So, I've inherited the 11th pick in tonight's NFL draft. The anticipation of Chris Berman whispering the obvious all night is killing me (I can't wait for the Ndamukong "Boy Named" Suh debacle to be uttered as if it was clever...or classy), so I thought I'd too take a little gamble on making a prediction ( or merely doing some analysis).
Denver sits 11th on the board and in all honesty, I am willing to bet there is some quiet regret within the organization that they hadn't played so well at the start of the season, because in the end, they didn't make the playoffs and after trading Jay Cutler (2 years ago), as well as Brandon Marshall and Tony Scheffler this year, they could use the luxury of being able to pick who they want to fulfill their recent needs on offense, and despite a defense that finished 7th overall in the NFL, there are some needs across the board for the Broncos defense. So put as simply as possible, with needs across the board for the Denver Broncos, it is basically up in the air what direction they will eventually go.
Shifting to a 3-4 scheme seemed to help the Broncos defense in 2010, but they were a team that was much better against the pass than against the run. They finished ranked an impressive 3rd against the pass last year, but it was their miserable 26th rank against the run that makes this defense more vulnerable than the overall numbers would suggest. Elvis Dumervil could definitely use someone on the other side of the line to compliment his abilities to rush the passer, but help inside the line or at inside linebacker would probably be a more pressing need right now for Denver.
My assumption is that if Rolando McClain is still available, then the Crimson Tide alum will most likely be making his home in the Mile High City. The problem is that is a very big if. McClain very well could be a top 10 pick, going as high as possibly 5 to Kansas City. If McClain is off the board, Denver might be tempted to take someone along the lines of a Derrick Morgan out of Georgia Tech, or combine darling Jason Pierre-Paul to help add some pop to the pass rush, or entertain Jared Odrick of Penn State or Dan Williams of Tennessee to add strength inside the line, but it is more likely that they would look to the offensive side of the ball for a play maker to replace the loss of Marshall and Scheffler.
Dez Bryant out of Oklahoma State most likely will be on the board after being suspended for most of last year for lying to the NCAA about his relationship with Deion Sanders. In this case, it would be a pretty smart move for Denver to replace some of their lost home-run power on offense with Bryant. His play making ability would be even more attractive if Denver had a big arm to get him the football. Kyle Orton played admirably, as he has his whole NFL career, but you shouldn't expect much more out of him this year. Bryant isn't a breakaway type receiver, has good size, and seems to fit the mold of a possesion type receiver, which fits Orton's style, but again, it's hard to feel great (good is ok, just not great) about Kyle Orton leading your offense. Brady Quinn was traded to Denver, and very well could be the starter, but his skill set doesn't make one feel any better about the QB situation in Denver, which I will get to more in a second.
Another option could be a surprise pick of C.J Spiller from Clemson, but again, this is only if he is still on the board. Denver has about a billion running backs, but they've never shied away from bringing in one more, especially since Spiller figures to play prominently into the passing and return games wherever he goes. This pick is a bit of a stretch, but due to the potential that Spiller could fall to 11 and would be a very attractive player at that spot, I wouldn't be shocked.
What could be possible, albeit quite improbable, is Denver could make a move up, and shock the masses by possibly making a play for Jimmy Clausen. It would almost certainly extract a large "OOOHHHHH" from Berman, thus meaning it's not something that ESPN went over in their production meetings. It's not a move many can say they are anticipating, but this has more legs than Ron Santo (sorry, I had to). Clausen would be a quarterback the Broncos could build around, rather than hoping Quinn's potential becomes actual talent or Orton continues to play with his nose pressed against his talent's ceiling for the next year or 2.
I wish I could be more definitive about the pick at 11, but this 2010 draft has about as many different possibilities as chatroulette.com has phalluses. Whomever goes in this spot in this years draft will have the luxury of being either scorned or lauded by yours truly.
-Ben Wills
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment