My early draft choice for Broncs!

[SouthernBronco]

http://nfldraftgeek.com/vontazeburfict.html

Vontaze Burfict Scouting Report

Position: Inside Linebacker
School: Arizona State University
Class: Junior
Height: 6-3
Weight: 250
Draft Stock: Mid-to-Late First. Tier 1 ILB
Pros

Phenomenal Athlete. All across the Board, athleticism is elite
Great size and strength
Great speed, can get sideline-to-sideline in a flash. Excellent closing speed
Plays with great tenacity and intensity
Excellent in coverage. Athleticism to run in man coverage. Gets good depth. Fluid Hips
Great instincts, diagnoses plays quickly and takes good angles
Strong at the Point of Attack. Does a good job getting off blocks to make tackles
Good blitzer. Does a good job with swim and rip moves to get into the backfield
Cons

Serious maturity issues. Had too many Personal Foul Penalties to count. Punched a teammate. Battled with coaches
Ability to play hard without losing self control is an ability he has yet to master
Will sometimes try to run around blocks. Would like to see him improve in gap control
Overall

If your looking for the "Boom-or-Bust" prospect of the 2012 draft, it is without question Vontaze Burfict. As he has the athletic ability and potential to be the next Ray Lewis, but if certain things don't happen, he could end up being more of a headache than he's worth. From an athletic perspective, Burfict has everything you could possibly want out of a linebacker. Built like a tank, but runs like a cornerback. He can get from one side of the field to another in an instant. Ball carrier beware as Burfict is always looking to destroy whoever has the ball. And you gotta love the passion, intensity, and non-stop motor that he plays with. On the flip side though, there are a lot of things that concern you about Burfict. An unfortunate side effect to that Passion and Intensity he has, is his inability to contain his emotion, and keep from taking dumb personal foul penalties, and making unsportsmanlike plays after the whistle. As A.S.U and Burfict tried to crack down on his over-the-line plays, he wasn't nearly as effective, and it seemed that Burfict could not play hard, without playing stupid. If I were a coach, I would be happy to bring Vontaze Burfict on. He is not a bad character guy like a Pacman or Aqib Talib, he is just a kid who needs to learn some self control and maturity. Honestly, a lot of his problems just stem from him play too hard, which is not the worst thing in the world. If Burfict gets drafted to a veteran locker room with a strong head coach, like New England or Pittsburgh, he will be a start, if he goes to a place like Cincinnati or Tampa, he might have a rocky career. All it takes is 1 team to fall in love with his talent and he could go in the top 15, but he won't fall out of the 1st round.

[Project KSL]

Pretty funny, but really. Who?

[johnlimburg]

I love him. Would love the pick. Love his physicaqllity and athletic ability. Huge upside if he gets his head screwed on straight.

[FabrizioHC]

I would honestly love to trade down and grab him in the second. I'm pretty sure he's gonna slide down.

[Hoserman117]

I think he'd be a pretty solid pick, but I'm not sure if we'd do it with Nate Irving on the roster. We seem to like him quite a bit.

[BroncoooJohnson]

If we drafted Burfict and followed it by a corner, and signed Jason Jones is free agency, our defense would be instantly top 10.

Doom-Bunk-Jones-Ayers
DJ-Burfict-Von

that's a stacked front 7. We'd just be counting on our safeties to develop, and if Allen stays put i have all of the confidence in the world in his ability to help them come along.

[Kazmo]

If we drafted Burfict and followed it by a corner, and signed Jason Jones is free agency, our defense would be instantly top 10.

Doom-Bunk-Jones-Ayers
DJ-Burfict-Von

that's a stacked front 7. We'd just be counting on our safeties to develop, and if Allen stays put i have all of the confidence in the world in his ability to help them come along.

I would love that. I personally like Gilmore but we would have to trade up for him in the 2nd but there are some great CB prospects that are projected a lot lower then they should be.

[coloradomedic]

I think he'd be a pretty solid pick, but I'm not sure if we'd do it with Nate Irving on the roster. We seem to like him quite a bit.

Why do you say that? Mays was absolutely useless most of the season, and Irving couldn't get on the field outside of special teams.

[Caliraiderhater]

I agree, each year you seem to see that one prospect who was a sure fire top 10 pick slide to the 2nd round or further. Claussen, Bowers and so on.

Burfict as a football player should be a definite 1st round pick, but I think his maturity issues and possible head case issues will cause him to feel a draft day slide. I believe he can be had in the 2nd round. And if that is the case I would jump all over him even if that means trading up to get him! I would never want to risk a 1st round pick on such a boom or bust players due to being a head case. but once that first round is up he is worth the risk!!

