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2023 NFL Draft Thread


broncos67

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Alright folks, figured I would get this thread started as we're about halfway through the season and currently sitting outside the playoff race.

Going into the draft, our draft pick situation is as follows:

  • R1 (from MIA via SF)
  • R3 (own)
  • R3 (from IND)
  • R4 (own)
  • R5 (own)
  • R6 (from PIT)

While not the most ideal in terms of re-stocking the cupboard, having a first rounder brings an opportunity at a high impact player.

Have not dug into the draft in full yet, but some positions I expect we would target in R1.

Offensive Line - I would expect first and foremost this is the position group we will target in both FA and the draft. 

Defensive Line- we absolutely need more bodies along the DL, but I don't view this as a particularly strong DL class overall.

Wide Receiver- I think it's a longshot that we take a R1 WR, but hear me out. Hamler has underperformed. Jeudy has underperformed. Sutton is a 50/50 guy. Patrick coming off an injury. Paton drafted none of them. He did re-sign Sutton/Patrick, so they are clearly part of the plan. The other two? Who knows. I think this position is in play if we trade down.

Running Back - I view this as somewhat more likely than WR, believe it or not. Paton clearly values RB. He traded up for Javonte. But after that injury, it's unclear he'll ever be the same. The best weapon for Denver going forward, IMO, is a strong run game to complement Russ. Bijon Robinson/Jamhyr Gibbs are exceptional talent. Our RB position went from awesome to awful - might be worth looking at.

CB/EDGE- I don't see us going with either of these positions in the draft, but I've been wrong before. We traded Chubb because of the edge depth we have. CB could be a bit more likely if we move on from Darby this offseason.

 

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Given our first will be in that no man’s land of the last 10 picks, I would be looking to trade down for an early 2nd and 3rd with a team looking to get their pick of one of those WRs likely to go in that range (Jacksonville?). 

 

 

then with our 4 top picks between ~35-75 stock up on linemen. (my schedule has me working most Sundays so I catch more college ball than pro ball this year) 

 

 Everyone know I love the OL game. I think our guards are set but literally every other spot could be upgraded. 

 

My targets include:

 

OC: Sedrick Van Pran, Georgia: not sure if he comes out as he’s a RS sophomore, but man o man do I love watching this kid play. Aggressive hands. Good anchor. Great feet in the box and on the move. Honestly he might be such a riser that we have to spend our first on him and I’m Ok with that.

 

Andrew Raym, OU: another kid I love to watch play. Another kid I could see eventually earn a 1st round grade. When I first saw him play I thought it was creed Humphrey highlights. Size, athleticism, technique. He has it all. Will only have a year of experience and this I worry about that. How does he respond when teams adjust for him?

 

Jarrett Patterson, ND: solid technique, aggressive in the run game. Apparently has never given up a sack in his career but I honestly don’t know how. He has a great anchor but sloppy feet in recovery. His biggest issue is that he’s so damn tall that it may prove to be too much of an issue with our QB

 

*note: I’m seeing a bunch of hype for the kid from Minnesota, John Michael Schmitz.  He has great hands and moves well in the box, executes reach blocks well but lacks an anchor and lumbers when he runs so would not fit an outside zone scheme. Reminds me a lot of LC3.

 

OT:

Anton Harrison, OU: huge frame but lacks the sand in his pants at this point. Very smooth mirroring his opposition. Aggressive strong hands. Quick off the ball. Always takes the right angles. Great footwork. Hips like a CB, just flips them soooo smoothly. Definitely more finesse than mauler. Likely falls due to the fact that he needs time in the gym but I see pro bowl LT potential there. 

 

Carter Warren, Pitt: super smooth athlete, great feet and mirror. Active in the run game but not… nasty? Doesn’t seem to have that finisher instinct. Honestly reminds me of Tony Jones.

 

Parris Johnson, OSU: great physical traits. Great technique when employed correctly. My concern with his is his slow reaction time. Always seems a half beat behind off the line, and a half beat behind when being stunted on. Maybe that improves with coaching? I think he will be taken in the first round based off of his potential but I would be hesitant to take him before the 2nd round.

 

Dawand Jones, OSU: let’s talk about Johnson’s partner on the right. Dude destroys everyone in his path. Long arms that latch on and don’t let go. Horrible feet. Reminds me of Muti. He will do well on a power run team like the titans, ravens, or cowboys. Given that Russ loves the deep ball probably not a fit for us.

