Official Broncos Forum 2022 Draft Prospects Thread

[broncosfan_101]

Well, George Paton is clearly thinking about the draft, so I guess we should be, too. What are the needs? Who are some prospects you love? How many picks are we gonna end up with before tomorrow’s deadline? 

Edited January 12, 2022 by broncosfan_101

[grizmo78]

So looks like, as of now, these are our 2022 draft picks:

Round 1: DEN

Round 2: DEN, LAR

Round 3: DEN, LAR

Round 4: DEN

Round 5: DET, DEN

Round 6: PHI

Round 7: DET, DEN, SF

 

Next year's team is about to look a whole lot different with ample cap room and loaded draft capitol.

Edited November 2, 2021 by grizmo78

[BroncoBruin]

QB, O-Line and Front 7 all in need of massive upgrades. 

[broncosfan_101]

Remember that win vs Miami last year that I immediately said was gonna make us sick at the end of the year, that ended up dropping us from the 5th to 9th pick overall? We’re gonna look at yesterday’s win the same way next April. 

[BroncoBruin]

5 minutes ago, broncosfan_101 said:

Remember that win vs Miami last year that I immediately said was gonna make us sick at the end of the year, that ended up dropping us from the 5th to 9th pick overall? We’re gonna look at yesterday’s win the same way next April. 

It’s an issue every year, but in last year’s example I don’t think anything would have changed. They didn’t like Fields/Jones and didn’t need a WR so they probably still take Surtain.

[broncos67]

Drafting QB is the obvious need. In that case, I like Matt Corral. I think Carson Strong is also a very good prospect, but there's some health concerns there from what I've heard.

Realistically, with a Top 8-12 pick, I'm guessing positions like OL, CB, DE/DL/OLB are going to be the focus. I'd also speculate that a WR like Chris Olave could also be on the radar, though I'm skeptical we'd take a WR that early.

CB is firmly in play, IMO. Darby and Surtain will man the Top 2 spots, there's no guarantee Fuller is back, Callahan is oft-injured. I'd say don't sleep on a potential CB. Derek Stingley/Kaiir Elam/Andrew Booth are intriguing options.

There's definite OLB talent- Aiden Hutchinson, George Karlaftis are both very good prospects. Jordan Davis/Demarvin Leal at DT. Lot of options for us. 

[AnAngryAmerican]

1 hour ago, broncosfan_101 said:

Remember that win vs Miami last year that I immediately said was gonna make us sick at the end of the year, that ended up dropping us from the 5th to 9th pick overall? We’re gonna look at yesterday’s win the same way next April. 

Yesterday's win moved us from #12 to #17, so you're right, ouch. 

That said, look at our remaining schedule - at Cowboys, vs Eagles, vs Chargers, at Chiefs, vs Lions, vs Bengals, at Raiders, at Chargers, vs Chiefs - all but the Lions will be fighting for a playoff spot and, at the very, absolute most, I see three wins, that makes us 7-10. Frankly, I would bet on us losing out before winning more than three of those games. Trading Von today (with potentially more trades before tomorrow) will see the vets waive the white flag; everyone knows this season is over and I think you start seeing a lot of guys start making "business decisions" on there on the field. The players know the staff is gone after the season, there will be a new owner, a new team president and a almost certainly a new QB next year. 

I think we win two more (pick any two of Philly, Detroit and a division game) which makes us 6-11. 5-12 is very possible. 

Looking at the teams currently with 4-4 or 3-5 records, I think Carolina, New England, KC, Minnesota, San Fran, Seattle, Atlanta, Indy and Philly will all win more games in the second half of the season than we will. That alone moves us up nine spots. 

It's early and we could screw it up, but I foresee a top-10 pick in April but I'm an optimist 😁

[broncosfan_101]

A frustrating thing about the next couple of months will be not knowing what the coaching staff is gonna look like next year. Are we still looking at a 34 base on D? Corners who need to be proficient in zone? Is the offence gonna be so reliant on 11 personnel? 

[AnAngryAmerican]

34 minutes ago, broncosfan_101 said:

A frustrating thing about the next couple of months will be not knowing what the coaching staff is gonna look like next year. Are we still looking at a 34 base on D? Corners who need to be proficient in zone? Is the offence gonna be so reliant on 11 personnel? 

Good points. 

Furthermore, will Paton be given full free reign or will Elway and Ellis retain final say until their contracts officially expire in March? And the elephant in the room is once again when does the team get sold and, if it’s before hiring season, how much say does the new owner want in his/her HC? 

