The "Hand I was Dealt" Denver Broncos Mock

[BroncosTX77]

I stir the pot, it is who I am and it is what I do best. This mock uses the picks Denver has as of 2/20/10 and assumes all players on Denver week 17 are still there. No trades. This is pre combine mock, I will have one more after FA starts before the draft. I like to open peoples eyes to the "Other" players out there besides the overhyped ones all the mockers like to overdraft.

I did this mock with FA in mind. I feel Denver will grab a starting Center and a guard in FA, and after article posted today about McDaniels belief in Seth Olsen as a Guard who can back up Center, as what Ben Hamilton did, I didn't feel a Center was a need right now as much as a swing tackle was to replace Tyler Polumbus.

I don't feel WR is a draft need, I feel Marshall will return and Denver still has McKinley at their disposal. Denver doesn't need speedy WR, more than they need fast smart route running WR.

Finally, I feel Denver will make a trade or 2 to acquire more picks. An OLB and ILB is needed but I felt the depth of ILB in this draft is horrible and possibly can be taken care of in FA, and OLB depth will be used with extra pick that McDaniels were suredly get.

LET THE HATE BEGIN! PLEASE DON'T GO BLIND!

1st DE Corey Wootton Northwestern

I am sticking to my guns. I am going all out MUG-Okam stubborn here. I guarantee none of y’all will like this pick and think he can be had in 3rd round of draft. You will say you would rather have Rolando McClain, Dan Williams, Dez Bryant or Sam Bradford instead. Fact of the matter is I believe Williams will be gone in top 10 as well as McClain. Bryant is a useless pick with or without Brandon Marshall while Orton is still QB for the Denver Broncos. As for Bradford…HA! SOB has a doctors note to all 32 NFL Teams to excuse him from the combine and Oklahoma Sooner Pro Day workouts and says he will work out on his own for teams. His shoulder isn’t right.

Corey has been mocked/rated from mid twenties to late 2nd round, and this includes “experts” not just wannabe gurus. Wootton is 14 months removed from ACL surgery and fully recovered for the combine next week. He was a beast his junior year before freak knee injury in Bowl Game and had decent senior year, but came on strong at end of year, again showing he is completely healed from ACL injury. Wootton is projected best as 5 tech DE, and draws comparisons to Richard Seymour. He has the combine I expect him to and he will reserve his ticket to round 1 supremacy. What makes him a perfect match for Denver is his leadership, his coaches rave about his work ethic and intelligence.

One thing we can all agree with is that Denver is primed for a trade down in round 1, the talent isn’t lining up with team needs for them. But this mock is only for the picks Denver possesses right now.

2nd CB Devin McCourty Rutgers

Dual threat CB who can return kicks. Speedy cover corner that has the size and skills for press coverage. Good vs run doesn’t Cromartie/Sanders goes after RB with Champ ferocity. Does have trouble getting off downfield blocks from larger WR. Has shown his Return skills help with shifty runners in open space rarely gets beat, solid tackling technique. Team Captain and academic All Big East. I feel he would be the one to replace Champ or Andre if they got hurt while Fonz manned the nickel. Moving up fast, might be 1st rounder after Combine.

3rd OL Rodger Saffold Indiana

4 year starter and team captain. Shined and dominated at the East-West Shrine Game. Impressed many scouts with his strength and footwork. Projects as a Guard/RT in pros. Good replacement for Tyler Polumbus and possibly Harris after his contract is up.

4th QB Jonathan Crompton Tennessee

Beginning of the college football season, especially after Florida debacle, if you told me that Crompton is projected as a 4th round pick, much less projected at all, I’d call you crazy. In light of Woody’s article and Brandstater not wowing McDaniels and Owner Pat Bowlen saying QB is needed in draft I offer you Jonathan Crompton. If Jimmy Clausen isn’t available in round 1, then I don’t see any other QB other than Crompton and maybe Jevan Snead with as much upside and potential in this draft. Crompton took to NFL coaching very well and improved by leaps and bounds his senior year. He also possesses the coveted Arm strength, height, weight, and mobility scouts look for in an NFL QB.

