2024 NFL Draft discussion thread

[Draft Crazy]

Meh.

Nix might be the eventual starter but I bet he ends up as the #3 QB to start the season.

I will disagree. I am not sure we even keep 3 QB's on the active roster.

 

[DJ Fieri]

I will disagree. I am not sure we even keep 3 QB's on the active roster.

Well, who is getting released?

Stidham
Zach
DiNucci

 

[DJ Fieri]

DiNucci is the clear fave to not make the team but who else getting released?

 

[SpiritOf77]

Gotta keep Nix upright and his jersey clean.

Hard to gauge where the o-line is right now. Russ got happy feet way to often last year. A lotta sacks were on him.

Was happy to hear Jonah’s quote about Bo, said anytime he beat the Ducks o-line Nix was already getting rid of the ball. Having a QB that can get the ball out quick will make the o-line look that much better.

Russ knew his days were numbered in Denver, and might - just might - have been conscious of his TD to INT ratio - which is something - probably the first thing - a team looks at as far as stats ..

Something about Russ seemed to really tick Sean Payton off, and some of it might have had to do with Russ holding the ball way too long, in part, to protect his stats and avoid INTs ...

Of course, no QB wants to throw INTs, but I can't remember a Bronco QB who held the ball like Russ did last season .. not to mention all the wide open receivers he failed to see

 

[Draft Crazy]

DiNucci is the clear fave to not make the team but who else getting released?

That will be determined in camp.

I think DiNucci probably goes to the PS.. With the new rule that you can carry 2 QB's on the active roster and active one for EVERY game off the PS, most teams will keep 2 QB's on the active roster. Denver has done that without the rule for about the past 5 years now.

With Stidham getting 5 m if he can't beat out Wilson he will be released most likely. You wouldn't want to pay a 3rd string QB 5 m. If Zach Wilson can't beat out Stidham then he probably isn't worth keeping around. If Nix doesn't look ready that is another story but I think Nix will start from day 1 here and if not I think we will be comfortable enough with him as our #2 learning and ready to take over soon. Not like he has great QB's in front of him. It shoudn't take him long. If we start Stidham or Wilson we most likely sucks barring a miracle story.. We will need every game to determine if Nix is our guy because we can't afford to pick early next year with more good QB's on the draft board wondering if Nix is still the guy or not. I think we all know Nix is starting the majority of next year for Denver even if that isn't week 1 or week 3 it will be soon after. I fully expect him to start Week 1 though. Drew Lock probably would have had he not injured his thumb in camp.

 

[SpiritOf77]

btw, I always cringe when people talk about getting rid of George Paton for the Russell Wilson contract. Something that was pretty well not even his decision but a complete franchise decision. I've never seen the Broncos draft better then under George Paton. Maybe I am biased and he and I are on the same page or something but I love George Paton.

The Nathaniel Hackett hire didn't help George Paton's cause in the eyes of some fans .. Melvin Gordon and Graham Glasgow weren't exactly great decisions either ..

I'm just playing Devil's Advocate here .. but I admit that I have grown skeptical of George Paton, and I have complete faith in Sean Payton ...

I'm not usually a big proponent of stats and in depth numbers, but I did find this in regards to George Paton and free agents with the Broncos

When it comes to AV per million spent, a proxy for how efficient we’ve been in Free Agency, we’re 31st in the league at 0.528 with only Jets producing less. So what does that mean? We’ve spent big money on players who simply haven’t produced. ....

So while I am not a Paton hater, there is more to dislike than just the Russ debacle

 

[megalodon30]

Meh.

Nix might be the eventual starter but I bet he ends up as the #3 QB to start the season.

Payton loves Bo Nix. If he isn’t the week one starter, it’s almost guaranteed he’s the backup.

When the alternative is Jarrett Stidham, you roll with the rookie 10 times out of 10.

 

[Draft Crazy]

The Nathaniel Hackett hire didn't help George Paton's cause in the eyes of some fans .. Melvin Gordon and Graham Glasgow weren't exactly great decisions either ..

I'm just playing Devil's Advocate here .. but I admit that I have grown skeptical of George Paton, and I have complete faith in Sean Payton ...