 

Darnell Wright, Tenn: playing out of position this year as a LT. Looks like a smaller slightly faster Dawand Jones. Where as jones is such a dichotomy when comparing his run game to his pass pro, Wright is more of a regression to the mean. Still better in the run game than the pass game but not as dominant/much of a liability as Jones.

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I'm with you on the trade down UK. Given Paton's propensity for stockpiling picks, I could absolutely see this. I can't say I'd mind, depending on who is available. I do like Parris Johnson from the above, but I'm doubtful he'll be there.

I also think a case can be made generally to simply take the best available offensive player at any position. WR probably a longshot, but some of the guys on this team Paton didn't draft, may not want, or don't offer anything meaningful. I would, for example, not be shocked if Jeudy and/or Hamler is traded. 

I love Skoronski at OL but he's wayyyyy out of our league in terms of position. Homer pick in me says Jaelyn Duncan from Maryland. He'll be a nice RT option in the league IMO.

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22 minutes ago, broncos_fan _from _uk said:

Given our first will be in that no man’s land of the last 10 picks, I would be looking to trade down for an early 2nd and 3rd with a team looking to get their pick of one of those WRs likely to go in that range (Jacksonville?). 

 

 

then with our 4 top picks between ~35-75 stock up on linemen. (my schedule has me working most Sundays so I catch more college ball than pro ball this year) 

 

 Everyone know I love the OL game. I think our guards are set but literally every other spot could be upgraded. 

 

My targets include:

 

OC: Sedrick Van Pran, Georgia: not sure if he comes out as he’s a RS sophomore, but man o man do I love watching this kid play. Aggressive hands. Good anchor. Great feet in the box and on the move. Honestly he might be such a riser that we have to spend our first on him and I’m Ok with that.

 

Andrew Raym, OU: another kid I love to watch play. Another kid I could see eventually earn a 1st round grade. When I first saw him play I thought it was creed Humphrey highlights. Size, athleticism, technique. He has it all. Will only have a year of experience and this I worry about that. How does he respond when teams adjust for him?

 

Jarrett Patterson, ND: solid technique, aggressive in the run game. Apparently has never given up a sack in his career but I honestly don’t know how. He has a great anchor but sloppy feet in recovery. His biggest issue is that he’s so damn tall that it may prove to be too much of an issue with our QB

 

*note: I’m seeing a bunch of hype for the kid from Minnesota, John Michael Schmitz.  He has great hands and moves well in the box, executes reach blocks well but lacks an anchor and lumbers when he runs so would not fit an outside zone scheme. Reminds me a lot of LC3.

 

OT:

Anton Harrison, OU: huge frame but lacks the sand in his pants at this point. Very smooth mirroring his opposition. Aggressive strong hands. Quick off the ball. Always takes the right angles. Great footwork. Hips like a CB, just flips them soooo smoothly. Definitely more finesse than mauler. Likely falls due to the fact that he needs time in the gym but I see pro bowl LT potential there. 

 

Carter Warren, Pitt: super smooth athlete, great feet and mirror. Active in the run game but not… nasty? Doesn’t seem to have that finisher instinct. Honestly reminds me of Tony Jones.

 

Parris Johnson, OSU: great physical traits. Great technique when employed correctly. My concern with his is his slow reaction time. Always seems a half beat behind off the line, and a half beat behind when being stunted on. Maybe that improves with coaching? I think he will be taken in the first round based off of his potential but I would be hesitant to take him before the 2nd round.

 

Dawand Jones, OSU: let’s talk about Johnson’s partner on the right. Dude destroys everyone in his path. Long arms that latch on and don’t let go. Horrible feet. Reminds me of Muti. He will do well on a power run team like the titans, ravens, or cowboys. Given that Russ loves the deep ball probably not a fit for us.

 

Darnell Wright, Tenn: playing out of position this year as a LT. Looks like a smaller slightly faster Dawand Jones. Where as jones is such a dichotomy when comparing his run game to his pass pro, Wright is more of a regression to the mean. Still better in the run game than the pass game but not as dominant/much of a liability as Jones.

I love the approach, no shocker there. On the OL you need a guy or two every year to develop. Shanahan tossed Gibbs a bone about every year and he made the most of them.

Right now, we don't have the talent on staff to develop anyone on the OL.

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5 minutes ago, broncos67 said:

I'm with you on the trade down UK. Given Paton's propensity for stockpiling picks, I could absolutely see this. I can't say I'd mind, depending on who is available. I do like Parris Johnson from the above, but I'm doubtful he'll be there.

I also think a case can be made generally to simply take the best available offensive player at any position. WR probably a longshot, but some of the guys on this team Paton didn't draft, may not want, or don't offer anything meaningful. I would, for example, not be shocked if Jeudy and/or Hamler is traded. 

I love Skoronski at OL but he's wayyyyy out of our league in terms of position. Homer pick in me says Jaelyn Duncan from Maryland. He'll be a nice RT option in the league IMO.

I actually haven’t seen any Terps games this year. I’ll have to keep an eye out!

and I 100% agree with you on Skoronski! Kid could be the second non-Qb selected.

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49 minutes ago, broncos_fan _from _uk said:

I actually haven’t seen any Terps games this year. I’ll have to keep an eye out!

and I 100% agree with you on Skoronski! Kid could be the second non-Qb selected.

Yeah, Duncan has been a big reason for the success in the run game. He just needs a coach to clean up some technique. He's only played football since HS but is a tremendous athlete and has a nasty streak.

Skoronski is a dream. The guy is so technically sound across the board. I'd kill to have him. Check out the kid from PSU as well. Olumuyiwa Fashanu - another Big Ten OL that should have a nice career.

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2 minutes ago, broncos67 said:

Yeah, Duncan has been a big reason for the success in the run game. He just needs a coach to clean up some technique. He's only played football since HS but is a tremendous athlete and has a nasty streak.

Skoronski is a dream. The guy is so technically sound across the board. I'd kill to have him. Check out the kid from PSU as well. Olumuyiwa Fashanu - another Big Ten OL that should have a nice career.

Fashanu is my dream but he'll probably be first tackle off the board. I'm almost always in favor of trading down unless there is an obvious need/BPA combo when we're on the board. 

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10 minutes ago, broncos_fan _from _uk said:

Honestly I think both Van Pram and Raym could be on that level

I'd have no problem spending a 1st there. 

Until we traded our picks last year my dream draft was to move around a bit and pick up Jordan Davis and Tyler. Turns out the value chart assigned exactly the points for our 1st and 2nd to the draft placement of both guys/

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17 hours ago, AKRNA said:

I'd have no problem spending a 1st there. 

Until we traded our picks last year my dream draft was to move around a bit and pick up Jordan Davis and Tyler. Turns out the value chart assigned exactly the points for our 1st and 2nd to the draft placement of both guys/

I don't see any center being first round worthy, but from UKs original post, could certainly see us trading down. 

Not sure what the FA landscape is, but frankly, I'd prefer we look at bringing in a veteran OC instead of drafting one and focus on drafting some interior OL/RT.

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4 hours ago, broncos67 said:

I don't see any center being first round worthy, but from UKs original post, could certainly see us trading down. 

Not sure what the FA landscape is, but frankly, I'd prefer we look at bringing in a veteran OC instead of drafting one and focus on drafting some interior OL/RT.

Probably better. I have no confidence at this point in our ability to develop OLineman. I wonder what OL coaches are available.

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5 hours ago, broncos67 said:

I don't see any center being first round worthy, but from UKs original post, could certainly see us trading down. 

Not sure what the FA landscape is, but frankly, I'd prefer we look at bringing in a veteran OC instead of drafting one and focus on drafting some interior OL/RT.

I'd throw the bag at Erik McCoy if New Orleans lets him test the market. That would be a huge get. 

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On 11/14/2022 at 1:24 PM, paul-mac said:

Assuming Risner is back, we need a C and RT minimum. I like Meinerz and Bolles still

George has to, HAS TO, address the RT position that has been a revolving door since Orlando Franklin left (he was Elway’s second-ever pick, after Von), that’s how long we’ve had issues there. 

I think it’s almost certain that Risner is back, and Bolles of course, and Minerz looks like a more than solid RG going forward. But OC and, especially RT, are musts. 

I like the trade down idea to get us two early-impact guys. Value to be had for IOL in the 2nd and 3rd and you can even snag a good, day-one RT starter in the 2nd as well.

I’d have no problem spending the first four picks on offense if we can land a RT, C, WR and RB as Ben alluded to. Use what’s left for BPA on the DL, CB, ILB, and guys who can earn a roster spot as special teamers 

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