As I was looking over the Denver Broncos injury report today, seeing what looked to be half the roster listed as questionable or worse, I thought to myself, “Thank the Football Gods that this team is deep.” There may be upwards of 14 or 15 starters on that list — including our starting quarterback — but the team just keeps on chugging.
And this isn’t exactly normal. Sure, teams lose guys to injuries all the time, and well-run organizations almost always have someone waiting in the wing, but it’s almost always accomplished by an organization building through draft; finding young guys on cheap contracts that will create a long-lasting talent pool has always been the way to go.
But that’s not what John Elway is known for. In fact, if you ask most Broncos fans how Elway has performed on draft day, you’ll probably get a lot of scoffs and angry rants. It’s in free agency where Elway is know for making the big-time power moves, but free agency is normally a quick fix; the solution for a win-now team. Yet, the Broncos’ window continues to extend, and that means that ol’ No. 7 must be doing something right.
So let’s go back and grade the last five Denver Broncos draft classes and see how the Broncos got to this position (A bolded name means they’re still on the team).
2011 Draft Class
Round 1: Von Miller
Round 2: Rahim Moore
Round 2: Orlando Franklin
Round 3: Nate Irving
Round 4:Quinton Carter
Round 4: Julius Thomas
Round 6: Mike Mohamed
Round 7: Virgil Green
Round 7: Jeremy Beal
Undrafted: Chris Harris
At first glance, it seems a little disappointing that only two players (three if you count Chris Harris) from this draft class are still on the Denver Broncos, but you’d be underestimating how hard it is to remain on one team for five seasons; only the best of the best last that long. And in reality, this is an extremely solid draft class.
First off, you’ve got Von Miller. He’s a cornerstone player for the Broncos franchise, and he’s a true, unquestioned superstar. But that’s what you’d hope for when you draft a player No. 2 overall.
As a whole, though, six of Denver’s eight selections are still playing in the NFL today, and all six are starters, at least they have been for a portion of the season; that’s impressive.
Along with Miller, Julius Thomas, who was selected in the fourth round, is considered a Pro Bowl-caliber talent, and the only reason he’s not on this team right now is money; the same could be said for Orlando Franklin.
But, easily, the most impressive part about the this draft is Harris, who wasn’t even drafted. He’s since become one of the league’s elite cornerbacks.
Any time you get three legit All-Pro talents like the Broncos got in Miller, Thomas and Harris, you’ve got to feel pretty great about your draft class.
GRADE: A+
2012 Draft Class
Round 2: Derek Wolfe
Round 2: Brock Osweiler
Round 3: Ronnie Hillman
Round 4: Omar Bolden
Round 4: Philip Blake
Round 5: Malik Jackson
Round 6: Danny Trevathan
This is the fine wine of draft classes; it only gets better with age.
Just think, a year ago (even a few months ago), Brock Osweiler had done nothing but hold a clipboard, Ronnie Hillman was considered a likely training camp cut and Derek Wolfe‘s most memorable achievement was getting suspended for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs.
Today, Osweiler is the starting quarterback of a 10-2 team, Hillman is having the best season of his career and Wolfe has transformed into an absolute monster. And that’s without even mentioning Malik Jackson and Danny Trevathan, both of which have gone from late-round picks to Pro-Bowl caliber players.
Hell, even Omar Bolden has made some big contributions this season.
And sure, would drafting Levonte David over Osweiler have been a better selection at the time? Probably. But Trevathan has done pretty well for himself, too.
Right now, this looks like pretty great draft class, but in the end, it’ll all depend on what the Brockweiler actually becomes.
GRADE: A
2013 Draft Class
Round 1: Sylvester Williams
Round 2: Montee Ball
Round 3: Kayvon Webster
Round 5: Quanterus Smith
Round 5: Tavarres King
Round 6: Vinston Painter
Round 7: Zac Dysert
Undrafted: C.J. Anderson
Undrafted: Lerentee McCray
Not only is Sylvester Williams the only starter to have come out of this draft class — and that took two years — but he and Kayvon Webster are the only players to still have a job in the NFL.
That isn’t a great success rate. Hell, they had better success after the draft ended.
The most disappointing part about this draft, though, is clearly Montee Ball. The other four guys can be explained away as late-round flyers who simply didn’t work out; he was supposed to be the top back in the draft (according to most, at least), and today, he can’t find a job.
What’s worse is that the Broncos could have had Eddie Lacy, Travis Kelce, Bennie Logan, Tyrann Mathieu, Keenan Allen or Terron Armsted, all of which were taken before Denver’s next pick.
You’d think the one redeeming part would be C.J. Anderson, but even he’s a bit of a question mark; we’ve seen great play out of him at times, but we’ve also seen an injury-prone back who can’t perform unless he’s in near-perfect condition.
GRADE: D+
2014 Draft Class
Round 1: Bradley Roby
Round 2: Cody Latimer
Round 3: Michael Schofield
Round 5: Lamin Barrow
Round 6: Matt Paradis
Round 7: Corey Nelson
Undrafted: Kenny Anunike
Undrafted: Shaquil Barrett
Undrafted: Bennie Fowler
Undrafted: Juwan Thompson
There’s nobody better than John Elway at scouting undrafted talent; you almost wonder why he didn’t just grab those guys in the actual draft.
Still, with this class, the Broncos really only gained two long-term building blocks, Bradley Roby and Shaquil Barrett. Michael Schofield and Matt Paradis are both starting on the offensive line, but they haven’t shown anything to say that they’re untouchable talents, and Cody Latimer is quickly verging on bust territory.
Really, what this draft did is bring in two possible Pro-Bowl talents in Roby and Barrett and then a whole bunch of quality depth. Schofield probably isn’t a starting-quality player, but he’s doing a fine job as a backup following all the injuries that have torn through Denver’s offensive line.
If all these guys continue to contribute when needed over the next few seasons, though, this class will just keep looking better and better.
GRADE: C
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[adrotate banner=”10″]2015 Draft Class
Round 1: Shane Ray
Round 2: Ty Sambrailo
Round 3: Jeff Heuerman
Round 4: Max Garcia
Round 5 Lorenzo Doss
Round 6: Darius Kilgo
Round 7: Trevor Siemian
Round 7: Taurean Nixon
Round 7: Josh Furman
Twelve games is not nearly enough time to judge the success or failure of a draft class, especially when two of your top three picks have barely played due to injury.
When it comes to Ty Sambrailo, all we know is that he looked like a rookie should when being forced to start at left tackle from day one, and with Jeff Heuerman, we know absolutely nothing.
And really, we don’t know much about Shane Ray or Max Garcia, either. Both guys have had opportunities to make an impact, and they have, but they’ve also spent a lot of time sitting behind All-Pro players; we probably won’t know just how great they can be for another year, at least.
But in the end, we’re just going to have to wait and see with this draft class.
GRADE: Incomplete