6th TE Nate Byham Pittsburgh

McDaniels loves his blocking TE, and with Scheffler wanting out and Graham in the twilight of his career, and Quinn destined to take over the "Pass" catching duties of TE, Byham is one of the best blocking TE in NCAA and a great team first player with outstanding attitude.

7th NT Travis Ivey Maryland

Huge Clogger to take a flyer on in round 7 to add some NT depth to the team. Possible PS stash would need a couple years to develop into rotation caliber player.

[johnlimburg]

i hate the johnathon crompton pick but the rest i like

i agree we dont need a wide receiver in the draft however if marshall departs we do.

I think there are some good late round OLB avalble.

Also i think we should take a mid round guard and a centre though

Finanly to aqiure some more picks we should trade back from 10/11 overall to late first and grap a 3rd rounder with it.

:orton:

[coloradomedic]

I love the Travis Ivey pick. He's one of my UDFA sleepers, but could go higher with the showing he had during the TX vs the nation week. He measured in at 6'4 341 and was an immovable object all week long in practice.

[Ringo56]

I like the Saffold and Ivey picks.

Reach for Wootton, I know you try to justify it by saying he will blow up the combine, I just don't see him over taking Odrick in the first round on our board.

I would lump Wootton in with Alualu/Jones/Houston/Carrington they are the second tier but I would be happy with any of them. (In the 2nd)

McCourty I have heard good things about, but I would need to see more tape of him, and to see how he does at the combine.

Crompton is the one that I dislike the most. He may have NFL size/arm but I just don't see him being anymore then a back up. Besides If we don't have a shot at Clausen/Bradford we already have Orton who is better then all of the other QB's in the draft.

Byham is a meh pick, I think if Shef is gone we need to add another TE to the roster I prefer Caz Piurowski or Michael Hoomanawanui late in the draft.

Overall I like it:salute!: I would like to know who you plan on playing where on our OL. Clady/???/???/???/Harris

Depending on who you plan on starting at LG/OC/RG I maybe would have liked to see another OL somewhere in your mock. Maybe JD Walton in the 3rd/4th, Matt Tennant 3rd/4th, Thomas Austin 4th/5th, Jeff Byers 4th/5th one of these would have been a better addition then Crompton IMO.

[BroncosTX77]

I like the Saffold and Ivey picks.

Reach for Wootton, I know you try to justify it by saying he will blow up the combine, I just don't see him over taking Odrick in the first round on our board.

I would lump Wootton in with Alualu/Jones/Houston/Carrington they are the second tier but I would be happy with any of them. (In the 2nd)

McCourty I have heard good things about, but I would need to see more tape of him, and to see how he does at the combine.

Crompton is the one that I dislike the most. He may have NFL size/arm but I just don't see him being anymore then a back up. Besides If we don't have a shot at Clausen/Bradford we already have Orton who is better then all of the other QB's in the draft.

Byham is a meh pick, I think if Shef is gone we need to add another TE to the roster I prefer Caz Piurowski or Michael Hoomanawanui late in the draft.

Overall I like it:salute!: I would like to know who you plan on playing where on our OL. Clady/???/???/???/Harris

Depending on who you plan on starting at LG/OC/RG I maybe would have liked to see another OL somewhere in your mock. Maybe JD Walton in the 3rd/4th, Matt Tennant 3rd/4th, Thomas Austin 4th/5th, Jeff Byers 4th/5th one of these would have been a better addition then Crompton IMO.

I feel Denver throws money at and signs Kevin Mawae, causing Wiegmann to retire. Hochstein will be re-signed and Stephen Neal will be signed to play Guard. I also feel Kuper is gone. 3 destinations include: Houston, Washington, Seattle. Finally, Olsen could be ready to take over if Kuper leaves.

