Broncos 2017 NFL Draft

[nflbronco]

I'd have to look at other teams I guess to know. Definitely been more whiffs on the offensive side of things than the defensive but I also think you have to look at how Elway has chosen to use draft capital.

1st round picks--All but one have been on the defensive side of the ball. The one offensive player was this past year in Paxton so have to wait and see what he can do.

2nd round picks--Elway has used the 2nd round pick 5 times on an offensive player. Franklin and Osweiler both got some decent starts along the way. Latimer, Ball, and Sambrailo unfortunately look like busts.

3rd round--Mostly split between offense and defense. Hillman, Schofield, and Heuerman were all taken in the 3rd for the offense. Hillman and Schofield have both gotten quite a few starts so wouldn't say they were a complete waste but not great picks either. Heuerman we are waiting to see if he can stay healthy.

So I would say a big chunk of the draft capital has been more used to bolster the defense than the offense at this point. Then Elway has gone to FA to bolster the offense. Not saying Elway has done the best work ever in making picks as plenty of players in those first three rounds of the draft on offense have been busts so far. So plenty for Elway to work on when picking guys in the 1st round.

Great post thanks. I hope we can do alot better drafting on offense this year and beyond..

 

[cdumler7]

Great post thanks. I hope we can do alot better drafting on offense this year and beyond..

Elway definitely needs to show a better commitment to using some draft resources for the offense. Unfortunately this is not the season. The defensive side of the ball is the strength of this draft. There are some positions like TE and RB on offense that the Broncos need to look at for sure but I would still make this a defensive heavy draft and use FA to help the offense.

 

[cdumler7]

The combine starts this week and my annual rant that is such a waste of time. Once the NFL got a hold of it and made it a TV battle of the Stars. They said last year 35% of the kids invited did not get drafted. I take my kid to Landow Performance where Von Miller and McCaffery train and our trainer said just working on the start is all they concentrate on. The 40 yard dash will be the last time they run the 40 yard dash evah.

Much of the combine in reality is a waste for these players. Hate to see them have to do so much training for events that in the end shouldn't matter a whole lot in the evaluation process. There are parts of it that matter quite a bit though. The medical checks are one of the biggest areas that can see players drop or raise up boards. I remember before the combine Da'Quan Bowers was the top player by many in the 2011 NFL draft. He got to the combine and some medical people found out his knee had a debilitating disease that dropped his draft status big time as many didn't think he would make it more than 5 years in the league.

The other of course is the interviews. For many teams this is the first time they are actually getting to interact with some of these players beyond just the scouts talking to some of them. So getting a good feel for who the prospect is and how much they can handle early on in their career.

Finally I know this isn't draft related but the Combine could maybe be even more about Free Agency than the draft. This is the one time coaches, GM's, and agents are all in the same place. As much as the NFL doesn't want deals being discussed it is the unspoken rule that at the Combine all is fair game.

 

[randymon]

Robinson's ability to play LT, RT, and either G make him a better pick at 20 imo. I really fear that if Ramczyk or Bolles measure weak or short armed or anything like that... we are stuck with another sambrailo who due to only being able to play LT at a poor level (the other positions are worse than that) he just has very little value on the roster, esp in a power scheme

Don't see Bolles as a legit tackle. Like him as a tough hard nosed guard that has the strength to push . God knows we need guys at that spot in run game that aren't on their heels like current group. Rt tackle is also more important in run game. Lt is extremely hard to come by because their primary skill set is protect qb blindside. Being a good run blkr to that side ALSO , is like hitting lottery. Pick your poison. Give me two nasty mean strong guards that win line of scrimmage, a Rt that is at least competitive in both run and pass blk, and a Lt that is very sound at pass pro and shows up now and then in run blk and I'd be ecstatic. Very hard to find that scenario these days.

 

[randymon]

Also just a quick note. Yes our OL was terrible this past year and we don't know what it will be this next season. I do know that Elway is planning on signing 3 starting caliber OL players. So he is going to make the commitment to getting the run and pass blocking to a very acceptable level. The big question in the equation becomes how do either of our QB's develop? If they develop some then yes a guy like Fournette is worth trading up to get to help take this offense to a new level.

