2022 College Prospect Thread

[lomaxgrUK]

1 hour ago, big_palooka said:

We worry the same of the Broncos. Jimmy G won't stay healthy, that's a given. It would be entertaining to see week 18 have some weight as to the top pick. 

 

Yeh, that's been the Broncos problem for years. Bad, but not bad enough. Feels like we're worse than usual this year, but Wilson is going to eek out a few wins I'd imagine.

[AKRNA]

20 hours ago, grizmo78 said:

Thoughts on Jayden Daniels as a second round target? While still a little bit raw (somewhat concerning for a 5th year senior), the talent is pretty undeniable. He moves up in the pocket well, seems to read defenses pretty well and make touch throws over linebackers. I'd like for him to gain some size and be a little smarter about running when he's in the nfl but could be a good gamble if we're not in position for one of the top 2 qbs. 

Edit: Forgot we don't have a 2nd rounder this year 🙄. Maybe a target if we trade down and pick up another 2nd rounder this year... 

 

What happened to our 2nd?

Edited October 27, 2023 by AKRNA

[grizmo78]

Just now, AKRNA said:

What happened to out 2nd?

Sent to the Saints for Payton

[AKRNA]

1 minute ago, grizmo78 said:

Sent to the Saints for Payton

A 1st and a 2nd for him? 

[grizmo78]

1 minute ago, AKRNA said:

A 1st and a 2nd for him? 

2023 1st and 2024 2nd for Sean Payton and 2024 3rd

[AKRNA]

1 hour ago, grizmo78 said:

2023 1st and 2024 2nd for Sean Payton and 2024 3rd

Ya ever get the feeling Patons strong suit isn't negotiation?

[broncos67]

On 10/27/2023 at 3:47 PM, AKRNA said:

Ya ever get the feeling Patons strong suit isn't negotiation?

I think he's actually a decent negotiator (we've gotten good value in many trades). I suspect this trade was as much the Penner family as it was Paton. Just a hunch.

[Cutler06]

With Caleb probably a dream right now, we have to look, again to the future/ With RW 's new contract coming into the salary cap next year, looks like it's time to start building this team to accommodate our next QB target. Feels like Wilson is just not in sync with SP to win a lot of games, so perhaps we'll be looking at a familiar name in Broncos lore: Arch Manning in 2026, easy to cut RW by then

Edited November 1, 2023 by Cutler06

[broncos67]

Bumping this up as I'm looking around the internet at mock drafts. The recent win streak has us sitting at 19th in the current draft order. 

Assuming we stay around this position, I think it'll be fascinating to see what direction we go. I think we can rule out OL as a pick at this point. McGlinchey and Bolles have done more than enough to keep their spots. Cushenberry has been good, and the guards have been as well. I don't see us spending the capital on OT when we have other needs.

DL is the most glaring need but the DL class is really not that good at all. The good news is that it's possible Jer'Zhan Newton is available at our pick. Best prospect in the class and would fill a need along the DL immediately. 

EDGE feels like a direction we could certainly go in R1. Jared Verse, Chop Robinson, Bralen Trice are all options that seem like they'll be in range for us. Chop Robinson in particular feels like a guy Payton will like based on past picks he's made. 

There's a lot of QBs I could see being available in this range - Penix, McCarthy, Bo Nix to name a few. Going to be extremely interesting to see if that's a position we target. I think if we make the playoffs this year and continue winning, we may look elsewhere. If we don't make the playoffs, and in particular, if Russ really wets the bed down the stretch, it'll be fascinating to see what we do. 

There's a lot of CBs kicking around in that middle of the draft. I think we probably avoid this position in R1 given we drafted Moss last year, but there's definitely some talent. I love Cooper DeJean in this range personally. Kalen King from PSU is going to be a good one and I wouldn't mind taking a flier there.

Finally, maybe most controversial, but this is a very talented WR draft, and even though it seems counterintuitive, I would not be shocked to see us go this direction. I would guess one or more of Sutton/Patrick/Jeudy will not be on this team next year. I think it's also somewhat telling that Mims hasn't gotten more run this year. He'll be a part of the WR corps going forward but who knows what his role will be. 

Some WR names to consider - Malik Nabers, Emeka Ogbuka, Keon Coleman, Rome Odunze. I think realistically Nabers would be an elite fit in the offense, but the other guys would all bring us something different.

[broncofan48]

I could see a trade back being a real possibility too depending on where we end up

[AnAngryAmerican]

2 hours ago, broncofan48 said:

I could see a trade back being a real possibility too depending on where we end up

I agree. Sean will want to have as many of "his guys" as possible and there are only so many former Saints we can sign on the open market. 

I'm not an expert on the prospects but, from what I've read, this draft class has a lot of depth. If we move down to the mid-20s and get a late 2nd in exchange that could be helpful. 

[broncos67]

4 minutes ago, AnAngryAmerican said:

I agree. Sean will want to have as many of "his guys" as possible and there are only so many former Saints we can sign on the open market. 

