2022 College Prospect Thread

[grizmo78]

Can't say I care much for Guerendo unless its a 6th round flyer. Watching him play you can see the athlete he is but I question his ability to read what's in front of him and make the right choices. Too often he tries to bounce things outside. His route tree on the receiving end is pretty lack luster as well. 

I doubt we take a running back this year since we're low on picks, high on needs and have a decent running back room with Williams another year removed from injury, Perine and McLaughlin. If we were looking, Trey Benson is my clear #1. Love his ability to play in tight spaces, his contact balance and the speed he showed off at the combine. Took a look at Jonathan Brooks and his speed is nice but he always looked half a second too slow. He'd often make the right decision but just not quite as instinctual as Trey is. 

Watched a little bit of Pearsall after the combine he put up and I like him. Seems to have good feel for the position and I appreciate his willingness to block. 

I'm going to come back to Penix and why I like him a lot. If you watch JJ McCarthy's combine immediately followed by Penix's you see just how much more accurate Penix is. The ball placement is so much better. Then in comparison to Nix, you see how much better Penix anticipates routes and throws on time. If he's there in the second (and we end up having a 2nd) he would be a fantastic fit. 

I appreciated Rattler as well. He was the only QB I watched that didn't stare down the WR during the drills. He started looking in the middle of the field before snapping his head and throwing the pass. There was definitely some inconsistency and he struggled throwing the fades but otherwise looked good. I'd be happy with taking a shot on him in the 3rd. 

I also watched a little bit of Pratt and he looks like a JAG to me. Too often he's a 1 read then run. He looked nice showing good arm strength and accuracy but I didn't see enough ability to read the defense. It's tough to have a strong opinion on a player like him though as the interviews would be so important to his evaluation. Without that, I'd lean towards rather sticking with Stidham for a year than spend a 4th or higher on him. 

I'm also pretty low on Sweat (I'd be hesitant to take him in the first 2 rounds) mainly because I don't think he thinks his 366lbs is a problem and thus I don't see him as more than a 2 down player. That's not to say he cant provide some pass rush, but his endurance isn't going to allow him to play enough and I worry he'll gain even more weight. 

Also low on Darius Robinson. You see his length but his upper body and lower body are not in sync at all. Another good athlete but I don't see a football player. 

I'm probably going to watch a little bit of Verse and Fiske next then McCaffery and McConkey. 

Edited March 3 by grizmo78

[Broncofan]

If we want a sleeper Rd5+ RB I’m all over Dylan Laube.   Such a complete game and a weapon in the pass game yet has real running ability.   Competition is the reason he’s under the radar IMO.  

[AKRNA]

On 2/26/2024 at 2:57 PM, broncos_fan _from _uk said:

 Van Pran against SEC defenses gave up lass sacks in 3 years of starting as JPJ gave up in 1 (1). Also we’re talking about the same JPJ that couldn’t supplant Forsyth (the one currently on the broncos) for 3 years at Oregon? 
 

don’t get me wrong. He looked good this year, but SVP has looked better the last 3 years. Yes he can occasionally get pushed back but he plays with great technique, has an insanely high football IQ, and has demonstrated it against the best time and again. 

Actually, I don't think either would supplant Forsyth this year. I think he'll shock us all by being a huge upgrade over Cush and a long term answer at center. He was damned good coming out of college and a year in an NFL program didn't hurt him any.

[Cutler06]

2 hours ago, AKRNA said:

Actually, I don't think either would supplant Forsyth this year. I think he'll shock us all by being a huge upgrade over Cush and a long term answer at center. He was damned good coming out of college and a year in an NFL program didn't hurt him any.

Agreed. And there HAD to be a reason why he was kept on the active roster for the whole season. 

[Cutler06]

6 hours ago, Broncofan said:

If we want a sleeper Rd5+ RB I’m all over Dylan Laube.   Such a complete game and a weapon in the pass game yet has real running ability.   Competition is the reason he’s under the radar IMO.  

Heard good things about Laube but seems he is redundant with MacLaughlin.

[Broncofan]

42 minutes ago, Cutler06 said:

Heard good things about Laube but seems he is redundant with MacLaughlin.

McLaughlin IMO isn’t more than a COP guy.   We also have to think about life after Ja’vonte’s rookie deal.     What I’d really like is to have to a RB who’s a threat in the pass game on all downs and not give away that it’s outside run only.  
 

Having 2 rookie deal RB esp if it’s not expensive capital wise is the kind of cap leverage we need.    I love Laube because he’s so inexpensive yet has high ceiling traits.    Sadly we need these to rebuild the roster.    

Edited March 4 by Broncofan

[AKRNA]

2 hours ago, Cutler06 said:

Agreed. And there HAD to be a reason why he was kept on the active roster for the whole season. 

Absolutely! I think Sean just "redshirted" his starting center for the next decade.

[AKRNA]

On 2/27/2024 at 2:53 AM, broncos_fan _from _uk said:

I assumed since he was at the senior bowl he redshirted a season. I must have been wrong.

JPJ is more athletic moving laterally and more sand in his pants against the bull rush.

Both are aggressive finishers with good technique. 