And for me when I am evaluating a player just because they struggled against a certain opponent that committed usually 7-8 guys to stopping him that is such a small sample size compared to what else this guy was able to do against some other very tough defenses.

If we are going to look at stats one to keep in mind is that he lead all college RB's in broken tackles in 2015. Last year Kubiak kept talking about RB's needing to go and make a play and make somebody miss. Well Fournette gives you that. He is a guy that can single handily make a negative play into a big time touchdown for the team. He wins with speed, power, some wiggle if need be, and can be that guy that completely wears a defense down as the game goes on.

I'd like to touch on a few of your points on Fornette if I may be so bold Cd. The first is, yards after contact. If I'm not mistaken that means yards " first " contacted. It can be behind or at line of scrimmage or 5-10 yds past line of scrimmage. Fournette had a majority of his " yards after contact " 5-10 yards downfield after running thru huge hole, going against 175 Lb dbs that wanted nothing to do with that huge monster with full head of steam barreling down on him. Not even counting Alabama game, I watched Fournette get hit behind and at line of scrimmage and go down very easily. No leg drive unless he's able to get that big body propelling. Yeah, he's a force then for sure. Like to see a stat with Fournette and let's use Elliot, Richardson and Ball ( college of course )and compare yds after contact " AT or Behind line of scrimmage only ". I could be surprised but I doubt it. Elliot will be #1 and Fournette will be last of the group. As far as your Alabama take on Fournette, even if he managed to break thru front 7 of Bama, their dbs aren't cover guys , their hitters. With pressure that front 7 puts on qbs every game,no Db needs to stay with their guy long. Saban knows this and recruits big heavy hitters with decent cover skills in secondary. Their basically Lbs for run stop. Actually like to know last Db from Bama, who has or had good NFL career that didn't convert to safety or Lb. I wouldn't take one Rb in first rd especially Fournette. IMO of course

 

[cdumler7]

I'd like to touch on a few of your points on Fornette if I may be so bold Cd. The first is, yards after contact. If I'm not mistaken that means yards " first " contacted. It can be behind or at line of scrimmage or 5-10 yds past line of scrimmage. Fournette had a majority of his " yards after contact " 5-10 yards downfield after running thru huge hole, going against 175 Lb dbs that wanted nothing to do with that huge monster with full head of steam barreling down on him. Not even counting Alabama game, I watched Fournette get hit behind and at line of scrimmage and go down very easily. No leg drive unless he's able to get that big body propelling. Yeah, he's a force then for sure. Like to see a stat with Fournette and let's use Elliot, Richardson and Ball ( college of course )and compare yds after contact " AT or Behind line of scrimmage only ". I could be surprised but I doubt it. Elliot will be #1 and Fournette will be last of the group. As far as your Alabama take on Fournette, even if he managed to break thru front 7 of Bama, their dbs aren't cover guys , their hitters. With pressure that front 7 puts on qbs every game,no Db needs to stay with their guy long. Saban knows this and recruits big heavy hitters with decent cover skills in secondary. Their basically Lbs for run stop. Actually like to know last Db from Bama, who has or had good NFL career that didn't convert to safety or Lb. I wouldn't take one Rb in first rd especially Fournette. IMO of course

Well pretty much every one of their games is online. So I would love to see you go do the research and figure that out. For me personally I watch a guy that does a good job of making the quick cuts to find the open hole and then use his superior speed to make defenders take terrible angles making it look much more open than it was. There are not many players ever that can explode through a hole like him catching players off guard with how a big man like him can move so fast.

Now I will agree there have been some maybe better RB's at getting hit in the backfield and finding a way to slip through a couple of tackles to go make a play. Even there though I wouldn't say there are many. At least with Fournette I know that he can carry 3 guys on his back and still run for another 5 yards if need be. Just think of all those 3rd and 1 plays where a power back that could just move the pile to pick up that 1st down would have helped.

Anyway you have your thoughts and I have mine. With RB's it doesn't take long to see the type of player they will be. To me Fournette is the next Adrian Peterson to hit the NFL. To you he is just another guy.

