road grader that the Broncos need while being swift footed enough to pass block and pick up blitz reads. He played some right tackle too at Indiana, but guard is his natural position and that’s where he picked up his All-American and All-Big Ten nods.
Round 3, Pick 82: Sidney Jones, CB, Washington
2016: 39 tackles, 2.5 for a loss, two interceptions, six passes defended, two forced fumbles
In any other season a player like Jones would be a second round pick, but this draft is deep at his position. That just means the Broncos get real value here in the third round and one of the strongest positions on their team. As strong as it is, Denver seems intent on moving on from Aqib Talib at some point, maybe sooner than later, and the 6-0, 181 Jones might make them comfortable enough along with Chris Harris Jr., 2014 first round pick Bradley Roby and Lorenzo Doss to do just that.
Round 3, Pick 101: Amara Darboh, WR, Michigan
2016: 57 catches, 862 yards, seven touchdowns
The Broncos are set at the starting wide out spot with Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders, but there’s a steep drop-off behind them. Denver has just two other wideouts that caught passes last year and both are undrafted free agents. Darboh is a prototype west coast offense receiver at 6-2 and 215 pounds and should push Jordan Taylor and Bennie Fowler for playing time as soon as he gets into camp.
Round 4, Pick 126: Trey Hendrickson, DE, Florida Atlantic
2016: 50 tackles, 15 for a loss, 9.5 sacks, two passes defended, one fumble recovery, one forced fumble
The Broncos seem to shed key defensive linemen every offseason and this year’s been no different. They stopped the bleeding a little bringing in Domata Peko from the Cincinnati Bengals as a free agent, but they need to add some depth and maybe develop a future starter. Hendrickson was a big producer at Florida Atlantic and lived in the opposing team’s backfield. It might take a year or two for the 6-4, 270 pound defensive end to be able to do it at the pro level, but the potential is there.
Round 5, Pick 177: Damontae Kazee, CB, San Diego State
2016: 67 tackles, three for a loss, seven interceptions, one defensive touchdown, eight passes defended, one forced fumble
If Kazee, at 5-11 and 190, put up those same numbers at a Power Five school he’d never get out of the second round. As it is, the Broncos might be getting a steal here in the fifth on a four-year starter that actually had a down season in 2016 considering the numbers (75 tackles, eight picks) he put up in 2015.
Round 6, Pick 203: Connor Harris, ILB, Lindenwood
2016: 138 tackles, 8.5 for a loss, one sack, two interceptions, three passes defended, one forced fumble
With 633 career tackles, Harris is the best middle linebacker in the history of NCAA Division II. He turned down an offer to play at Kansas to star at Lindenwood and it didn’t hurt his draft potential. At 5-11 and 242, Harris is on the small side, but as a 3-4 inside linebacker, he should fit right into the Broncos’ defensive plans and be pencilled in as a starter in a couple of seasons. This guy is the next Sam Mills or London Fletcher. He won the Cliff Harris award in 2016 as NCAA Division II’s top defensive player.
Round 7, Pick 238: Hardy Nickerson Jr, ILB, Illinois
2016: 107 tackles, 5.5 for a loss, two sacks, two interceptions, one fumble recovery
The fact that he’s the son of former Tampa Bay Buccaneers all time great linebacker Hardy Nickerson alone should move this kid up draft boards, but I haven’t seen the evidence. The production is certainly there and he did it at two different schools in two different systems. At California is 2015 when he had 111 tackles, two for a loss, one sack and one fumble recovery. And if his dad’s pedigree alone wasn’t enough, he was coached by Hardy Nickerson Sr. in high school and last year at Illinois, which is why he transferred from Cal in the first place.
Round 7, Pick 252: Storm Norton, OT, Toledo
Back to the offensive line for the final two picks of the Broncos 2017 draft haul. This time they add Storm Norton, left tackle for the seventh best offensive attack in the country. Norton is 6-8 and 311 pounds and can push people around on the outside in the run game as well as pass block, keeping rushers off balance with his freakishly long arms.
Round 7, Pick 253: Brandon Kublanow, Center, Georgia
We’ve hit every other spot on the line, even twice at tackle, so the Broncos might as well grab a center here with their final pick. Kublanow started 39 consecutive games for Georgia, opening holes for Todd Gurley and Nick Chubb. He was named to the All-SEC second team as a senior.
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