My first mock draft

[broncos SB2010]

Many people are calling for a Safety in the first round. I think that is unnecessary due to many quality safeties in the draft and bigger needs elsewhere. Games are won in the trenches, it all starts up front and we need to be able to control the line of scrimmage. Great safeties won’t fix the Dline or Lb problems. The front 4 can’t get any pressure on the QB and are manhandled pretty often by big Olinemen and the linebackers are way undersized. These 2 problems need to be fixed before the secondary will be much better. My first 3 picks are all potential 1st rounders (Mel Kiper has them ranked 13, 14, and 15 on his big board) but right now this is where most sites have them projected. Of my first three picks if I had to pick 1, I would take BJ Raji, he is going to be a force on the defensive line, but as of now my draft would be…

1. I think we pick around 15-18, we should trade down close to the bottom of the first round for an extra 2nd rounder and take Tyson Jackson with the first pick, DE out of LSU. 6’4” 295 and runs a 4.8 40. He has the quickness to get to the QB on occasion and the size/strength to excel at defending the run from the end where the broncos are so weak right now. He reminds me of Trevor Pryce but a little slower but a little bigger. The broncos best DE is Ekuban who is a FA and 33 next year. After him, besides Dumervil, we have Engelberger (who is declining and also 33 next year), Moss and Crowder who are still developmental. Jackson could anchor his side for years.

2a. BJ Raji, DT from Boston College. 6’1” 325 5.10 40 He has the size, strength, and quickness off the ball to control the line of scrimmage and make plays in the backfield. We haven’t had the kind of player in the middle of the Dline that can wreak havoc in the backfield for a long long time. Robertson, Peterson, and Thomas are doing ok but they hardly ever get a push and control the line. Every once in a while they do but not on a consistent basis. Robertson was supposed to bring the pressure but so far he is not getting it done, Raji could change that.

2b. Clint Sintim, OLB from Virginia. 6’3” 255 4.7 40 He has all the skills to be a great LB either on the inside or outside. He can cover TE’s, rush the QB (11 sacks, 56 tackles so far this year) and has the size to shed blocks to stuff the run. Here is a nice article on him.

3. Michael Hamlin, Strong Safety from Clemson. 6’2 205 4.6 40. Solid in coverage and can hit with the best of them.

4. Kenny Mckinley, WR from South Carolina. 6’0’ 185 4.40 40. A fast receiver who runs good routes with great hands. Broke Sterling Sharpe’s record for receptions at SC. He could be Stokely’s backup and eventual replacement.


5a. Otis Wiley, FS out of Michigan State. 6’2” 210 4.5 40. Wiley is a very underrated Safety IMO. A solid tackler, can play FS or SS, one of the best cover safeties in the draft and can return kicks. 4 INT, 11 passes defended this year. What a bargain!!

5b. Londen Fryar, CB from Western Michigan. 5’11 192 4.45 40. A good zone cover CB, better man to man, and a solid tackler. 5 INT last year.

6a. Cedric Dockery, Guard from Texas. 6’3” 320 5.20 40. A solid run blocker who may move up in the draft but he injured his knee in 2006 which may drop his stock, second pick here is Tyronne Green guard from Auburn.

6b. Javarris Williams, RB from Tennesee State. 5’10 215 4.55 40. 15 TD’s this year, 42 for his career. A strong powerful runner but a little slow. Great career stats but comes from low competition could be a sleeper pick.

7. Davon Drew, TE from East Carolina. 6’4 260 4.75 40. A great blocker and also can catch. 24 receptions, 380 yards so far this year.

[basbllplaya26]

i think we have bigger needs on our defense to go DE then DT round one and two.. not to mention OLB in round 2 as well..

there is no way one of our two first picks isn't MLB and/or Safety

[Atwnbroncfan]

I dont think we adress OLB until maybe late 2nd day, if at all. We are pretty set at taht position with DJ, Bailey, Woodyard, Winborn, and Green.

[Wenchang]

I don't know about the other players, but I love the Raji pick. He is exactly what we need. If he falls that far in the second round, we have to get him. I don't know enough about Jackson, but it may be better to get a difference maker at Safety in the first round.

[broncos SB2010]

i think we have bigger needs on our defense to go DE then DT round one and two.. not to mention OLB in round 2 as well..

there is no way one of our two first picks isn't MLB and/or Safety

Clint Sintim can play MLB or OLB. That is one of the benefits to him.