I'm not an expert on the prospects but, from what I've read, this draft class has a lot of depth. If we move down to the mid-20s and get a late 2nd in exchange that could be helpful. 

I think a trade back feels realistic given our lack of picks and the fact that some QB-needy teams may be eyeing up our spot for a trade. Certainly not opposed to it, and we know Paton likes to wheel and deal.

[broncosfan_101]

I’d be quite open to an offensive lineman in the 1st. Ben Powers has been average at absolute best this season, and next year he’s supposed to be paid like a top 10 OG. We can save $12M against the cap by cutting him, and I think that’s the play. Beyond that, Bolles is about to turn 32 with one year left on his deal. If we can get a guy like Amarius Mims, “redshirting” him for a year at LG before sliding over to LT in 2025 would be an idea. Or a guy like Fautanu out of Washington who’s got lots of experience both inside and outside (not sure he’s a 1st rounder, but with a trade back that’s another option). 
 

Jer’Zhan Newton is my absolute guy, though. He’s so so good, and he’s probably gonna go 15 picks later than he should because he’s only 6’2” 295lbs. I’ll take the elite football player with non-elite measurable over the opposite every time. 
 

My Jayden Daniels dream is probably dead. He’ll go top 10. Like 67 said though, that next tier of QB’s is very intriguing. A guy like Carson Beck could be a target. I read somewhere that he’s 8th in EPA when being pressured, and 1st in average time to throw. Some of that will be because of Georgia’s horizontal offence, and I wish we’d have more reps of him pushing the ball downfield, but it shows at least some level of quick processing which might be my #1 trait in a QB prospect. I also think we’ve got to start looking at the possibility of Russ being the guy for the next few years. I know Payton was horny for Mahomes before the Brees era ended, so there’s always a chance he moves on from Russ, but I think the QB play is progressing as the year goes on, so the need to find a replacement probably isn’t so urgent.

 

My draft needs list, if I can make it as basic as possible, would go something like: 

1. front 7

T-2. QB

T-2. OL

4. offensive weapons

5. DB’s

[AKRNA]

1 hour ago, broncosfan_101 said:

Jer’Zhan Newton is my absolute guy, though. He’s so so good, and he’s probably gonna go 15 picks later than he should because he’s only 6’2” 295lbs. I’ll take the elite football player with non-elite measurable over the opposite every time. 
 

 

Well, I know very little about the college kids, no surprise though, I never do. I count on you guys for that. About the guy you mentioned though, Aaron Donald is only 6'1", 280 and is a sure fire 1st ballot HOF guy. Just sayin.........

Also, I'm a bit curious about TE's. That's a tool this offense really needs. I think when draft day comes Sean will just go BPA. So far I've read good reasons why we should target almost every position on the field. There's really not one spot where a great college player wouldn't help us.

 

[broncos_fan _from _uk]

9 hours ago, AKRNA said:

Well, I know very little about the college kids, no surprise though, I never do. I count on you guys for that. About the guy you mentioned though, Aaron Donald is only 6'1", 280 and is a sure fire 1st ballot HOF guy. Just sayin.........

 

 

Which is a great comparison, stylistically. Both are one gap DTs who are best penetrating. Whether an even or odd front he would be our 3T. I agree with 101, he’s my top target right now.

 

10 hours ago, broncosfan_101 said:

I think the QB play is progressing as the year goes on, so the need to find a replacement probably isn’t so urgent.

I disagree with you here. Russ has been THE limiting factor of this offense. I have said this elsewhere, but Sean is scheming guys wide open and Russ still hits them off target. If he could simply hit a WR in stride the broncos would score 10-14 more points a game. But every. Single. Throw is off. Behind the receiver. In the dirt. Leading them directly into the defender. Jerry jeudy is legit one of the better route runners in the league, but he doesn’t have that dawg in him to fight for balls. You have to lead him away from the defender and Russ can’t do that at this point. So our passing game is reliant on throwing 50/50 balls to Sutton.

additionally, likely due to his height as this has been an issue his entire career, he cant hit between the hash marks less than 20 yards unless it’s a broken play where he throws once he’s scrambled beyond the OL.

That brings us to the fact that he can’t step up into the pocket (not sure if it’s a height thing) but he starts scrambling before there is pressure. It’s hard on the lineman when they don’t know where the QB is. Can’t block to protect a pocket cuz Russ will just escape the pocket and run into the defender. it’s why the IOL has suddenly looked so good on paper. Sean isn’t trying to make Russ stay in the pocket (and this get eaten by the internal pass rush), unfortunately as we’ve seen that means that the offense can never get into a rhythm. This team lives and does by the big play. Due to repeated short fields they’ve been able to make just enough big plays to score just enough points to win. But it’s not sustainable long term. 
 

TLDR: Russ is still getting worse but Sean is scheming him into a very limited scheme that allows hims some semblance of success. QB is still very much a need but we shouldn’t take one high just to take one.