If Moreno is dominant than passing on DL looks smart. If he struggles everyone will second guess McDaniels for the rest of the year.

they got who they wanted, can’t argue with that… He madea good point too: why have 200 players on your big board when you only want 50 or so?

And I feel the trades were all fair valued trades. We can disagree on who was taken, but the valuations have had precedent.

It’s hard for me to say that this was a good or bad draft. As Guru says…it takes 3 years.

But I still give it a B for good picks overall.

We got two of his top three players in the draft – that has to count for an A right there. Definitely 2 starters with a starting nickel back to boot – that’s guaranteed any more is going to be gravy.

I think a lot will hinge on the two first round picks, and personally I am very happy with them. Ofcourse I would have liked a nose tackle but outside of Raji was there really anyone who could have transferred to NT and made more of a difference than Powell, Fields, or (the guy I really like) J’Vonne Parker, and the answer to that is no.

So far I also like the CFA picks. I really like the DE from Northern Iowa and he has the prototypical size to develop into a Dend in the 3-4…..that I think made this a better draft.

Time will tell, but it will all work out!!! GO BRONCOS!!!

O and I love TOM BRAnDandster

Anyone the Broncos sign is an A in my book till proven otherwise. If it is otherwise, then game on and a kick em to the curb attitude is on the rise.

Ask me in 3 years when I’ve seen enough to know… However, I’m confident in the grade below….

2006 Draft – A

J

Extreme overkill at a few positions of lesser need and relative neglect of positions of great need.

I don’t buy into BPA as a philosophy. I buy into BPA at PON…which I don’t think we did particularly well.

I think some of the trades were nonsensical and we passed on opportunities at guys that I feel would of better for or PONs.

On the bright side, I think Moreno might be truly great and I hope Ayers is at least a solid starter.

solid B. love knowshon.

wish we would of got manluga at the ayers or smith spot. Both those players seem like good picks though and ready to start.

Can’t argue with the Best blocking TE in the draft. Sounds great.

Brandstater was a interesting pick. I still see Orton starting(and play well) this season.

Pretty good draft overall. I’m excited to see what happens this season. For better or worse things are way different in Denver. :)

http://www.milehighreport.com/2009/4/26/855190/draft-day-s-analysis

Not at the level of the Pats, Pack, or even the Bengals (nice smooth draft by them, even though they won’t immediately improve this season)…so I can’t give it an A. Above average though, most certainly.

The only guy I know of is Moreno, so I can’t really give a good value on the draft because of my lack of knowledge of college players let alone the guys we got, so I just picked right in the middle.

I thought they would get more defensive players in the draft, however sometimes the guys you want aren’t there and you take the best player available that suits your needs and will help the team.

I’ll have a better idea over time and when the next mini-camps start. Let’s get these guys in Denver and get going.

There’s a lot of weeping and gnashing of teeth, but after giving us a B or C the last 2 years, I give this draft an A.

I don’t care about the value or what we traded, just look at our players holistically. I’m pretty darn happy with this haul.

I really like the Moreno pick being a SEC guy I am please with the amount the first two pick s comming from the SEC I am excited I think we will continue to see some shake up from now until Aug. but am pumped we have made some great moves since Jan. and I think overall we will have a great year this year, more OVALTINE,(KOOLAIDE) please!

I like the players, and I trust they fit “the plan,” but I’m disappointed that we traded away so much leverage for next year’s draft.

gives a very worthy summation of how first year GMs paired with new coaches fared in the draft:
http://www.nfl.com/draft/story?id=09000d5d81002b97

Just a snippet of it:

Overlooked amid the morass of everything is that Denver acquired some really good players, who, over the long term, could help the Broncos get back to being playoff regulars. Besides Moreno and Smith, defensive end Robert Ayers (18th overall) is potentially a big-time player who addresses a need.

Their philosophy — maybe more than any other team — truly was taking the best player available, which is why the Moreno pick seemingly came out of nowhere, as did the move for Smith. McDaniels has brought the Patriots’ mentality with him to Denver, where you can’t have enough running backs or cornerbacks.