I'm not usually a big proponent of stats and in depth numbers, but I did find this in regards to George Paton and free agents with the Broncos

When it comes to AV per million spent, a proxy for how efficient we’ve been in Free Agency, we’re 31st in the league at 0.528 with only Jets producing less. So what does that mean? We’ve spent big money on players who simply haven’t produced. ....

So while I am not a Paton hater, there is more to dislike than just the Russ debacle

Paton didn't sign Glasgow or Gordon. That was Elway. Gordon was a good signing until this last year (minus his 2021 Chiefs fumble which broke our hearts, kept the streak alive . Was 2nd in the NFL in missed tackles both years. (He was our offensive MVP in 2020) in which he was re-signed to a 1 year deal for very cheap after the 2021 season. 2022 he was a disaster on a cheap deal. (He signed his 1 year deal under Paton, two year deal under Elway) Paton actually re-structured Glasgow after Elway's contract. Glasgow wasn't even a bad signing by Elway. He just wasn't as good here as he was in Detroit. Injuries being the key factor. You're going to have some bad luck like that.

 

[Draft Crazy]

Flipped the re-watch NFL network channel as soon as the Chiefs traded up to get Worthy.

 

[Draft Crazy]

I was really surprised Nelson Ceasar wasn't drafted but of course Seattle scoops him up.

 

[Mingo]

btw, I always cringe when people talk about getting rid of George Paton for the Russell Wilson contract. Something that was pretty well not even his decision but a complete franchise decision. I've never seen the Broncos draft better then under George Paton. Maybe I am biased and he and I are on the same page or something but I love George Paton.

I agree - George Paton - doesn't direct and design the talent the Broncos acquire - he works like a guy taking the coaches orders for what they want to improve the teams and individual rooms. He is very thorough and organized.

 

[MileHigh64]

All NFL GM's make mistakes. The draft and other personnel decisions always come with risk. Generally speaking, I think Paton has done a good job. It feels like the Broncos have more clear direction with the addition of Payton to the mix, as the Elway years were very up and down.

 

[Draft Crazy]

All NFL GM's make mistakes. The draft and other personnel decisions always come with risk. Generally speaking, I think Paton has done a good job. It feels like the Broncos have more clear direction with the addition of Payton to the mix, as the Elway years were very up and down.

This is starting to feel like Payton's team. He inherited a team, evaluated and is now making it what he wants to make it.

 

[LGM]

This is starting to feel like Payton's team. He inherited a team, evaluated and is now making it what he wants to make it.

An interesting detail about Paton is he really believes in and uses a player's RAS (relative athletic score) to determine where to draft a guy. I believe that in combination with his very strict bpa process has helped us find gems like Cooper, Meinerz, and a ton of udfa's that have been hugely productive. I haven't looked at this year's player's yet, but in years prior to Payton being here you could count on a guy having an 8 or 9 plus score out of 10 each pick.
Interesting old article about it from mhr last summer.

RAS-sing you: relative athletic score of every Denver Bronco draft pick 2014-2023

according to mathbomb.com Quinn Meinerz and Baron Browning are the two most athletic Bronco draft picks in the last ten drafts

www.milehighreport.com

If you'll notice, a majority of those with poor scores were drafted by Elway, and most likely are not a bronco now vs the picks from Paton.

Its just one metric I'm sure he uses, but this kind of attention to detail is why he's so good.

 

[Draft Crazy]

An interesting detail about Paton is he really believes in and uses a player's RAS (relative athletic score) to determine where to draft a guy. I believe that in combination with his very strict bpa process has helped us find gems like Cooper, Meinerz, and a ton of udfa's that have been hugely productive. I haven't looked at this year's player's yet, but in years prior to Payton being here you could count on a guy having an 8 or 9 plus score out of 10 each pick.
Interesting old article about it from mhr last summer.

RAS-sing you: relative athletic score of every Denver Bronco draft pick 2014-2023

according to mathbomb.com Quinn Meinerz and Baron Browning are the two most athletic Bronco draft picks in the last ten drafts

www.milehighreport.com

If you'll notice, a majority of those with poor scores were drafted by Elway, and most likely are not a bronco now vs the picks from Paton.

Its just one metric I'm sure he uses, but this kind of attention to detail is why he's so good.

Elway was so all over the place when it came to the draft. Was hard to figure out what he was doing.

