Defensive Tackle is a position that deserves attention this offseason for the Denver Broncos. Kevin Vickerson, Justin Bannan and Ty Warren are Unrestricted Free Agents and Mitch Unrein is an Exclusive Rights Free Agent in 2013. While it's safe to say that Unrein will be tendered and re-signed, the only Interior Lineman under contract at this time is Sealver Siliga. This scenario makes it obvious, to me anyway, that the Broncos will draft a big man for the middle of their Defensive Line in April.
Player | Age/Exp | 2012 | 2013 |
Justin Bannan | 33/11th | $1.0M | UFA |
Sealver Siliga | 22/1st | $390K | $480K |
Mitch Unrein | 25/3rd | $465K | ERFA |
Kevin Vickerson | 30/7th | $1.2M | UFA |
Ty Warren | 31/10th | $1.25M | UFA |
Denver didn't spend very much money on this position in 2012 and should have enough to either re-sign Big Vick or pursue a 2nd tier Defensive Tackle in Free Agency while adding a draft pick. Justin Bannan has stated that he would gladly return because he has made Colorado his home and loves playing for the Broncos. While it is true he may give Denver a home town discount, as a player with 10+ years vested in the NFL, Justin must make at least $940K in 2013 per the Collective Bargaining Agreement. I could see him coming back at his 2012 Salary.
We also know that this season's draft picks will have a $405K Base Salary in 2013. That alone makes it worth drafting a DT, but also gives the team more resources to allot in Free Agency along with the option of re-signing Kevin Vickerson and/or Bannan. At this point, I am counting Ty Warren out of the picture. This position group needs to get younger anyway and the combination of a draft pick with the loss of Warren would achieve that.
With that said, it's time to look at the Production Ratio's of this year's crop of Defensive Tackles. The overall rankings are from CBSSports.com and reflect the status as of 1/17/13.
Rnd | OVR | Player | School | Ht | Wgt | 40T | Gm | TKL | TFL | SK | PD | FF | FR | P.Ratio |
1 | 8 | Star Lotulelei | Utah | 6-3 | 320 | 5.14 | 26 | 107 | 21.5 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1.09 |
1 | 14 | *Johnathan Hankins | Ohio St | 6-3 | 320 | 5.32 | 38 | 138 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.55 |
1 | 16 | *Sheldon Richardson | Missouri | 6-3 | 295 | 4.89 | 24 | 112 | 18.5 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1.02 |
1 | 20 | Jesse Williams | Alabama | 6-3 | 320 | 5.04 | 13 | 61 | 6.5 | 1.5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.61 |
1 | 30 | John Jenkins | Georgia | 6-3 | 358 | 5.45 | 14 | 78 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.86 |
1-2 | 39 | *Shariff Floyd | Florida | 6-3 | 303 | 5.17 | 37 | 115 | 26 | 4.5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.82 |
2 | 46 | Kawann Short | Purdue | 6-3 | 315 | 5.16 | 37 | 186 | 49 | 19.5 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 1.85 |
2-3 | 73 | Sylvester Williams | N. Carolina | 6-3 | 320 | 5.08 | 25 | 96 | 20.5 | 8.5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1.16 |
2-3 | 91 | *Akeem Spence | Illinois | 6-1 | 305 | 5.12 | 38 | 186 | 16.5 | 3.5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.52 |
3 | 104 | *Bennie Logan | LSU | 6-3 | 295 | 4.89 | 30 | 107 | 12.5 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0.48 |
3-4 | 124 | Brandon Williams | Missouri So. | 6-2 | 328 | 5.09 | 42 | 191 | 52.5 | 25.5 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 1.86 |
3-4 | 134 | Jordan Hill | Penn St | 6-1 | 294 | 5.06 | 46 | 171 | 19.5 | 9.5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0.63 |
4 | 147 | Everette Dawkins | Florida St | 6-2 | 304 | 4.95 | 54 | 106 | 15 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0.41 |
4-5 | 156 | *Kwame Geathers(NT) | Georgia | 6-5 | 355 | 5.38 | 34 | 61 | 6.5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.22 |
5 | 171 | Cory Grissom | S. Florida | 6-2 | 316 | 5.18 | 44 | 105 | 16.5 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0.49 |
5-6 | 182 | Josh Boyd | Miss. St | 6-3 | 300 | 4.96 | 51 | 125 | 19 | 8.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.48 |
