2023 NFL Draft thread

[paul-mac]

It’s been a quiet draft season on here given the lack of picks this year, but with the opening round just four days away, I thought we’d get the ball rolling.

 

The broncos go into the draft with five selections this year, starting with consecutive third rounders at 67 and 68. Their final three picks are on the last day of the draft. 4 (108), 5 (139) and 6 (195). We can of course expect George Paton to be active moving around the board and we might well end up making more than five picks.

 

With no picks in the first two rounds, the draft will be more about finding quality depth and players with the upside to become future starters rather than expecting a huge contribution from day one. Having said that, you’re only ever one injury away from being pushed into playing earlier than expected.

 

In Paton’s two drafts, we’ve picked up a number of defensive players who haven’t played a huge number of snaps yet. I’m talking about players like Caden Sterns and Delarrin Turner-Yell at safety, Damarri Mathis  at corner, edges Baron Browning, Nik Bonitto and Jonathan Cooper and defensive lineman Matt Hennigsen and Eyioma Uwazurike.

 

I think on the defensive side, the positions that are targeted or ignored will tell us a lot about how the team feels about these young players’ ability to grow into role players going forward. If the draft mainly focuses on offense then that’s a pretty good sign that the team feels strongly about the 2021 and 2022 classes.

 

Without knowing how much the team trusts these players (and what the latest prognosis is on Javonte Williams) it’s hard to define what our team needs are really. I guess I’d take a stab in the dark and go along the lines of:

 

1. Center (I don’t want to see another season of Lloyd Cushenberry starting so if there’s a guy in R3 that can start, we should pick him up. If not, we should delve back into the FA pool)

 

2. IDL (DJ Jones and Zach Allen have been big FA adds the last two years, but it remains to be seen who can pick up the mantle alongside them. This is a much lower priority if the team feels good about Uwazurike and Hennigsen though)

 

3. EDGE (Again, less of a priority if they feel good about the young guys. But there’s nothing proven outside of Gregory and he’s constantly injured)

 

4. Running Back (We don’t know if Javonte Williams will be ready at all in 2023 or if he will ever be the same again. Perine and Jones will get carried but I think we need a more explosive back too)

 

5. Corner Back (We’ve got the elite PS2, a good nickel in Williams and a promising young player in Damarri Mathis, but not much depth here)

[broncos_fan _from _uk]

Concerning OC, I really like Tippmann. Wypler will be a good pro. But honestly I like both Sedrick Van Pran and Andre Raym better than EVERY center in this draft. I’d be ok with signing Connor McGovern for a year or two and targeting one of them next year. 
 

but I do think we are weakest in the middle of our team (QB, IOL,IDL, ILB, S) so would love to see us focus our picks there

[paul-mac]

2 hours ago, broncos_fan _from _uk said:

Concerning OC, I really like Tippmann. Wypler will be a good pro. But honestly I like both Sedrick Van Pran and Andre Raym better than EVERY center in this draft. I’d be ok with signing Connor McGovern for a year or two and targeting one of them next year. 
 

but I do think we are weakest in the middle of our team (QB, IOL,IDL, ILB, S) so would love to see us focus our picks there

 

We won't be taking a QB and I'm pretty sure ILB and S won't be priorities. Especially Safety which is one of our stronger areas. ILB has Jewell and Singleton who are serviceable but we might go there if someone is BPA.

[Broncofan]

It’s such a loaded RB draft class depth wise it would be a disappointment if we passed on RB once we’re in Rd4.   A few guys who would be slam dunk top 75 picks in other years will likely fall to Rd4+ this year.   Fingers crossed.   

Edited April 24, 2023 by Broncofan

[thebestever6]

4 hours ago, Broncofan said:

It’s such a loaded RB draft class depth wise it would be a disappointment if we passed on RB once we’re in Rd4.   A few guys who would be slam dunk top 75 picks in other years will likely fall to Rd4+ this year.   Fingers crossed.   

They're are traits I really like about Achane that would fit this offense to a T.

[AKRNA]

13 hours ago, broncos_fan _from _uk said:

Concerning OC, I really like Tippmann. Wypler will be a good pro. But honestly I like both Sedrick Van Pran and Andre Raym better than EVERY center in this draft. I’d be ok with signing Connor McGovern for a year or two and targeting one of them next year. 
 

but I do think we are weakest in the middle of our team (QB, IOL,IDL, ILB, S) so would love to see us focus our picks there

I think that's brilliant. He's far better than anyone we've had since he left. He'd give us 5 solid Journeyman up front and upgrade the strength of our IOL a lot. He's that iron man/never misses a game guy that's perfect for the position.

[paul-mac]

Yikes. McGovern just went back to the Jets.

 

 

I really don’t like feeling like we HAVE to find a starting OC in the third round. Last two times that’s happened we ended up with the mediocre JD Walton and the bust in Cushenberry. 

[CDNBRONCOSFAN]

I’m all on the Joe Tippmann band wagon. We need him. Jack Campbell has been a favourite of mine for years. Unlikely we get him. The Brown twins are guys I like. Riley Moss and Stevenson for CB. Trey Palmer would be amazing. Also Rashee Rice. Too many guys I like and not enough picks. Keondre Coburn is massive and a great guy. Kendre Miller and Evan Hull as sleepers. And Payne Durham. 