[lomaxgrUK]

Rogue opinion, but keen for everyone's thoughts - what about selecting a QB in the 1st round until we get one that is actually good?

It's a very simplistic view, but is it worth a try for a franchise like ours that has had such poor QB play since Elway retired, sans a 4 year period under a HOF QB (technically, 1 of those years had poor QB play)?

The obvious draw back is the potential dead cap situation you put yourself in. Well, my counter to that is that obtaining a quality QB, no matter how, is worth the cost of any dead cap you may encounter by cutting ties with 1st round picks early. And, we have a very recent example in the Arizona Cardinals of how that dead cap doesn't stop you progressing as a Football team.

Their staff got their shot to draft a new QB, despite having a top 10 draft choice on the roster. They weren't convinced after just 1 year, and moved on. 

All of this is dependent on who is in the draft, where you are picking, etc. But honestly, if we're picking in the top 15 every year I would welcome a fresh approach on how to obtain a Franchise QB. 

This team needs long term hope and some fresh ideas wouldn't go amiss.

I am not even saying I want this approach, just figured I would throw it out there for people's opinions.

[broncos67]

9 minutes ago, lomaxgrUK said:

Rogue opinion, but keen for everyone's thoughts - what about selecting a QB in the 1st round until we get one that is actually good?

It's a very simplistic view, but is it worth a try for a franchise like ours that has had such poor QB play since Elway retired, sans a 4 year period under a HOF QB (technically, 1 of those years had poor QB play)?

The obvious draw back is the potential dead cap situation you put yourself in. Well, my counter to that is that obtaining a quality QB, no matter how, is worth the cost of any dead cap you may encounter by cutting ties with 1st round picks early. And, we have a very recent example in the Arizona Cardinals of how that dead cap doesn't stop you progressing as a Football team.

Their staff got their shot to draft a new QB, despite having a top 10 draft choice on the roster. They weren't convinced after just 1 year, and moved on. 

All of this is dependent on who is in the draft, where you are picking, etc. But honestly, if we're picking in the top 15 every year I would welcome a fresh approach on how to obtain a Franchise QB. 

This team needs long term hope and some fresh ideas wouldn't go amiss.

I am not even saying I want this approach, just figured I would throw it out there for people's opinions.

I'm completely for this approach if we're not trading away tons of assets every year to make it happen. Denver also needs to decide what kind of QB is best. We've gone after immobile statues for the most part. Have to wonder why we wouldn't embrace more of a dual threat QB given the current state of the league. 

[lomaxgrUK]

1 hour ago, broncos67 said:

I'm completely for this approach if we're not trading away tons of assets every year to make it happen. Denver also needs to decide what kind of QB is best. We've gone after immobile statues for the most part. Have to wonder why we wouldn't embrace more of a dual threat QB given the current state of the league. 

Yeh, I probably should have clarified the trading aspect in my post.

The (hypothetical) approach would be basically to stay at the original pick (or close to) and basically take the best available QB. After all, if we're starting a rookie QB and we don't think he's good then there is every chance we're picking very early in the following draft where we're going to draft another QB.

In essence, it's a 'sink or swim' approach for these young QBs. Where it becomes difficult is knowing whether your drafted guy is a late bloomer or not, but how often does that really happen? And anyway, I would say each QB would be on the roster a minimum of 2 years so if they are a later bloomer, they'll have 2 years in the same program to show what they are made of.

[Broncofan]

2 hours ago, lomaxgrUK said:

Rogue opinion, but keen for everyone's thoughts - what about selecting a QB in the 1st round until we get one that is actually good?

It's a very simplistic view, but is it worth a try for a franchise like ours that has had such poor QB play since Elway retired, sans a 4 year period under a HOF QB (technically, 1 of those years had poor QB play)?

The obvious draw back is the potential dead cap situation you put yourself in. Well, my counter to that is that obtaining a quality QB, no matter how, is worth the cost of any dead cap you may encounter by cutting ties with 1st round picks early. And, we have a very recent example in the Arizona Cardinals of how that dead cap doesn't stop you progressing as a Football team.

Their staff got their shot to draft a new QB, despite having a top 10 draft choice on the roster. They weren't convinced after just 1 year, and moved on. 

All of this is dependent on who is in the draft, where you are picking, etc. But honestly, if we're picking in the top 15 every year I would welcome a fresh approach on how to obtain a Franchise QB. 

This team needs long term hope and some fresh ideas wouldn't go amiss.

I am not even saying I want this approach, just figured I would throw it out there for people's opinions.