 

[megalodon30]

Elway was so all over the place when it came to the draft. Was hard to figure out what he was doing.

One thing you knew for sure, if a QB was 6’6” or taller, Elway loved him…

 

[Draft Crazy]

If you think about it, we haven't had a 1st rd pick in awhile where we didn't have to look/think about QB..

The Drew Lock draft
The year after maybe not so much because we didn't know about Lock that early.
However, all the years after that, then didn't have a 1st rd pick the two years after the Wilson trade. Finally get a first round pick back and still had to consider/ended up taking a QB.

 

[SpringStein]

Meh.

Nix might be the eventual starter but I bet he ends up as the #3 QB to start the season.

That’s a bet I’m willing to make.

 

[Draft Crazy]

Looking at Paton vs Elway as drafters and night and one thing that REALLY sticks out to me is the late round picks we have made between the two.

Elway took a ton of players late who didn't exactly have good college careers and not sure what he saw in them to take them. Paton drafts value late in that draft. Elway took swings on long shot projects. Some examples of players he drafted late in which I thought had no business in being drafted (there are more then I will list)

David Williams, RB, Arkansas - Never even started at Arkansas. He was basically the #3 back on rather weak running Arkansas under Bret Bilema that year. Would have never thought this guy would get drafted in a million years. He didn't even make our PS.

Keishawn Bierra, LB, Washington- Not sure what he saw in this guy. Not a value pick, didn't stand out in college. Played one year special teams for us and really made ZERO impact on special teams. Didn't make it out of PS the next year. Is now playing indoor football.

Taurean Nixon, CB, Tulane- Wasn't good in college just had speed. No value in this pick. Didn't last long. Same year we drafted Lorenzo Doss who was a decent pick... I think Elways spent little time on Nixon. Saw him as a late round flyer because of speed and saw him a little here and there when he was looking at Lorenzo Doss.

I really wonder how much time Elway spent on evaluating players.

and the worst one.


Josh Furman, S, Oklahoma State- A guy who barley played in college until his SR year and really made no impact. It was said that he was 100% drafted for special teams purposes and then he didn't even make it all the way through PS... Very little upside with a player who had very little production in college. Not sure what he saw here. Wasn't like he was a great college special teams player. It was our final pick of the draft so not making too big of a deal out of this but Paton would have not thrown away a pick like this on this type of player.

 

[Mingo]

Looking at Paton vs Elway as drafters and night and one thing that REALLY sticks out to me is the late round picks we have made between the two.

Elway took a ton of players late who didn't exactly have good college careers and not sure what he saw in them to take them. Paton drafts value late in that draft. Elway took swings on long shot projects. Some examples of players he drafted late in which I thought had no business in being drafted (there are more then I will list)

David Williams, RB, Arkansas - Never even started at Arkansas. He was basically the #3 back on rather weak running Arkansas under Bret Bilema that year. Would have never thought this guy would get drafted in a million years. He didn't even make our PS.

Keishawn Bierra, LB, Washington- Not sure what he saw in this guy. Not a value pick, didn't stand out in college. Played one year special teams for us and really made ZERO impact on special teams. Didn't make it out of PS the next year. Is now playing indoor football.

Taurean Nixon, CB, Tulane- Wasn't good in college just had speed. No value in this pick. Didn't last long. Same year we drafted Lorenzo Doss who was a decent pick... I think Elways spent little time on Nixon. Saw him as a late round flyer because of speed and saw him a little here and there when he was looking at Lorenzo Doss.

I really wonder how much time Elway spent on evaluating players.

and the worst one.


Josh Furman, S, Oklahoma State- A guy who barley played in college until his SR year and really made no impact. It was said that he was 100% drafted for special teams purposes and then he didn't even make it all the way through PS... Very little upside with a player who had very little production in college. Not sure what he saw here. Wasn't like he was a great college special teams player. It was our final pick of the draft so not making too big of a deal out of this but Paton would have not thrown away a pick like this on this type of player.

Just anecdotally - I think Elway started off pretty good in making staffing and player talent decisions. I like to blame his marriage to the Raider's cheerleader, but probably you can date his fall back to Elway's dad's death as a time when he started hitting the sauce way too much and mailing it in as a GM.