This story originally appeared in Mile High Sports Magazine. Read the full digital edition.
Nobody knows exactly what John Elway knows. And only John Elway knows for sure what the Broncos aim to do on the night of April 27. But that won’t stop us from taking a guess. Here’s who the Broncos could, should and might take with pick No. 20.
- OT Garett Bolles (Utah)
A relative under-the-radar guy due to much of his career being played at Snow College (?!), Bolles has shot up draft boards at a record rate after earning first-team All-Pac-12 honors this past year for the Utes. The 6-foot-5, 300-pound left tackle has an NFL-ready body and could start for the Broncos Week 1. The only problem is the lack of high-level action Bolles has played in. Would Denver and GM John Elway take a chance on a guy with just one year of big time football under his belt?
- OT Ryan Ramczyk (Wisconsin)
Yet another unknown before this past season, Ramczyk took a very unconventional route to get to the Wisconsin program before having a monster season in his lone year in Madison. Ramczyk has seen it all, going from a local tech school, to the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, to sitting out 2015 due to NCAA transfer rules, to having a big 2016. Ramczyk ended up taking home AP All-America Honors, and even though he’s considered a wild card, scouts are drooling on themselves about him.
- TE O.J. Howard (Alabama)
It’s no secret tight end is a need for the Broncos. Virgil Green can’t develop into a true No. 1, Jeff Heuerman is looking like a bust and A.J. Derby feels like a Band-Aid. Howard can fix those problems immediately, and while his numbers haven’t been superb, what he’s done in the last two national championship games should have Broncos fans salivating. Take a peek at the stats from the two most recent national championships: (2016) 5 catches, 208 yards and 2 TDs; (2017) 4 catches, 106 yards, 1 TD. This man shows up on the biggest of stages.
- OT Cam Robinson (Alabama)
It’s another Bama boy as a possibility for the Broncos, and Robinson is just one of many offensive tackles who makes sense is this slot. With the departure of Russell Okung and the lackluster careers so far of Ty Sambrailo, Michael Schofield and Donald Stephenson – it’s clearly Denver’s biggest need. Robinson started every game in his three-year career at Alabama, while racking up plenty of hardware including two-time All America honors. He’d look awfully good in the orange and blue.
- RB Christian McCaffrey (Stanford)
It’s the sexy, ultra-Cinderella pick, but man it feels like McCaffrey makes more and more sense in a Broncos uniform. It’s hard to know where to even begin with the former Heisman trophy runner up’s stats. The combined 23 touchdowns in 2015? Another 29 touchdowns in 2016? The 5,128 career yards from scrimmage? C.J. Anderson is a fine running back, but he’s no Christian McCaffrey. If Mac is there at No. 20 – which is not guaranteed by any means – you’d love to see John pull that trigger.