Moreno should be a big asset to quarterback Kyle Orton, while Smith adds not only to the nickel package but is a big-time returner. Free-agent acquisition J.J. Arrington is in for a world of competition as a third-down back and a returner, which is one thing Xanders and McDaniels seek at each position.

drafting a tight end in the second was crazy in my opinion! We got good produciton from our 7 running backs last year. It should be about the same this year. I like the small cornerback. To much is made of height and the perfect weight.. Not sure, but I am 6"3 and I can not dunk. I like the fact he took some people to specifically help out special teams. It sounds like Josh is smart enough not to kick to devin hester……

Can’t see a strategy behind these picks; that’s what bothers me. Some obvious talent; no doubt about that. But what the hell is the overall plan ? I’ll admit that McDaniel doesn’t inspire confidence with me. I’m pretty skeptical that he knows what he’s doing. I know that will make me as popular as hemorrhoids here, but that’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.

We needed a lot of defensive help and we may well have gotten some. But we didn’t get help behind center, we have too many running backs of dubious quality and I just ain’t fooling myself into thinking we’re set with two Bears cast-offs ( Jerry Angelo traded Simms away to Tampa Bay; last year wasn’t it ? ) Sorry, but I can’t see us going far with two QB’s the Bears don’t need.

C minus from me, vatos…

Ok. For those of us who woke up halfway through class, just what is that process ? I ain’t seein’ it at all.

TrommlerMeister

Because McDaniels got the players he wanted and they are very versatile and talented. Also, I absolutely love Moreno.

Dig most of the picks, but kudos for going out and getting the players you want and not settling.

Denver is going to fall in love with Special K. As told to Anthony Dasher of UGAsports.com

A couple of minutes before he was announced, the former Georgia star stepped away to take a telephone call from Denver head coach Josh McDaniels, who informed Moreno that the Broncos were about to select him with the 12th pick. Moreno never told his guests who was on the other line.

“That was my first call (of the day). (McDaniels) called me and he said (the Broncos) were going to pick me at No. 12. I kept it away from my family. I didn’t tell them, I kept it a secret,” Moreno said. “So, I came back out there and they were like ‘What happened?’And I said ‘Nothing.’ So, we just sat there and then they called my name and everyone went crazy.”

I gave it a solid A. I’m convinced that McD does have a very thorough plan. He tossed a lot of players that either couldn’t play or wouldn’t play for Denver and brought in a lot of talented, high character high skill, intelligent gentlemen who are also intensely competitive. Kudos!

I admit that I am having more trouble with his specific O line choices, but he gets paid for his analysis and I don’t have as much film, scouting (other than the enviable styg!) or knowledge. I trust what he’s trying to do, and I look forward to watching the results of the process.

So far, love the UDFAs that I’ve heard about, too. Great job!

we’ve got plenty of good WR and DB already (although in a pass happy league, you can never have enough DBs), so the young studs we picked up this weekend will have time to make their mark on ST while they learn the finer points of their positions from the vets (Marshall, Royal, Stokley, Champ, Dawkins, etc.).

McD has repeatedly stated the all aspects of the team needed improvement- that includes ST, which was ranked dead last- even worse that the D last year.

I have to believe that McD and Nolan have something up their sleeve when it comes to the D’s front 7. They did ditch a few guys, but they apparently have confidence in what is there after FA. Perhaps they strongly believe that it mostly been a coaching issue the last couple of years and Nolan thinks he can coach-up the guys they have.

I’m drinkin’ the cool-aid baby! I’m looking through orange-and-blue glasses and I see great things!

Moreno: unexpected but after looking hard I understand it
Ayers: Still confused about not taking Orakpo but maybe more upside here??
Smith: youth movement, not bad
McBath: youth movement
Quinn: this was a solid selection, i like this guy!
Bruton: youth movement, NFL size guy!!
Olsen: big guy future of the O line
McKinley: youth/depth ( a friend for Royal to mentor in case Marshall melts down )
Brandstater: I like this one too, smart guy, big size, we could be seeing a lot of him in the future
Schleuter: see Olsen above

I gave it a B+ in my post and ill stick true to my word

I like the type of player we chose; tough, intelligent, team oriented, high character and competitive. I like the fact we gained valuable back-ups for the O Line. I am shocked we did not find more than one D Lineman that fit the requirements. We are not going to improve until we can stop the run with our front seven. I sure hope BornOrange is right.

