Five players the Denver Broncos are hoping and praying fall to them at pick 31

DT Robert Nkemdiche

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPhgQhazzqQ

PROJECTED ROUND: 1st/2nd     HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 6-4/296 LBS

CAREER NUMBERS: 81 total tackles; 16 tackles for a loss; 6 sacks

Much like Jaylon Smith, Robert Nkemdiche is a huge risk/reward pick. In his case, the risk has less to do with his knee and more to do with his head.

Nkemdiche is a knucklehead, and that’s putting in nicely. More importantly, he’s an unpredictable knucklehead.

Off-the-field issues aside, this is a guy who should be a top-five pick. Unfortunately, with the way the careers of Johnny Manziel, Justin Blackmon, Josh Gordon and a multitude of others have gone, a franchise may be better off not drafting him all together.

Luckily, if there’s one team that can afford the risk, it’s the Denver Broncos. Yes, a completely blown first-round pick would definitely hurt, but this is the exact type of locker room a guy like Nkemdiche needs; he needs role models, like DeMarcus Ware and Von Miller, who can not only teach him how to dominate on the field, but how to be a pro off it.

And if it all works out, Denver will have their Malik Jackson replacement in place, and then some.