Who will be the Denver Broncos Rookie of the Year?

[elliot878]

Who will it be?

Garett Bolles - OL

DeMarcus Walker - DL

Carlos Henderson - WR/RB/RS

Brendan Langley - CB/RS

Jake Butt - TE

Isaiah McKenzie - WR/RB/RS

De'Angelo Henderson - RB

One of the un-drafted free agents.

 

I was quite underwhelmed with this draft class early on, but after rookie camp, and heading into training camp I'm a bit more optimistic.  I think there are several players who will make meaningful contributions to this team in year one.  Those players are:

Garett Bolles - I think he starts week 1 and I think there are growing pains, but he's got the athleticism to protect the blind side and the mean streak and attitude that this OL has needed in the worst way for a long time now.  Hope that mean streak rubs off on the rest of the OL.

DeMarcus Walker - He's my pick for most impactful rookie this year.  At Florida State he lived in the oppositions backfield whether that was making plays on the QB or tackles for loss in the run game, he was elite.  He doesn't have the girth you look for in a 3 man front, but he's just a football player and knows how to produce.  Production and "pure football player" wise he reminds me of Jurell Casey when he came out of college.  Hugely productive, but undersized, just a good football player who gets it and will produce.  I think DeMarcus Walker may be somewhat of a savior to our questionable 3 man front this season.

Carlos Henderson - I knew nothing about him at draft time, but reports from rookie camp and OTA's were promising.  Seems that he plays at a different speed than what we currently have, and we need that.  I think he could make an impact as a shifty player in the slot.

Jake Butt - Slam dunk pick and I'm hoping Elway found a year one starter in the 5th round, those are always nice.  Denver needs improvement at TE and Butt should provide that in all facets of the game early in his career.

De'Angelo Henderson - Super intrigued by this guy.  I saw his height at the draft and it was a huge cause for concern for me.  Then I saw his weight.  210 pounds at his height?  We've seen that work in the league before from a guy named Maurice Jones Drew.  I suspect Henderson's size kept him from big time programs, but he can clearly play. Yes, lower competition, but those numbers and that efficiency are eye popping.  He is a dark horse, but RB's tend to go down like flies.  I think Henderson could surprise, and if the OL shows the improvement we all expect could be productive.

[AnAngryAmerican]

I wasn't a fan of this draft, in fact it was my least favorite of Elway's tenure, because it overly-heavy on niche players. 

Garret Bolles was a classic reach for need pick. In most drafts, he wouldn't have sniffed the first round let alone discussed as someone from whom we wanted to trade up. He's undersized, has questionable technique, is 25 years old, played only one year in D1 and in a gimmick offense and while a nasty demeanor is nice it's also a recipe for penalties, something he led all of D1 lineman in last year. I think he wins the job but I don't see him becoming anything more than an average LT. 

DeMarcus Walker is a disruptive player who I like but, like many of our picks, it's a situational role-player, not an every-down player and that's generally want you want in a 2nd round pick. I think he contributes and plays well but he'll likely only see 30-40% of defensive snaps and he does nothing to help what was far and away our biggest problem on defense last year - stopping the run. At 280lbs there's no way he can hold up as a three- or five-technique in the base 3-4 formation. 

Carlos Henderson should win the starting slot WR job and I think he has big-time upside. I also think he will contribute in the return game. An offense like ours (or what I expect ours to be) where the goal is to get the ball into the hands of players in space and allow them to create after the catch is something where Henderson thrives. I think he has some bumps in the road early on but by the end of the season I think he is one of the more impactful rookies on the team. 

I like Brendan Langley's potential but he'll rarely see the field on defense this year. One, he's got 3 very good CBs in front of him on the depth chart, plus veterans Chris Lewis-Harris and Lorenzo Doss. I think he shines on special teams, most likely on punt and kickoff coverage as I see McKenzie and Carlos Henderson being the primary return guys. I think he has a bright future but this was clearly a draft-and-develop kind of pick, which is fine in the middle rounds when you our depth in the defensive backfield. 

Jake Butt was my favorite pick when it was made, a 2nd round talent at a 5th round price. Butt has the potential to be a Jason Witten-like player who can contribute as a blocker and pass catcher and should thrive in the redzone. The problem is that because of his injury he's going to be behind the curve and probably won't be making significant impacts until the latter half of the season. The good news is that, as a product of Michigan, he received NFL-like coaching (something only he and DeMarcus Walker bring to the table) and thus the college-to-NFL adjustment will not be an pronounced. 

Isiah McKenzie is another in a long line of niche players we drafted. He's tiny and thus I do not see any way how he could hold up for a 16+ game NFL season as a every-down player. But as someone who has some dynamic abilities in the return game he should make something of an impact. He's also someone who we can get the ball to in space on some gadget plays on offense a few times a game. 

I don't know too much about DeAngelo Henderson but the comparisons to MJD make sense if he has the field vision and instincts that MJD had. But we have a crowded backfield and with a more pass-oriented offense I'm not sure how many RBs we keep and thus DeAngelo is a candidate to be stashed on the PS. 

[Broncofan]

If Bolles isn't our team ROY, well, that's a huge problem.  Everyone else is just a role player, he's a key role starter.

Walker isn't big enough to play on rush downs, and Henderson needs time to digest the whole route tree, and would be our slot guy at best this year.   No one else has a clear role to even half-time duties for now.

Honestly, after Bolles, I don't think anyone else has a chance to be a starter in Year 1....maybe NT Jarrett, but that's likely in 2H of the season.

[Cutler06]

I'm going with I-McK (coining that one). I'll bet he has a HUGE impact on ST and will be a nice 4th or 5th receiver. I see at least  6 TD's from this playmaker !!1

[broncos67]

If it's not Bolles then he probably got hurt or something. I don't see any of the other rookies playing enough frankly. They may try to get the ball in McKenzie's hands from time to time, but he's not an every down guy at this stage. The rest of these guys are situational except Bolles. If Bolles performs like he's been reported to so far in camp it should be a runaway.

[thebestever6]

I got Carlos Henderson I know he started slow in camp. But for some reason Vance Joseph said he was out of shape. He is progressing and I just think his yards after the catch will be amazing. The guy breaks tackles and can dominate the middle of the field where there are the most soft spots.

 

I've been on record saying this is the best draft class since elway has become gm. It has steak and sizzle and these guys will make an impact for years to come. 

 

It's hard to find contributors throughout the draft our roster considered and this is the first complete draft I think Elway did that.

 

It's not 2011 looking for starters because denvers roster was below average, it's not 2012 looking for guys to help or replace peyton. It's a complete draft that will do wonders for us.

[broncos67]

On 8/10/2017 at 0:24 AM, thebestever6 said:

I got Carlos Henderson I know he started slow in camp. But for some reason Vance Joseph said he was out of shape. He is progressing and I just think his yards after the catch will be amazing. The guy breaks tackles and can dominate the middle of the field where there are the most soft spots.

 

I've been on record saying this is the best draft class since elway has become gm. It has steak and sizzle and these guys will make an impact for years to come. 

 

It's hard to find contributors throughout the draft our roster considered and this is the first complete draft I think Elway did that.

 

It's not 2011 looking for starters because denvers roster was below average, it's not 2012 looking for guys to help or replace peyton. It's a complete draft that will do wonders for us.

I'm incredibly skeptical that Henderson will see enough time. Right now, he needs to focus on catching the football to even see the field. McKenzie is quite clearly ahead of him in the pecking order.

[BroncosFan2010]

I think D-Henderson is going to have a super efficient year with a good number of explosive plays. He wont get the snaps to truly be the Broncos ROY, that falls to Bolles, but he will be the most exciting.

I don't see Carlos or Walker impacting the game much. Walker may have a few nice moments but DL are notoriously slow to adapt to the NFL and Carlos isn't more than a return specialist level talent, he wont understand the playbook enough to get snaps at WR.