[SoundsOfSuccess]

I'll take Zach Brown, a middle backer with the athleticism of a safety and physicality of a middle backer.

Oh, and he's not questionable character wise.

[johnlimburg]

I'll take Zach Brown, a middle backer with the athleticism of a safety and physicality of a middle backer.

Oh, and he's not questionable character wise.

Sorry but this would be a disaster. Our run defense is not great. Mays was a huge part of that. The best things about Brown is he is athletic. Yes he is fast. Yes he is quick. He has nice range and is good in coverage. But having him man the middle of this defense would be a night mare. He struggles to disengage right now from offensive lineman. He is a poor tackler. Very inconsistant and is a finese player. Run around linebacker I call that. He is in no way a suitable MIKE. And do not compare him to Beason. He is most suitable as an outside linebacker. We right now have Von Miller who is weak against the run. Struggles to set the edge and has difficulty getting off blocks. Throw in Brown and this run defense is even weaker. This would be an awful to have him inside.

[MHSalute]

I loved what I saw at of Shawn Loiseau...maybe a 5th round pick.

[roperdoug]

I love him. Would love the pick. Love his physicaqllity and athletic ability. Huge upside if he gets his head screwed on straight.

Maybe Tim can help him get his head screwed on right. If nothing else, Tim can create team unity. He's a motivator. I don't know if Fox or McCoy dampens that a little. I miss the Tebow that prances up and down the line and challengh his teammates. I know he has to spend time with his coach going over the plays but...use his good points.
Watching the Pats/Raven game, I wonder how much freedom Belichick gives Brady to call plays at the line or in the huddle. I think if a coach trains a quarterback right then give him a bunch of plays, then he should trust his judgment. That would make the playcalling a little less predictable.

[johnlimburg]

Maybe Tim can help him get his head screwed on right. If nothing else, Tim can create team unity. He's a motivator. I don't know if Fox or McCoy dampens that a little. I miss the Tebow that prances up and down the line and challengh his teammates. I know he has to spend time with his coach going over the plays but...use his good points.
Watching the Pats/Raven game, I wonder how much freedom Belichick gives Brady to call plays at the line or in the huddle. I think if a coach trains a quarterback right then give him a bunch of plays, then he should trust his judgment. That would make the playcalling a little less predictable.

Why would John Fox dampen helping a guy like Vontaze getting his head screwed on straight. He is a leader of men and a guy who gets the best out of his players. And it is the NFL. Tebow struggles to do plays he is told to let alone run things by himself at the line of scrimage. That sort of trust needs to be earned. And rar-rar only gets you so far.

[johnlimburg]

Oh, and he's not questionable character wise.

I agree. However he is a guy you like and over time you have ripped guys for character and used examples of team mates calling them out to say why we would we want that in the lockerroom.

I don't want him. Not because of so called character issues but because of play and fit for the team. However there is concern about the maturity.

Zach Brown Will Face Maturity Issues

Published Dec. 30, 2011
By Charlie Campbell - @draftcampbell

North Carolina outside linebacker Zach Brown is going to face some scrutiny for his mental and behavioral makeup during the draft process, per sources in the scouting community. Brown is an elite athlete that had an excellent senior season on the field. However, his off-the-field personality is going to get a tough examination as he has earned the reputation for being immature.

Brown was suspended from playing anything but special teams in North Carolina's game against Georgia Tech this season. Brown had violated team rules, and he was greatly missed against the Yellow Jackets' option ground game.

WalterFootball.com caught up with former teammate and current Cowboy linebacker Bruce Carter to get some insight into Brown. Carter didn't pull any punches and hinted that Brown needs to have the proper focus.

"I tried to help speak to him to help him be a lot more mature," said Carter. "He and Kevin [Riddick] had pretty big roles as underclassmen, so I tried to speed them up and get them more mature and on the right path."

Carter made it clear that he didn't think that Brown was a bad guy, but reading between the lines, it sounds like Brown needs to get more focused and become more professional for the NFL.

"He's a good guy. As long as he keeps his head straight he'll be a good player," said Carter. "He's a terrific athlete. He just has to keep his head straight."

Carter did believe that Brown could play quickly in the NFL.

"The hardest part is just learning different systems and stuff like that, but as far as a skill set, I know he can do it," said Carter.

Whoever drafts Brown has to be confident that he is mature enough to handle a big-money NFL contract. It is definitely clear the Brown has the talent to be a special player, but as Carter said, Brown needs to have his head straight. Maturity concerns could put into question Brown's status as a first-round pick with some teams in the 2012 NFL Draft.

Brown totaled 91 tackles with 11.5 tackles for a loss, 5.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, four passes broken up and two interceptions this season.