As part of his off-season, Shelby Harris decided to join The Draft Network’s Trevor Sikkema for a live-streamed mock draft on Thursday.
Harris made every selection for the Broncos in the mock draft and broke down the fits and prospects with Sikkema. That gives us a great window into the mind of Harris, in regard to what areas of the roster he believes is in need of an upgrade.
Given recent headlines about Jerry Jeudy and Kareem Jackson making positive comments on non-Drew Lock quarterbacks, you might be getting concerned about the direction this is headed. Fortunately, with Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields, and Zach Wilson off the board, Harris opted not to draft a quarterback in the first round.
“Can I see what corners are on the board first?” Harris asked the moment the Broncos came up on the clock and he started getting prompted by simulated requests to trade-down.
That’s a pretty good hint of what Harris eyes as a weakness.
“Ok, I’ll just tell you what my thinking is,” Harris said, sounding like a GM already. “I want Surtain, but can I trade back, get extra draft capital, and still get him?”
With the Cowboys looming at 10 though, Harris opted to play it safe and select Surtain. Definitely an unexpected choice with Caleb Farley still on the board, who is widely viewed as the much better fit for Fangio’s zone-heavy defensive scheme, while Surtain is more of a man cornerback.
In the second round, Harris looked to double-up on defense with one of the top safeties in the class, Trevon Moehrig, out of TCU. Moehrig is more of a free safety than a strong safety, but in Fangio’s scheme there isn’t much difference between there isn’t much difference between the two roles and Moehrig could be a terrific Kareem Jackson replacement moving forward.
Harris continued to snag high-profile defensive stars by trading a third, fourth and fifth round picks for the Colts’ fifth-round pick and a second-round pick used to select linebacker Dylan Moses out of Alabama.
Harris wasn’t done being aggressive though as he proceeded to package the fifth-rounder he received from the Colts with Denver’s seventh-round pick to trade up into the fourth-round. From that spot he selected interior defensive lineman Jalen Twyman out of Pitt, who was projected as an early second-round pick before opting out of the 2020 season.
Harris finished up his mock draft by selecting Senior Bowl standout wide receiver Cade Johnson out of South Dakota St. in the sixth round, and then cornerback Tre Norwood out of Oklahoma and running back C.J. Marable out of Coastal Carolina.