Clady/Neal/Mawae/Olsen/Harris

+/Saffold/Olsen/Hochstein/Polumbus

I struggled for a while with 2nd/3rd rd picks for sure.

I had JD Walton sitting there in 3rd for long time, but decided against it because I think Mawae has couple good years left in him and a Center to groom under him could be had next year and only has to sit for 1 year, where as Walton would sit at least 2.

Saffold replaced Walton because some scouts see a move to Guard in the pros for him, and let's face it Tyler Polumbus was awful last year and McDaniels will want one of his guys to replace him.

Finally about Odrick, character red flags from College, I don't believe he will be on Denver's board.

[Ringo56]

Well other than having Neal starting I like the OL, I think Neal is done, he has talked about retireing now because his body can't take anymore pounding. I hope we don't sign him and expect him to be our starter, as back-up heck ya but not a starter.

Also Odrick's "character red flags from College" was one DC ticket his junior year about a group of 4 people who got into it with him at 2am on a sidewalk. Odrick was not at the scene when cops arrived, the group found a photo of him online and said it was him. If it would have been more serious don't you think it would have been more than just a DC citation? Heck you can get a DC citation for being to loud and someone calls the cops.

That situation sounds like something that happens everyday at a college town at night, I don't see it as an issue. He also doesn't have a history of run-ins with the law, nor has he had any problems since that incident = non-factor.

[KWHIT97]

I HATE this mock, I'm sorry but I HATE it.

If we were to sign a 39 yr old Center, and draft a DE at #10 or 11 that will not be a 1st round pick otherwise I would officially be on the lynch McDaniels wagon.

I do like some of the picks, the Ivey pick is interesting, the McCourty pick intrigues me, but the 1st round pick would go down as one of the worst in team history, yes, even worse than Jarvis Moss.

I would MUCH rather go this route.
1. G Mike Iupati
2. C Maurkice Pouncey (I would hate us signing Mawae)
3. DE Alex Carrington
The rest I'd be alright with. We may need to move up for Pouncey, but I'd be fine with that, he is Kevin Mawae 15 years ago.

This is your mock, and I admire your ideals, but Wooten as a top 15 pick would be an epic failure, IMO!

[Snarfalicious]

I totally get the logic behind every pick. But, I still have some problems with the selections, but to be fair they are my own opinions. For instance, if you're going to reach for a 3-4 DE, I would suggest going for the 3rd best 5-tech (Behind Suh and McCoy) and grab Jared Odrick. It's a given he will be there, and I do believe he has a lot more upside than Wootton. But, I understand the pick, and although I'm not a real big Wootton fan, I could live it, but I think it's a bit of a stretch. It's just the fact of Odrick getting better every year, no injury problems, and he is a guy who could easily put on 15 pounds and maintain his abilities.

Also, I am really not a big fan of Crompton. When I would watch him, I saw nothing that resembled a QB in the NFL that could potentially start. If you're going to go for a guy in the 4th, my first choice would be to select Jevan Snead. He's tough, smart, and he's got the physical tools you would want in a QB. To me, he's a poor mans Jay Cutler. But with Snead you're going to have to approach him like with a Kevin Kolb. Give him about 2 years to learn the system, correct his mechanical flaws, and hopefully get the most out of his abilities. I get excited thinking about the possibility of McD getting the best from Snead, who quite frankly probably has the best chance to really become a franchise QB out of the mid-rounds.

**Add: And I noticed you mentioned an article about McD and Olsen. Do you have a link? Sounds like a good read.

[BroncosTX77]

I totally get the logic behind every pick. But, I still have some problems with the selections, but to be fair they are my own opinions. For instance, if you're going to reach for a 3-4 DE, I would suggest going for the 3rd best 5-tech (Behind Suh and McCoy) and grab Jared Odrick. It's a given he will be there, and I do believe he has a lot more upside than Wootton. But, I understand the pick, and although I'm not a real big Wootton fan, I could live it, but I think it's a bit of a stretch. It's just the fact of Odrick getting better every year, no injury problems, and he is a guy who could easily put on 15 pounds and maintain his abilities.