Edited April 26, 2023 by CDNBRONCOSFAN
Adding

[broncos67]

6 hours ago, CDNBRONCOSFAN said:

I’m all on the Joe Tippmann band wagon. We need him. Jack Campbell has been a favourite of mine for years. Unlikely we get him. The Brown twins are guys I like. Riley Moss and Stevenson for CB. Trey Palmer would be amazing. Also Rashee Rice. Too many guys I like and not enough picks. Keondre Coburn is massive and a great guy. Kendre Miller and Evan Hull as sleepers. And Payne Durham. 

Rashee Rice is the only one of those guys that's a hard no for me. He is trash. Can't run routes. Not what we need.

[broncos67]

There's 4 Maryland guys in this draft and I'd love us to draft one (we won't).

OT- Jaelyn Duncan. I think this is the most likely pick of the bunch. Athletic, developmental OT. R3-ish pick, and given Payton's track record developing OL, could be the type of guy we stash for a year.

WRs - Rakim Jarrett and Dontay Demus. Maryland has had some strong WR talent, and these two guys are the latest. Jarrett is a former 5-star who was criminally underused. He's gonna be a 4th round pick, but he is a very good player. Whoever gets him is getting a steal. Demus is a bit of a mystery because he suffered a big time knee injury, but pre-injury, he was widely thought to be a Top-50 pick. He's Tim Patrick lite.

K - Chad Ryland. Only played at MD for a year, but for my money he's the best prospect in the draft at kicker. He's got a massive leg. Needs consistency, but not a ton of kickers routinely hitting 50+ yarders in college.

Other MD guys we won't have a chance at: 

- Deonte Banks, CB - he's going R1. 

- Jakorian Bennett, CB - mid round pick. I think he's the weakest of the guys in Maryland's secondary, but he's physical. Probably R4-R6 type of guy.

Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.

[broncos_fan _from _uk]

6 hours ago, broncos67 said:

There's 4 Maryland guys in this draft and I'd love us to draft one (we won't).

OT- Jaelyn Duncan. I think this is the most likely pick of the bunch. Athletic, developmental OT. R3-ish pick, and given Payton's track record developing OL, could be the type of guy we stash for a year.

WRs - Rakim Jarrett and Dontay Demus. Maryland has had some strong WR talent, and these two guys are the latest. Jarrett is a former 5-star who was criminally underused. He's gonna be a 4th round pick, but he is a very good player. Whoever gets him is getting a steal. Demus is a bit of a mystery because he suffered a big time knee injury, but pre-injury, he was widely thought to be a Top-50 pick. He's Tim Patrick lite.

K - Chad Ryland. Only played at MD for a year, but for my money he's the best prospect in the draft at kicker. He's got a massive leg. Needs consistency, but not a ton of kickers routinely hitting 50+ yarders in college.

Other MD guys we won't have a chance at: 

- Deonte Banks, CB - he's going R1. 

- Jakorian Bennett, CB - mid round pick. I think he's the weakest of the guys in Maryland's secondary, but he's physical. Probably R4-R6 type of guy.

Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.

What about OL Spencer Anderson? Was looking at late round RAS monsters and saw his name (RAS 9.35) looks like he as experience all across the line (OC this last season) but hasn’t really mastered any of them?

[broncos_fan _from _uk]

Also, Zacch Pickens, DL South Carolina… might be my mid round man crush this year.

I’m not sure why people aren’t mocking him to the late first round. Haven’t had a chance to watch a lot of college football this year, but I’ve spent the last couple days looking at highlights and draft reports of a bunch  of prospects and this kid looks like a future pro bowler 

[broncos67]

23 minutes ago, broncos_fan _from _uk said:

What about OL Spencer Anderson? Was looking at late round RAS monsters and saw his name (RAS 9.35) looks like he as experience all across the line (OC this last season) but hasn’t really mastered any of them?

Anderson is a nice player. Was probably our best OL last year. He's absolutely an athletic freak (as is Duncan). Maryland's OL coaching is just extremely subpar in my opinion. That said, I think he profiles as a UDFA because he's never quite shined at any one position. But the versatility is a plus. I wouldn't mind a UDFA flier. I think he could be a swing guy at the end of the day.

[broncos67]

23 minutes ago, broncos_fan _from _uk said:

Also, Zacch Pickens, DL South Carolina… might be my mid round man crush this year.

I’m not sure why people aren’t mocking him to the late first round. Haven’t had a chance to watch a lot of college football this year, but I’ve spent the last couple days looking at highlights and draft reports of a bunch  of prospects and this kid looks like a future pro bowler 

I think he's a late R2 guy personally. Maybe R3. I actually like Pickens but I think he's highly scheme dependent and he's probably going to get bullied by bigger OL unless he beefs up some. He's quick though. Could end up similar to DreMont Jones IMO.

[broncos_fan _from _uk]

22 minutes ago, broncos67 said:

I think he's a late R2 guy personally. Maybe R3. I actually like Pickens but I think he's highly scheme dependent and he's probably going to get bullied by bigger OL unless he beefs up some. He's quick though. Could end up similar to DreMont Jones IMO.

That’s where I saw him at. He’s super explosive for an interior guy and would do well in a 1 gap scheme or as a 3-4 DE/5T