My Turn

First, I read all the Mocks here at MHR and appreciate all the work everyone put into them.  I learned a lot from them, and was entertained as well.  Second, my big fear going into the draft was that there was substance to the rumor that the Broncos would trade up to get Sanchez.  Whew!  Moving on, a few points:

1.  McD may be a young guy, but he has a lot of experienced help in Nolan, Dennison and Turner, and the rest.  I bet McD made it clear to them what his vision is, and then relied heavily on their assessment of the players drafted.  To all the nay sayers about this draft, at least give this new Broncos team until November before you start looking for a rope and a tree.

2.  I was not a Moreno guy.  Obviously he is very talented but I thought we could go RB with good success much later.  That was then, this is now.  I'm sure Bobby Turner supported this pick.  Of all the top fifteen or so picks, Moreno  is probably the most sure fire future great.  And don't get too much into the "we could have gotten him at 18" thing.  I'd be willing to bet McD et al had info that San Diego would take him at 16 (in spite of the re-signings of Sproles and LT).

3.  Styg made the point after free agency that the Broncos had addressed all the areas of need, freeing us up to go more with BPA in the draft.  And that's what McD did.

4.  The defense would be better this year with the exact same players we had last year, just because of Nolan instead of Slowik.  Then look at all the improvements in personnel!  This D will be top 15 this year, IMHO.

5.  McD and Nolan obviously feel good about all the young players at DL and LB.  There will be some very serious and good competition there.

6.  There will also be some serious competition at QB and RB.  I'm betting that Orton wins the QB job (he's shown he can be a good starter on a weak team, and as for his perceived lack of arm strength, we might be amazed at how much stronger it is at Mile High than in the Windy City).  Anyway, if Simms wins the job, so much the better for the Broncos.   As for RB, at least one of the three FA's might not make the cut (Buckhalter or Jordan) and Selvin Young is history.  And, just picture Hillis and Moreno in the backfield at the same time!

7.  In short, the 2009 Broncos are going to be hugely better than the 2008 Broncos.  And, I do not drink Kool Aid.