[getlynched47]

i think we have bigger needs on our defense to go DE then DT round one and two.. not to mention OLB in round 2 as well..

there is no way one of our two first picks isn't MLB and/or Safety

definatly. We need to completely bring in a new set of Safeties via draft or free agency and possibly a Middle Linebacker (IMO Safety is the bigger need here and our weakest position on the entire team)

[broncos SB2010]

definatly. We need to completely bring in a new set of Safeties via draft or free agency and possibly a Middle Linebacker (IMO Safety is the bigger need here and our weakest position on the entire team)

As I said in the beginning, the best safeties in the world won't make any difference if the defensive line can't get any pressure. The Giants, Titans, Jets, and ravens have some of the leagues best defenses. Do they do that with the best safeties or the best defensive lines? Hmmm lets see...who are the defensive stars of the titans..Haynesworth...DT, the Giants...Justin Tuck...DE. We don't have any dominate dlinemen and the defense won't change until we do. I agree that safety is the weakest position on the team however the defensive line is the number one priority. LB is the second. We need bigger bodies that can stuff the run without being pushed backward for another 2 or 3 yards. Woodyard, webster and winborn are all 230. We need to get some LB that are 250+ if they are going to stop anything on a regular basis. Sintim is 255 and can play MLB or OLB and is going to be a future star of the NFL IMO. First round status and college production means nothing on the field, a first round safety won't fix the problems we have on defense.

[basbllplaya26]

As I said in the beginning, the best safeties in the world won't make any difference if the defensive line can't get any pressure. The Giants, Titans, Jets, and ravens have some of the leagues best defenses. Do they do that with the best safeties or the best defensive lines? Hmmm lets see...who are the defensive stars of the titans..Haynesworth...DT, the Giants...Justin Tuck...DE. We don't have any dominate dlinemen and the defense won't change until we do. I agree that safety is the weakest position on the team however the defensive line is the number one priority. LB is the second. We need bigger bodies that can stuff the run without being pushed backward for another 2 or 3 yards. Woodyard, webster and winborn are all 230. We need to get some LB that are 250+ if they are going to stop anything on a regular basis. Sintim is 255 and can play MLB or OLB and is going to be a future star of the NFL IMO. First round status and college production means nothing on the field, a first round safety won't fix the problems we have on defense.

don't forget though, denver has been doing a lot better at getting pressure over the last few weeks.. Cleveland did pretty good against us at keeping us away because they have a pretty good o-line, but the couple games leading up to that one, we were getting better pressure

[broncos SB2010]

don't forget though, denver has been doing a lot better at getting pressure over the last few weeks.. Cleveland did pretty good against us at keeping us away because they have a pretty good o-line, but the couple games leading up to that one, we were getting better pressure

we were only getting pressure because we were sending 6 guys. We have to be able to get pressure with the front 4. We also have to be able to stop the run without bringing the safety up. One of the reasons the safeties are playing so bad is because we only have 1 deep. If we could contain the run with 7 we could drop both safeties into coverage which would make a huge difference in our pass defense.

[broncos SB2010]

UPDATED
It looks like we will be picking in the low-mid 20 so I don't think we will have room to trade down for extra picks so I edited my picks.


1. Tyson Jackson, DE out of LSU. 6’4” 295 and runs a 4.8 40. He has the quickness to get to the QB on occasion and the size/strength to excel at defending the run from the end where the broncos are so weak right now. He reminds me of Trevor Pryce but a little slower but a little bigger. The broncos best DE is Ekuban who is a FA and 33 next year. After him, besides Dumervil, we have Engelberger (who is declining and also 33 next year), Moss and Crowder who are still developmental. Jackson could anchor his side for years.

2. BJ Raji, DT from Boston College. 6’1” 325 5.10 40 He has the size, strength, and quickness off the ball to control the line of scrimmage and make plays in the backfield. We haven’t had the kind of player in the middle of the Dline that can wreak havoc in the backfield for a long long time. Robertson, Peterson, and Thomas are doing ok but they hardly ever get a push and control the line. Every once in a while they do but not on a consistent basis. Robertson was supposed to bring the pressure but so far he is not getting it done, Raji could change that.


3. Michael Hamlin, Strong Safety from Clemson. 6’2 205 4.6 40. Solid in coverage and can hit with the best of them. 5 int, 2 FF, leading tackler in 3 of their games this year, second on the team in total tackles with 93, and is a 4 year starter. He will be a very good safety in the NFL. Many people say USC has the best safety tandem in the country, I wouldn't put Clemson's duo of Hamlin and Clemons much past them.

4. Kenny Mckinley, WR from South Carolina. 6’0’ 185 4.40 40. A fast receiver who runs good routes with great hands. Broke Sterling Sharpe’s record for receptions at SC. He could be Stokely’s backup and eventual replacement.


5a. Otis Wiley, FS out of Michigan State. 6’2” 210 4.5 40. Wiley is a very underrated Safety IMO. A solid tackler, can play FS or SS, one of the best cover safeties in the draft and can return kicks. 4 INT, 11 passes defended this year. What a bargain!!

5b. Londen Fryar, CB from Western Michigan. 5’11 192 4.45 40. A good zone cover CB, better man to man, and a solid tackler. 5 INT last year.

6a. Cedric Dockery, Guard from Texas. 6’3” 320 5.20 40. A solid run blocker who may move up in the draft but he injured his knee in 2006 which may drop his stock, second pick here is Tyronne Green guard from Auburn.

6b. Ronnie Palmer. ILB out of Arizona 6-3. 245. 4.7 40. An under the radar LB on one of the countries better unknown defenses.

7. Davon Drew, TE from East Carolina. 6’4 260 4.75 40. A great blocker and also can catch. 24 receptions, 380 yards so far this year.
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