 

1 hour ago, broncos67 said:

I'm completely for this approach if we're not trading away tons of assets every year to make it happen. Denver also needs to decide what kind of QB is best. We've gone after immobile statues for the most part. Have to wonder why we wouldn't embrace more of a dual threat QB given the current state of the league. 

 

1 hour ago, lomaxgrUK said:

Yeh, I probably should have clarified the trading aspect in my post.

The (hypothetical) approach would be basically to stay at the original pick (or close to) and basically take the best available QB. After all, if we're starting a rookie QB and we don't think he's good then there is every chance we're picking very early in the following draft where we're going to draft another QB.

In essence, it's a 'sink or swim' approach for these young QBs. Where it becomes difficult is knowing whether your drafted guy is a late bloomer or not, but how often does that really happen? And anyway, I would say each QB would be on the roster a minimum of 2 years so if they are a later bloomer, they'll have 2 years in the same program to show what they are made of.

 

If anything, teams should be willing to take this approach when they lack a QB - as long as the guy has a real Rd1 grade.    Guys like Drew Lock, etc. - easy pass in Rd1.   But yes, if we are in position, and Josh Allen is there (and to be fair, Josh Rosen had the same grade - so that's the risk) in 2018, or this past year, Justin Fields....then take the shot.   It's not quite every year, but it's a far cry from what we've seen the FO do.    The way the approach above fails is when Rd1 has no guys left at that spot - and then horrible reaches ensue.   Even then, though - the approach could be modified to get a Rd2-3 guy as potential competition (like Jalen Hurts - who is pretty awful IRL, but has some value to at least keep trying, but with a lower pricetag).   Ppl forget that WFT drafted Kirk Cousins in Rd3 the same year as they drafted RG3, presumably as a backup, but also as plan B in case something happened to RG3 (one of the few truly great decisions WFT's FO made in that era...ouch).

The worst thing the FO has done IMO is that they also go for need at QB, waiting until the year they say "we really don't have any options" - and then get locked in at QB.   They passed on the much deeper 2018 draft class to land Case Freaking Keenum - and then decided 2019 was the year to dive into QB....and then because of that, decided 2021 wasn't a year to invest in.     It would be ironic if 2022's Rd1 yielded a QB, when at this moment, Fields (who by the way had his best game of the year, and ran for 100+ yds - with HC Matt Nagy sidelined with Covid-19 - if anyone doubted how bad Nagy is as a O play caller - Fields still has a TON of work left, ideally he'd start only next year - but a ton of the bad film on Fields is CHI's total ineptitude in their coaching staff), would almost certainly be the top QB had he been in the 2022 draft class. 

Now, if Paton goes all-in for Russell Wilson, or Aaron Rodgers (or less likely Deshaun Watson, with legal issues resolved next offseason - still think MIA will end up with him) - then it's a clean slate for Paton, until that vet is done.   But the mindset could certainly use a complete overhaul, for sure.  In that respect, Paton shouldn't be afraid to invest multiple 1sts, especially if it's Russell Wilson (because at age 33 next year, he's likely got 5+ years of peak play - not every 33 year old QB will age gracefully skill-wise - but the ones that do all have the same trait - cannon arm strength & elite arm skills.  Guys like Brees, Eli, Rivers, Matt Ryan, Big Ben <had the arm talent, but lost it via injury> - only average arm strength.    I realize this is the Draft Thread, but just to say spending picks on Wilson is very much a no-brainer (and to a lesser extent, A-Rod because age 38 is scary to know how many more years it will last).

Edited November 2, 2021 by Broncofan

[jsthomp2007]

20 hours ago, broncosfan_101 said:

Remember that win vs Miami last year that I immediately said was gonna make us sick at the end of the year, that ended up dropping us from the 5th to 9th pick overall? We’re gonna look at yesterday’s win the same way next April. 

Dude go fly a kite somewhere.. Nobody cares about what you said last year, or this year. 

[broncosfan_101]

2 hours ago, jsthomp2007 said:

Dude go fly a kite somewhere.. Nobody cares about what you said last year, or this year. 

The class clown got pissy? Cool!

 

I really like Mat Corral. He reminds me a lot of Baker Mayfield, who I was also a big fan of. But Baker’s pro evaluation is tough. He hasn’t gone bust, but he also hasn’t turned into a top 10 QB. Is that the sort of progression Corral’s looking at? Because if so, we’ve gotta shoot higher. If we’re in the 10-15 range, I haven’t given up on Sam Howell as a potential franchise QB. He’s the youngest of the top end prospects in this draft, and he’s playing behind a poor OL. He looked awful vs VT on opening weekend, but he’s been quite good since.