SVP has shown the ability to recover against 1st round draft picks. He plays with great leverage and angles when going against better athletes and an ability to recover when he makes a mid-step.

i think both will be good. I think JPJ is being overrated because his play style involves a lot of movement and results in big blocks against lesser opponents. I think SVP is being underrated because for a 3rd straight year he was boringly dominant against NFL caliber talent. 

So, UK and @grizmo78 I'm enjoying the conversation, Good stuff! Anyway, here's what I'm thinking. Our RG and Center are going to be more than solid with Forsyth and Meinerz. Top 10 at LT with Bolles. IMO our high priced FA's are flops at LG and RT. There's got to be a solution at LG in the middle rounds, maybe one of your "short armed" RT's UK. 

Personally I wouldn't be surprised if we drafted an OT in Rd 1. Someone good enough to move to LT when Bolles retires. 

Help me out guys, where's the realistic draft solution?

[broncos67]

On 2/29/2024 at 5:55 PM, AKRNA said:

@broncos67 got me onto that kid. I think he'll be a great one. hardnosed throwback that loves seeking out contact. I don't really care when they pick him. Barring injury  he'll play in the NFL a long time.

I'm all about him if we don't take Bowers. He's exactly what we need in the red zone and short/intermediate middle of the field routes. Hopefully we find a way to snag him.

[broncos67]

On 3/1/2024 at 5:47 PM, broncos_fan _from _uk said:

This got me to thinking. Let’s say we are 100% taking a QB in this draft. What is your preferred (realistic) scenario? Knowing that it’s a sum zero game. How would you maximize your capital?

for me I'm Assuming Williams/Maye/Daniels go 1/2/3. I just have a hard time seeing a scenario where that doesn’t happen.

1) trade down in the first and accumulate second round picks (this year and the future). Take Pratt or Rattler in the 3rd.

2) take McCarthy at 12

3) trade down in the first and accumulate second round picks (this year and the future). Take Penix in the second.

4) trade up and take Maye

5) trade up and take Daniels

6) trade down in the first and accumulate second round picks (this year and the future). Take Nix in the late 1st

7) trade up and take Williams 

I think QBs go 1-4 when it's all said and done, but I've been wrong before. I am starting to believe we're not going to take a QB R1.

I have 3 real preferences:

1. McCarthy R1 (picks 8-12)

2. Trade down, accumulate picks, take Rattler/Pratt

3. Trade down, accumulate picks, take Penix/Nix

I don't think Caleb/Daniels/Maye are on the table for us. We simply don't have the draft capital other teams do nor do I think it's prudent to trade all of those picks. The only thing that changes the calculus there is if we trade Surtain as part of a package and don't part with future picks.

[broncos67]

Chop Robinson is going to shoot up draft boards and he's a guy I could see Payton falling in love with. I think I even said something to that effect in this thread months ago. 

Also, if we stay at 12, there's going to be some serious talent there. I would sprint to the podium for Dallas Turner, Brock Bowers, or one of the OTs that should be there at 12.

[grizmo78]

7 hours ago, AKRNA said:

So, UK and @grizmo78 I'm enjoying the conversation, Good stuff! Anyway, here's what I'm thinking. Our RG and Center are going to be more than solid with Forsyth and Meinerz. Top 10 at LT with Bolles. IMO our high priced FA's are flops at LG and RT. There's got to be a solution at LG in the middle rounds, maybe one of your "short armed" RT's UK. 

Personally I wouldn't be surprised if we drafted an OT in Rd 1. Someone good enough to move to LT when Bolles retires. 

Help me out guys, where's the realistic draft solution?

Take my evaluations with a grain of salt. I'm by no means a good evaluator, just like noting my observations to look back on. 

My take on draft solutions is that we could literally do anything and it can be justified. I can see a scenario where Bolles is traded and we take a tackle in the 1st (not preferred, his contract is a bargain for what he provides). We can trade up for a QB, trade down to get picks, take a defensive player, etc etc. We're so devoid of talent at every position that it's all on the table.

That said, unless we trade Bolles I don't see us taking a tackle this year. McGlinchey is our starting RT at the very least next year before he becomes cutable the following year. Same situation with Ben Powers at LG. Meinerz hopefully is getting a fat extension to be our RG for a long time. Center is the only spot open depending on if we bring Cush back (I hope not) or if the coaches are comfortable with Forsyth taking over. 

[thebestever6]

I love Lad Mcconkey.

[MontanaBronco]

This draft is deep at the wideout position but also with three elite talents in odunze, harrison, and nabers. I think it’s most likely that if we do target a wideout it will be with our 3rd round selection but I could see one of those three falling and being heavily considered at 12 or potentially a bit later with a trade down. The one nice thing about not having a lot of young talent on our team is that we are truly in a position to go BPA in my opinion. That’s a good thing, right? Right? 
 

(prolly less likely odunze because he is pretty much a sutton clone) 

Edited March 10 by MontanaBronco

[AKRNA]

5 hours ago, MontanaBronco said:

 The one nice thing about not having a lot of young talent on our team is that we are truly in a position to go BPA in my opinion. That’s a good thing, right? Right? 
 

 

Truer words were never spoken. There's not one position where we couldn't use an impact player or even a solid contributer.