 

[CEH]

Broncos talking to Christain tomorrow night.

 

[cdumler7]

Broncos talking to Christain tomorrow night.

Saw that. Makes sense. I'm sure he is decently high on their board.

 

[randymon]

Well pretty much every one of their games is online. So I would love to see you go do the research and figure that out. For me personally I watch a guy that does a good job of making the quick cuts to find the open hole and then use his superior speed to make defenders take terrible angles making it look much more open than it was. There are not many players ever that can explode through a hole like him catching players off guard with how a big man like him can move so fast.

Now I will agree there have been some maybe better RB's at getting hit in the backfield and finding a way to slip through a couple of tackles to go make a play. Even there though I wouldn't say there are many. At least with Fournette I know that he can carry 3 guys on his back and still run for another 5 yards if need be. Just think of all those 3rd and 1 plays where a power back that could just move the pile to pick up that 1st down would have helped.

Anyway you have your thoughts and I have mine. With RB's it doesn't take long to see the type of player they will be. To me Fournette is the next Adrian Peterson to hit the NFL. To you he is just another guy.

No, to me I think he's going to be more like a Richardson, not just another guy. Certainly I don't believe he's going to be Adrian, unless you mean Peterson today. Then I agree.

 

[cdumler7]

No, to me I think he's going to be more like a Richardson, not just another guy. Certainly I don't believe he's going to be Adrian, unless you mean Peterson today. Then I agree.

So it's not even that he is just another guy but that he is one of the biggest busts in NFL history? Interesting. And no for me he is Peterson at his best potential.

 

[cdumler7]

Just an interesting stat...

"LSU RB Leonard Fournette faced 8-plus box defenders on 67% of his runs,” Landry writes. “The average for this many defenders is 31%, so the attention placed on Fournette by defenses is unusually strong and reflective of LSU unimaginative and poor passing attack. Fournette faced 9-plus boxes on 22% of his charted runs. In essence, due to the offense he played in, Fournette was game planned for twice as much as any other back in the college game making his productivity that much more impressive.”

 

[nflbronco]

Anyone figured out best position for Peppers?

 

[randymon]

Just an interesting stat...

"LSU RB Leonard Fournette faced 8-plus box defenders on 67% of his runs,” Landry writes. “The average for this many defenders is 31%, so the attention placed on Fournette by defenses is unusually strong and reflective of LSU unimaginative and poor passing attack. Fournette faced 9-plus boxes on 22% of his charted runs. In essence, due to the offense he played in, Fournette was game planned for twice as much as any other back in the college game making his productivity that much more impressive.”

Another interesting stat that surprised me. Richardson actually had one of the highest yards after contact when hit behind line of scrimmage at beginning of his NFL career. 2.7 I believe. Go figure. Teams in college stacked box vs him and Ball for instance, I would assume. We will see. I'm very confident Fournette is overrated and will not have near the NFL career you just as confidently predict he will. Friendly side bet. I predict my NFL scouting intuition wins hands down over the great and mighty Guru Cd. All comers welcome.

 

[Draft Crazy]

Anyone figured out best position for Peppers?

Safety

 

[randymon]

Safety

Safety for sure and should be above avg asset on ST's.

 

[Dr Cyanide 28]

Who would you rather draft round 1

Jabrill Peppers
Haason Reddick

 

[randymon]

Who would you rather draft round 1

Jabrill Peppers
Haason Reddick

Are they both assured 1st rd picks ? Think I've seen they could both go high 2nd rd. Either way tough choice. Peppers versatility/play making ability vs much needed help at LB spot. Hmmmm?????

 

[58crash]

Are we the worst at drafting O in NFL right now? I know the draft is a crap shoot but, we have majorly bombed on so many players.

Who would know ???????????? This is a completely new staff ????

 

[Orange Crush77]

Who would you rather draft round 1

Jabrill Peppers
Haason Reddick

Reddick

 

[SpringStein]

Who would know ???????????? This is a completely new staff ????

But very familiar front office, college and pro scouting people.