5-6 | 196 | Anthony McCloud | Florida St | 6-2 | 322 | 5.18 | 40 | 84 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0.35 |
6 | 203 | William Campbell | Michigan | 6-5 | 318 | 5.19 | 50 | 63 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.16 |
6-7 | 218 | Montori Hughes | Tenn-Martin | 6-3 | 330 | 5.12 | 47 | 109 | 24 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0.66 |
7 | 248 | Gilbert Pena | Mississippi | 6-2 | 334 | 5.32 | 22 | 45 | 7.5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.43 |
7-FA | 275 | Jared Smith | N. Hampshire | 6-2 | 302 | 5.05 | 42 | 129 | 26 | 12.5 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0.92 |
7-FA | 278 | Kapron Lewis-Moore | Notre Dame | 6-4 | 306 | 4.89 | 45 | 180 | 22 | 12 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0.75 |
7-FA | 283 | Scott Vallone | Rutgers | 6-3 | 278 | 4.92 | 51 | 195 | 36.5 | 8.5 | 6 | 1 | 1t | 0.88 |
7-FA | 301 | A.J. Francis | Maryland | 6-5 | 321 | 5.39 | 49 | 149 | 20.5 | 9.5 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0.61 |
7-FA | 314 | David King | Oklahoma | 6-4 | 286 | 4.88 | 41 | 70 | 7 | 4.5 | 3 | 1 | 1t | 0.28 |
7-FA | 329 | *Brandon Moore | Texas | 6-6 | 322 | 5.38 | 12 | 22 | 5.5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.29 |
7-FA | 336 | Anthony Rashad White | Michigan St | 6-2 | 330 | 5.24 | 26 | 48 | 5 | 0.5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.21 |
-- | 366 | Chris Jones | Bowl. Green | 6-1 | 292 | 5.02 | 50 | 157 | 46.5 | 28 | 2 | 6 | 2(1) | 1.49 |
-- | 379 | Abry Jones | Georgia | 6-3 | 308 | 5.02 | 46 | 107 | 13.5 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0.40 |
-- | 394 | Will Pericak | Colorado | 6-4 | 300 | 4.96 | 49 | 156 | 18 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0.49 |
-- | 407 | Jamarckus McFarland | Oklahoma | 6-1 | 288 | 4.97 | 46 | 81 | 17 | 7.5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.53 |
-- | 418 | Omar Hunter | Florida | 6-0 | 312 | 5.04 | 53 | 111 | 11 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0.23 |
-- | 437 | Brent Russell | Georgia So. | 6-1 | 300 | 5.08 | 51 | 253 | 62 | 27 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.74 |
-- | 455 | Josh Downs | LSU | 6-1 | 297 | 5.08 | 47 | 47 | 11.5 | 4.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.34 |
-- | 470 | Dave Kruger | Utah | 6-5 | 300 | 4.96 | 36 | 68 | 14 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0.64 |
-- | 482 | Spencer Nealy | Texas A&M | 6-5 | 277 | 4.87 | 52 | 126 | 21 | 4.5 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0.49 |
-- | 491 | Baker Steinkuhler | Nebraska | 6-5 | 290 | 4.98 | 50 | 150 | 16 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0.48 |
-- | 501 | Jake McDonough | Iowa St | 6-4 | 290 | 5.21 | 39 | 89 | 13 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0.46 |
-- | 509 | Nicholas Williams | Samford | 6-3 | 310 | 4.12 | 40 | 43 | 11 | 9.5 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0.51 |
-- | 523 | Caraun Reid | Princeton | 6-2 | 292 | 4.94 | 33 | 142 | 30 | 14 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 1.26 |
The formula for the Production Ratio looks like this:
(SACKS + TACKLES FOR LOSS)/NUMBER OF GAMES PLAYED = PRODUCTION RATIO
What we are looking for someone who scores a 1.0 or better. For reference, here are a few Bronco players Production Ratio numbers coming out of college.
Robert Ayers - 0.84
Derek Wolfe - 1.25
Malik Jackson - 1.04
Von Miller - 1.78
I should point out that this formula comes from Pat Kirwan’s book, “Take Your Eye Off the Ball.”
The Denver Broncos having the 28th, 60th and 92nd picks (so far) in the 2013 NFL Draft on April 25-27th. That puts John Jenkins, Shariff Floyd, Kawann Short, Sylvester Williams, Akeem Spence, Bennie Logan and Brandon Williams right in their wheelhouse for one of their first 3 draft picks.
I'd also like to take a further look at Brandon Moore (limited sample) and Brent Russell (Division 2 All-Star), but at this point, I’d say Kawann Short has to be the favorite.
Go Broncos!
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