Why we shouldn't draft a RB in the 1st round.

I sure love seeing posts like this with backing details. Great case made PNB

I think this was partly due to Shanahan’s preference for giving backs with an injury history a second chance because he could sign them for a great value.

Or draft them lower…

I’m not opposed to the Broncos taking a RB high if the Brain Trust thinks it necessary, but we really don’t need to

No need at all to use a high pick on a RB. Plus, you gave the best reason of all not to, the picture of the guy with the brass balls ;)

Sure Denver lost a potentially great quarterback, but they still field a very solid offensive line with some outstanding young talent. They’ve got Eddie Royal, Tony Schefler, Daniel Graham and Brandon Marshall(hopefully), so Simms and especially Orton will have better receivers than they’ve ever worked with in their entire careers. You’ve got to feel this offense will still be more than serviceable going forward.

Defense is where the most upside exists. Using picks early here, takes the pressure of the offense and then they don’t necessarily have to be GREAT, they can be very good and just as effective, and I think Hillis can certainly carry a good chunk of the load out of the backfield provided McDaniels sees that as the right fit for his offense which listening to some interviews he does sound fairly high on the guy.

however we have bigger concerns than RB at the moment. i really hope we use the early picks on defense. thats is where the broncos need new players

I think Moreno is great i think he would be solid, I dont think we pick him, I think we look for a scat back in later rounds. I do believe that we will be looking for a RB (the structure of Buckhalter’s Jordan’s contracts) because we are not totally sold on anyone player on our team as the answer. I would love to see Hillis spelled by Torain and a scat back spelling Buckhalter, for four running backs (the others get shown the door after camp). I also think Jordan has become more of the fullback type that McDaniels prefers (blocking but can carry when asked) where as Pinnock doesnt instill confidence.

I don’t mind a RB pick and I’d even look upon a Moreno selection favorably but it’s ALL about value. This is a ‘shadow’ year after a bumper RB crop (surprisingly) and the demand is way down for RBs, which means that there’s a tremendous amount of value at RB in early/mid-range of the draft. Moreover, we have to look at the fact that we brought in 3 RBs already, which means that further additions are going to knock out present players who, despite whatever reservations you may have, are still quite promising. I haven’t given up on Selvin Young or Ryan Torrain and additional RBs have to be valued according to what they bring ‘over and above’ what we have already, since we can only carry a limited amount. In other words, it’s not that a Moreno wouldn’t succeed but the fact that he’s not that much better than Young at what he does.

Another argument needs to be re-emphasized again — improving the running game can be accomplished by improving the offensive line. It’s not the case that we have tremendous depth in the interior OL, and I’d prefer helping the running game by taking an OL (especially since it’s a bumper crop which provides great opportunities) who helps the running game, but also helps the passing game, too. We should be concerned with protecting our QB at this point.

I don’t mind the RB pick but I do mind poor use of value. There’s also thinking going on that smacks of revisionism; our current group is hardly without talent, and the tendency is to see ‘new’ as the answer around this time of year, as the hope of finding another Adrian Peterson to let our offense ride on this back overrides sober analysis of the chances for an incoming RB. I still like the idea of ‘fresh’ legs but I lean towards using a slightly lower pick on a player such as Andre Brown or Rashad Jennings, or even waiting till later. I admit the prospect of signing a player such as Gartrell Johnson as a CFA is attractive, and his possible price — free (or no pick) — is also attractive, besides his obvious ability.

One area that we should look at in this draft is receiver. There’s still a need for backup help at both WR and TE, and this draft crop provides some wonderful value for those positions. I’d resist the temptation to think of ‘magic bullets’ and focus on workable fixes that add pieces to the offense, thus using a team building concept that relies on a lot of little fixes rather than one grand fix. A RB such as Moreno may become a great back but there’s a risk to that approach, whereas the odds of finding help at backup TE and WR are much higher. I’d rather focus on the parts that make the offense as a whole run better than try to find ‘the’ one player who solves all our problems by himself — (or so it seems).

The pick needs to be the best value we can get out of it. I agree that our highest need area is Dline (LB not as much, but still a need area). If a pick is best used to address Dline, than it should be, if it is best used to address offense, then it should be.

The thing is, we can’t say right now what it is best used for. We won’t know that until draft afternoon when 11 players have been taken off the board.

I advocate Moreno for two reasons: 1)I think he makes other positions better. it is a rare quality that some team is going to capitalize on for years. This is not fact, it is just my opinion, but I stand by it. 2)I don’t want anyone to close their minds to the possibilities of the draft, and Moreno is just one of those myriad possibilities.

I honestly feel like no one at MHR will have an excuse for being surprised by offensive picks if they occur in this draft, and especially for being upset or angry over offensive picks. If all of Colinski’s comments, and Bear’s profiles and all of the community members’ mock drafts can teach us something this Draftivus, its that there are a LOT of ways to get value out of this draft, not just one. Saying “defense only for our first picks” sells the possibilities of the draft way short. There are soooo many ways for us to keep improving, and we need to take advantage of any and all of them.

just listing our ypc doesn’t tell the whole story. Remember Eddie Royal’s end around against Buffalo? Some yardage is actually the result of scrambles and runs by WRs instead of backs.

