2011 NFL Draft: Potent Quotables - Denver Broncos Head Coach John Fox

We've heard from the newest Denver Broncos - safety Rahim Moore, offensive lineman Orlando Franklin and linerbacker Nate Irving.  Now it is the head coach's turn to speak about the Broncos' 2011 NFL Draft so far. 

On trading down in the second round

"I think anytime you trade back, you are going to be losing a pool of players. I thought it was important coming into the draft that we acquire a fourth and fifth-round pick, which we did not have. It is that type of draft that we think is very strong low and very good high. In the middle, it was a matter of opinion. At this point, I probably would have felt better if we could have gotten a defensive tackle. A little bit earlier, we had some guys in mind and did not get there because they were selected by somebody else. But, there is still a lot of draft left. We still have tomorrow and there are still some guys there that we have interest in. We have free agency and there are some guys of interest there."

On whether there was a specific pick that they looked at using on a defensive tackle

"Well, I think coming into the draft-it is a deep draft and there are still guys on the board that we have interest in. Every draft has its own personality and the way this one was falling, we acquired guys that are going to make us a better football team."

On whether he feels like they have drafted four starters with their first four picks

"I think we have guys that we feel like can do that. One of the things I think, having done this for some time that helps you, is to create competition. I think we have a good corps of guys here now, and we will inject this group into it and we have created a lot of competition with some very young, talented guys so far in this draft."

On which position T Orlando Franklin will play

"I think we were pretty specific with (T) Orlando (Franklin) just because that is his makeup and that is how he is built. I do not like defining players this early in the process, because they can surprise you. Right now, I think that is the area that we have an opening, potentially, and we will go from there. We have to have some depth there anyways."

On whether he sees any of the defensive tackles currently on the board as immediate starters

"I think we have guys on our team now that can start. It is not like we have nobody (here). I think anytime you do (trade) down, you risk losing players. That is all a part of the process. The names you mentioned are guys that were on our board. I am not sure that if we had stayed up there, they would have been the people that we would have selected. There is still depth at the end of the draft. We will look at that and then if we do not accomplish it there, we will look at the next player pool (free agency) when that develops."

On whether they considered trading back up to get a defensive lineman

"There were a lot of conversations. Part of the reason to move back was to acquire those picks, so to turn around lose those picks and move back up did not make much sense to us at that time."

On what he likes about S Rahim Moore

"Well, first of all, his ball skills. He is big about taking the ball away on defense, whether it is on downs or interceptions or fumble recoveries. So, he has great ball skills and he has a lot of interceptions-maybe more than anybody in the draft. He is athletic, he is a smart guy and understands football and loves football and was a pretty good pick."

On players being allowed back into the building

"We got a lot accomplished-meetings and just football stuff. This is a football building; it's been a little strange with no football players. That part was fun for the people that work in the building, and I know it was for the coaches. It might be short lived, but it was a good day."

On communicating with the 2011 draft picks

"We did have Von Miller in today, and we were able to give him some information while he was in the building. Really with what moves forward, we're in communication on that."

On T Orlando Franklin

"Part of what we're going to do is run the ball. It doesn't all revolve around the quarterback or the passing game. He's big and physical and knocks people off the ball. He gets his hands on you and you're usually going the other way. That was something that was impressive."

On whether they thought about picking a running back  
"Yeah I think running back is another area. The problem is that we have a lot of needs, and we've only had three rounds in the draft, so we haven't met all those needs at this point. We still have (rounds) four through seven tomorrow as well as the next player pool when that arrives."

On whether the labor situation will make it difficult to get the rookies ready

"That's obviously something I don't have control over. I probably don't feel any worse or better than anybody else."

On LB Nate Irvings' previous injuries

"I think there are a lot of guys walking around with plates and screws, but they play football. He's checked out fine medically. (Head Athletic Trainer) Steve (Antonopulos) does a great job. We wouldn't have taken him if we didn't feel good about it."

On this years' draft compared to last year

"Like I said earlier, they're all different. I think I had the same input in years past. Last year was a little bit unique because there was pretty good knowledge that it was my last year. This was a lot more fun."

On whether Nate Irving will play inside or outside linebacker

"Nate probably doesn't realize it because he has skills to do both. He did both in college. We did a lot of research. He's a terrific player. He plays football very physically, and yet he does have the skill set as far as catching the ball and making plays on the outside and the inside. He's a guy we had our eyes on all the way. He's a guy we identify with what we're doing. Not a lot of these guys are current players that we can see play. We've seen them on tape, but we hadn't had a practice with them yet. Our new players are the same, so we'll get a chance to watch them and see how they work. We'll see what their skill set is. They'll define what their positions are."

On which current players have the potential to play middle linebacker

"I'd like to have had minicamp before now, but we're trying to accumulate players that fit into what we are trying to do and let them define where their positions are."

On how he slept last night

"Shortly. I didn't get a lot of sleep. By the time I got home, it was a fast night, but I slept well. We met until 12:30 (a.m.) or so, then got back and probably got about seven hours of sleep, six hours of sleep. I slept fine. We took care of most of it last night with a lot of our possibilities."

On Da'Quan Bowers' slide late into the second round

"Our league can be very scrutinized. We scrutinize the players we are about to invest in. I think medically there were some concerns. I feel bad for Da'Quan. He's a great kid, but I think it (his knee injury) caused him to slip some. I'm sure he's going to do just fine."

On addressing the rush defense in the draft

"I think we have a lot of holes, as I mentioned before. We have (rounds) four through seven tomorrow. We get back to work, and we know there will be options out there on the other player pool.  We'll just take it a day at a time."