Also, I am really not a big fan of Crompton. When I would watch him, I saw nothing that resembled a QB in the NFL that could potentially start. If you're going to go for a guy in the 4th, my first choice would be to select Jevan Snead. He's tough, smart, and he's got the physical tools you would want in a QB. To me, he's a poor mans Jay Cutler. But with Snead you're going to have to approach him like with a Kevin Kolb. Give him about 2 years to learn the system, correct his mechanical flaws, and hopefully get the most out of his abilities. I get excited thinking about the possibility of McD getting the best from Snead, who quite frankly probably has the best chance to really become a franchise QB out of the mid-rounds.

**Add: And I noticed you mentioned an article about McD and Olsen. Do you have a link? Sounds like a good read.

Here ya go, Credit goes to Kona for finding it. Very informative blog/article.

http://www.milehighreport.com/2010/2/17/1313777/finding-center

[Gbt31]

I HATE this mock, I'm sorry but I HATE it.

If we were to sign a 39 yr old Center, and draft a DE at #10 or 11 that will not be a 1st round pick otherwise I would officially be on the lynch McDaniels wagon.

I do like some of the picks, the Ivey pick is interesting, the McCourty pick intrigues me, but the 1st round pick would go down as one of the worst in team history, yes, even worse than Jarvis Moss.

I would MUCH rather go this route.
1. G Mike Iupati
2. C Maurkice Pouncey (I would hate us signing Mawae)
3. DE Alex Carrington
The rest I'd be alright with. We may need to move up for Pouncey, but I'd be fine with that, he is Kevin Mawae 15 years ago.

This is your mock, and I admire your ideals, but Wooten as a top 15 pick would be an epic failure, IMO!

Kevin mawae made the Probowl this year. He also was the starting center for a run first team that produced a 2000 yard back. He has been great and a top 3 Center nearly his whole career. I really can't see how it would hurt our team by bringing him here. Oh, and Pouncey I believe will be a great Center...but lets hold off the comparisons to Kevin Mawae just yet.

[Snarfalicious]

[/B]

Here ya go, Credit goes to Kona for finding it. Very informative blog/article.

http://www.milehighreport.com/2010/2...finding-center

Thanks man, appreciate it.

[FlowdaBroncoFan]

Kevin mawae made the Probowl this year. He also was the starting center for a run first team that produced a 2000 yard back. He has been great and a top 3 Center nearly his whole career. I really can't see how it would hurt our team by bringing him here. Oh, and Pouncey I believe will be a great Center...but lets hold off the comparisons to Kevin Mawae just yet.

My thoughts exactly.....

We should sign Mawae to the tune of a 2-3 year deal, AND draft Pouncey to learn behing Mawae so he could be one of the best OC this league has see.

[Pratama]

Soft in the middle. . .

I am hoping that we use our draft or free agency to address our most pressing need. The middle, the trenches. If we are going to be successful in the 3-4 era, we need two things. 1) to be able to run the ball up the middle where the 3-4 is weakest and 2) to be able to defend the middle against the run without having to commit our safeties and CBs on every down. I really hope this is our main point of emphasis in our draft.

[PhillyBronco24]

Corey Wootton is projected 3rd round, picking him with our first is a waste, and I would rather we take Dan LeFevour the Crompton.

[Al Wilson 4 Mayor]

I am hoping that we use our draft or free agency to address our most pressing need. The middle, the trenches. If we are going to be successful in the 3-4 era, we need two things. 1) to be able to run the ball up the middle where the 3-4 is weakest and 2) to be able to defend the middle against the run without having to commit our safeties and CBs on every down. I really hope this is our main point of emphasis in our draft.

Being tougher up front is something McDaniels talked about in one of his end of the year pressers.