On Thursday night, the 2017 NFL Draft will kick off from Philadelphia. The Denver Broncos are scheduled to select 20th. But who will they take?
Many names have been bandied about. Perhaps they will beef up their offensive line. They could add a playmaker, whether it is a tight end or a son of a former Broncos wide receiver. Heck, they may even add to their already impressive defense.
Here at Mile High Sports, there are many voices, all of whom think they know the guy the Broncos should take. We asked several of our personalities who they would select, here are some of their responses.
Les Shapiro, Afternoon Drive: Garett Bolles, OT, Utah
The two toughest spots to fill on offense are quarterback and left tackle. The Broncos are in desperate need of a left tackle. Why Bolles? He’s big (and getting bigger), he’s strong and he has a mean streak. One thing the Broncos offensive line was lacking last year was a mean streak. Toughness. Attitude.
I would go into that locker room on a weekly basis and many of the linemen hit me as soft, both as physical specimens and in attitude. They hit me as “mopes.” According to scouting reports, Bolles is anything but a mope.
It might take time for him to adapt, but there are ways to mitigate a deficiency at left tackle. You can put your QBs in the shotgun more–and we know the Broncos will do that. When you put your QB in the shotgun, he can better see the pass rush coming, even from the left side (or his blind side). You can coach your QBs to get rid of the ball quicker–and Siemian knows he needs to do that. You can do a better job running the ball. You can throw to the running backs and tight ends more, which allows for the QB to get rid of the ball more quickly (Kubiak’s offense didn’t do enough of that). If they stick with No. 20, I think it’s a good bet that Bolles is the guy.
Sean Walsh, Walsh and TJ: Christian McCaffrey, RB, Stanford
Kent Erickson, The Big Show: Whatever offensive lineman is on the top of their board
Picking a player for the Broncos in the first round of the 2017 NFL draft isn’t really that hard, if you can do just one simple thing. Get out of your own way. If your car needed new tires, would you go looking at sub woofers? If your garage door wasn’t working, would you go looking at lawn furniture? If you were hungry for a really great burger, would you go to McDonalds? No! You would go straight to Crave Burger, and the Denver Broncos should go straight to the top of their list of available offensive linemen. If it says Garett Bolles… take him. Ryan Ramczyk… do it. Forrest Lamp… absolutely. The only thing in the way is you thinking that you should pick “the best available player” when you have no idea who that is. So get out of the way, and make the pick you need to make.
Drew Demo, Managing Editor: Garett Bolles, OT, Utah
Listen, I do not think the Broncos will stay at 20. If they move up, it won’t be for Bolles (I would love to see them grab Reuben Foster should he slip out of the top 10). If they stay or move back however, Bolles makes a lot of sense. The one consistent theme both of the offensive linemen John Elway has signed this offseason share is truculence. The Broncos need a left tackle. I don’t think they want two linemen recovering from hip surgery (hips don’t lie), ruling out Ryan Ramczyk. Cam Robinson is fundamentally flawed, and I don’t think Elway has the patience for him to right the ship (if he can at all). Bolles is a nasty player, and perfectly fits the mold of what Elway is trying to do on the o-line.
Benny Bash, The Big Show: Forrest Lamp, G, Western Kentucky
Forrest Lamp is the best offensive lineman in the draft. The Broncos need a sure fire, can’t miss lineman and Lamp is that with attitude. I don’t care what position he plays, just get a lineman who can play and play now.
John Mendoza, Broncos columnist: David Njoku, TE, Miami
With Christian McCaffrey probably long gone, the best offensive weapon left on the board is the freakishly talented TE from Miami. Njoku has the potential to bring “juice” to the offense in a similar (or better) way that Julius Thomas did. Njoku’s playmaking ability would especially help the Denver Broncos in the red zone, where the team needs a reliable option. Everyone will clamor for a tackle with pick no. 20, but let’s be honest: it’s a weaker OL draft. All three of the best tackles available would probably be second-round choices, or late firsts at best, in another draft.
Ryan Edwards, Danny and Ryan: Reuben Foster, LB, Alabama
I want the Broncos to draft LB Reuben Foster, Alabama in the first round even if it means they have to move up a few picks to get him. This is exactly the kind of player John Elway likes to draft in the 1st round as he will slide from the Top 10 because of concerns about being kicked out of the combine and a diluted drug test. Would fit perfectly with this defense as an inside linebacker and could likely be the steal of Thursday night.
Clint Daly, Broncos columnist: T.J. Watt, Jarrad Davis or Corey Davis
While we are all hoping for a Christian McCaffrey or OJ Howard to fall to the Broncos at number 20, which probably won’t happen, I think I just want to see the Broncos take the best player on the board. There isn’t any reason to reach. We all know that the Broncos need an offensive tackle, like Aqib Talib needs bulletproof pants, but this draft class simply doesn’t have a sure thing at that position. I would much rather see the Broncos select T.J. Watt, Jarrad Davis, or Corey Davis. Sure, they aren’t offensive tackles, but a wasted pick is a wasted pick.
Joe Williams, The Big Show: Christian McCaffrey or Jabrill Peppers
John Elway usually takes the best player available. Peppers and McCaffrey were the two best players I saw in college football last year.
Adam Uribes, Broncos reporter: Garett Bolles, OT, Utah
The Broncos have used several of their visits over the past couple of weeks to go over the current offensive line class. For as deep as other positions are in the draft like edge rusher and corner, it really looks like the Broncos are set to take one of he top four guys out there right now (Lamp, Ramczyk, Robinson and Bolles). In the case that they do stick to upgrading a spot on the line that is in need of a youth injection, I think they take Bolles out of Utah. Despite his advanced age, he has the nastiness and athleticism in the same mold of recent signings of Menelik Watson and Ron Leary that the team seems to be looking for.