I have to believe that McD and Nolan have something up their sleeve when it comes to the D’s front 7.

I am a regular at Purple Row but seldom venture into the NFL world. I am a Broncos fan. I sure McD knows what he is doing because some of the moves so far have been really questionable. To not make defense a priority tells me he is either not watching last years film or somehow thinks he can coach these guys better than the last 3-4 DC have. I am going to give him a chance since he has never coached a game but he has significantly reduced the length of his leash IMO.

“I am not sure we addressed the problem of people running down our throats”. bingo, baltimore. and it would have been easy, and cost-effective. i also would like to see a summary of the draft picks we used to trade up for the reaches at areas of non-need. a first(probably #15 or better) for a nickel back?! oh, but that’s been established, they went bpa. very debatable. value? we burned that on overpaying in the later rounds for backups/projects, and using 2 picks from the next draft. that’s ok, we got impact players/blue-chip prospects? not many.

4 d picks, what, 13? picks used, mostly for offense. an o-lineman that can’t move well in space, considered a necessity in the zb and mcd schemes. a blocking te. i would have been cool with mustard, or someone later. a 272 lb. de?! for the 3-4?! pass-rusher? not really. whoa. a slow safety?! i though they were “going the way of the dinosaur”. on and on. “win now”, or rebuilding? i don’t see either, or both. bpa and value(considering what we gave up to snag lower-rated players) doesn’t explain things, either.

and yes, the front 7. our current players are that good, and mcd knows it? no. he said it himself, he hasn’t even seen if these guys can hold the line, without any contact in camp. everyone’s going to put on 10-20 lbs. and be “coached up”?! ridiculous assumption. i gave the draft a d, no c- available. not a knock on the players selected, just when and where the picks were made, the cost, and the total discarding of our #1 needs.

as much as i like nolan, you will have a hard time scheming giving up 50+ lbs. per player along the front, and the talent isn’t even great to somewhat compensate. i think nolan wasn’t being heard, obviously. run a workable 4-3, and this all begins to make sense. lb’s are not the strength of the 3-4, the nt and de’s are. and ours are average, at best. look at other teams. defensive draft, trading cutler will fix the d, 2 #1’s each year, like the pats, draft one of the 3 qb’s next year, now we will be able to run an effective 3-4 because it’s too expensive in fa… no. stop with the excuses, already. you’ve been fooled again.

a good “plan” leaves you room to adjust to the talent you have/aquire. i don’t see that, here. it appears we intend to run the ball more(rb, te, c, g) in a “spread” offense, and run a 3-4 without the talent and size required of the formation. ask yourself this: if shanny presided over these draft selections, how would you feel? think about it. i will admit, the 1st-rounder next year(ours, because “it wasn’t worth haggling over”) for a 2nd-round 3rd corner, and the small size of the de and wr, also, has me really confused considering the bigger and tougher type of player mcd has repeatadly stated was his type prior to the draft. moreno, you better be dynamite, and healthy. nolan, good luck, buddy.

Are you factoring in the fact that they probably gave up a high 1st round pick next year for a 2nd rounder? I just don’t get these grades. Are you basically saying “sure, anyone with 5 picks in the first two rounds should get A talent,” or are you really evaluating what they did with what they had to work with, in which case you should also throw in the fact that they are now sans a franchise quarterback.

This is insanity, I tell you. I feel like we’re back to Wade Phillips. Although that may be unfair to Wade at this point.

I’ve been reading the articles here for awhile and I enjoy the objectivity that seems to prevail. I also read the Post and I do have to admit it’s getting nasty over there. I don’t know when fans got soooo negative, maybe too much Jim Rome! I think it’s human nature to want to be seen as having a considered opinion and too often that means having to be critical of whomever is being discussed. Anyway, I enjoyed the analysis. Quite frankly I feel more informed for having read your article, something you don’t get from schlock journalists.