Football Outsiders tracks a lot of statistics to try to isolate individual elements of team performance. One of those statistics is Adjusted Line Yards which attempts to isolate how much of a teams running is based on offensive line play and how much is based on the running back. According to FO the Broncos had the best run blocking line in the NFL, by a fairly significant margin. NE was #2. That would tend to indicate that Denver’s success was due to line play and not the backs which begs the question how much better would the Broncos have been with better RBs?

If the right player falls to us at #12 or #18 I think we take them, but there’s no compelling reason to take a RB in the first round. As you have pointed out, we can probably do just fine by simply running more.

I posted the opposite position here.

Check it out, see what you think. I am not sold on Tyson Jackson or any DE outside of Orakpo as being a true pass-rushing beast, and that is what we need. Besides, the McDaniels mantra in New England was “versatility versatility versatility”, and that is DEFINITELY not Tyson Jackson. There are a few 2nd or 3rd-round DE/OLBs that fit that mold well, and that’s where I think we will go.

Imagine what one healthy superstar RB could do behind that OL if a M.A.S.H. unit could average 4.8 ypc?

Knowshon is a no-brainer if he’s on the board at #18. We still have an awful lot of picks to fill in our D holes.

While the defense is horrible the offense isn’t that prolific either. Denver was a middle of the pack offense in terms of scoring, ranking 15th I think. While Denver passed well and moved the ball they lacked a real scoring threat in the red zone. Moreno helps the team improve there.

Also a sustained running game helps a defense, so a RB will aid there as well.

Does it have to be a first rounder? No, absolutely not… but it sure would be fun to root and support a playmaker who is also a great team guy.

The Broncos need to stick to tradition and only draft RBs in the 6th round. Hey, it worked with TD so why argue with succes!

Just wondering but dont u all already have torain, young, hillis, buckhalter, jordan, and hall.

…and it’s increased need due to Cutler being traded. The point of the question was that, with Cutler, the stable of running backs is sufficient. Without him, however, the need to take the pressure is increased.

I want to add though, that with the Brandon Marshal situation pending, that there has been much discussion about WR being a need to compensate. I’m not sure I understand this when the WR corp is quite effective down to #5 on the depth chart and when BMarch comes back, then what?

That said, if it is recognised that there will be a period without him and something needs to be done I can see two paths to fix this.
Number 1 – drafting a WR and that would obviously chew up a valuable draft pick.
Number 2 – leaning more on the running game in his absence with an upgraded RB corp. They have the o-line to do it. And most importantly, when Brandon comes back into the team, they still have an graded running game to go with a full strength WR corp.

So I believe that, while clearly dedicating the majority of the draft to defence is important, 2-3 picks on offence for an RB, an interior lineman and perhaps a backup QB would not be a bad move. And i think that the RB should be a first round draft choice to cover for both Cutler and BMarsh’s absences.

The reason I think we should take Moreno this year is because the 2010 RB class doesn’t have anyone his equal. Plus the team is built for offense and has lost its pro bowl QB. Orton/Simms will need help taking up the slack, particularly if Marshall is suspended. I do think we should wait until next year fo a QB since the talent is as good as this year. That way we can save draft picks this year for defensive players.

We have to get past the Shannahan “bell Cow” type of thinking.

if he planned on drafting one early.

First I read and bought into the “no running game” analysis from the MSM. I was suspicious, but someone at MHR does the homework and disputes the obvious black and white MSM perspective in connection with some back-and-forths with a Chicago fan in a different fanpost. It sounded better, but there was still something bothering me.
I think Colinski and Styg are spot on. We had running output, but a lot of that was due to the Oline, rather than the runners, (except in Hillis’ case – I went back to watch – the Oline was definitely good, but Hillis was knocking defenders on their asses, backwards). Cutler also got a number of those yards, (200 I think?). But I also remember feeling that a lot of our yards were “junk” yards in lost causes. And keep in mind the lack of success in the red zone.
In the end, I can’t wait for Hillis, am hoping but don’t know what to expect from Torain, have no idea about the new guys – but I do think we wouldn’t suffer from more bodies for the running game. And I can’t help thinking that it was the stud RB that put us over the top and gave us the two SB rings. I don’t think we can count on lucking out like that again any time soon.

In my last sentence, I meant to say we can’t count on getting a stud like TD in the very late rounds.

….we’ll draft a RB anywhere near the 1st round. McD didn’t bring in Buckhalter, Jordan, and Arrington just to draft a RB so he can cut one of those guys. We already have Hillis and Torain, plus Young. I figure you gotta make room for Torain someplace – it’s too early to give up on him.

If we could get another 6 or 7 on IR, we’ll need 2 or 3 to fill out the roster.

You cannot plan on having 6-7 backson IR. If that happens, we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.

As many people have stated, McD wants the “best player at a position of need” and I don’t think we “need” backs.

But we damn sure need to beef up this defense.

Draft D early, take backs in later rounds