2008 NFL Draft

2008 NFL Draft -- Denver Selects DT, Carlton Powell

by Jeremy Bolander on Apr 27, 2008 4:52 PM MDT in 2008 NFL Draft Comment 12 comments

Regardless of how you rank our offseason needs, there is no doubt we had three critical issues to this teams success:

Score TDs in the redzone
Stop the run
Improve STs

As I peruse our 2008 draft class, I see just how deeply complex football is, as on the surface we seem to putting a lot of effort into #3 above, when I would probably rate it as a distant second to #2. But that is where the complexity lies. By addressing 3 you indirectly optimize 1 which in turn has an effect on 2 which improves 3 which...

I think you get the point.

And not to be overlooked in the drafting or non-drafting of a DT is the fundamentally flawed stature of this years DT class. Outside of Ellis and Dorsey (who I wil leave out of the discussion from here on out) there simply wasn't anyone that I felt the Bronco's absolutely must get. I have looked at more DTs this year than in any year of the draft, and I have extensie notes on 27 (!!!) DTs alone, making up almost a fifth of scouting I did across ALL positions, and with every prospect I watched and then tossed aside, I was disgusted by what was the most gratuitous display of inconsistency that I have ever seen. There was only ONE consistent, well-rounded DT in this draft (again, outside of the top two) and that was Trevor Laws, but on the the other hand, what he did consistently, the other DTs did much, much better, but inconsistently. How do you balance and grade that? I graded it by giving everyone D's and sending them home. It was frustrating to think that perhaps our biggest need simply wasn't going to be plausibly addressed in the most important drft in Shanny's tenure. The only option was to focus on value.

And Shanny and Co. did an amazing job of that. They waited patiently for other teams to take the character risks, the motivationaly challenged, and the one dimensional, and let a gem like Powell fall right into their lap wiht their late pick in the fifth round. It doesn't matter how many picks separate Laws and Powell on draft day: very little separates them on the field. Denver got STELLAR value with this pick.

Powell is a big guy who can still get bigger, a rarity for late picks. Great competitor who plays to the whistle and gives his all every snap. He is a solid character guy, with no injury history worth mentioning, and multiple awards in his closet for having the most hustle. He doesn't go to the ground easily, and when he does go down gets up quickly. He is one of the few effective run stoppers who actually has a variety of pass rushing moves outside of the bull rush. He also one of the most consistent DTs at keeping olinemen out of his chest and doesn't suffer from bad leverage to the extent that many of the other DTs do.

Powell was drafted to be part of a runstopping solution for Denver, but in two or three years, if he can manage to get some of the coach's confidence, he should be a presence on rush and passing downs. Unlike a lot of the other, riskier picks, Powell has enough tools to be viewed as the kind of producer Denver would like to line up alongside Robertson, even if those tools aren't likely to evolve into elite moves.

Effective value slipping tnrough the cracks to Denver, in a DT draft that will burn more teams than it helps. This is a player that Denver can get excited about, without putting anything at risk. After the last few seasons, this draft is coming as a breath of fresh air.

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2008 NFL Draft -- Denver Selects RB Ryan Torain

by Jeremy Bolander on Apr 27, 2008 4:11 PM MDT in 2008 NFL Draft Comment 5 comments

Denver's most recent late round RB selection seems to be getting a bit of a cold shoulder from the faithful.

For shame.

If you have learned anyhting about these Denver Broncos it is that they don't mess up the RB picks. I could very easily file this one away under success without pulling out my notes to corroborate what they are doing here, but I enjoy checking up on the Broncos, so it is my pleasure to introduce you to the newest 1000 yd rusher for the Broncos.

But first, let's get something out of the way. We all get a little too caught up in "this guy should go here" and "that guy should go there". Here is a mental exercise: take all of the currently active NFL players and throw them in a pot and then draw lots and draft to build a team (not a fantasy team here, guys. An actual team.) There will be a top fifty or so (around 3 rds) that everyone will be vying for. But after that, the players you want will differ drastically from the players other people want. When the pure talent is off the board, the only consideration is what you think of them, not what anyone else thinks. You may compete for a player here or there, but generally speaking, the most important asset you have is knowing what you want. And Denver knows what they want.

They want Mike Anderson.

Ok, ok, I know that's not fair. I don't like to make player comparisons, but for once I just can't help myself. Ryan is strong, but he isn't too strong. He is fast, but not too fast. He can take a pounding, but not too much of a pounding. He's great north-south runner between the tackles, but not that great. He has great cutback agility and vision, but he doesn't have elite speed to break it every time. He can catch, but he isn't a great catcher.

Ryan and Henry should be BFFs. Where Henry goes, Ryan should be right with him. Not because of similarities in character, as Ryan is a standout character guy with a great blue-collar work ethic (to be fair, I don't lambast Henry as much as some, because he always struck me as accountable. To err is human, just take your lumps like a man.) When you recognize the type of runner that Ryan is, you will recognize what his role in denver will be, if he can earn his way into it:

Protect Travis Henry.

Right now Shanahan likes to start 3 true tailbacks. One bruiser and two change of pace backs. Whether this is a preference of his is debatable, but it is certainly what he had to work with. To me, this doesn't make any sense. Why would you have a breather guy for your changeup specialist? From what I have seen the past two years, I really think that Shanny has integrated the "change-up" back into his play-calling, and I think Hoosierteacher would probably agree with this assessment: Shanny is specifically setting up the homerun ball. But what Shanny needs to be more successful here isn't a fast back to spell Selvin Young, its another durable, tough between the tackles, hard yardage guy that can keep Henry fresh, whether it be in long games or on long drives. Part of this has to do with Henry's injury history, and part to the long fields we have been facing on offense, but regardless, Shanny is leaving nothing to chance.

I have said that the number one priority of the reloading season is finding ways to make the team better at scoring in the redzone, and keeping our goalline bruising back fresh and tough (and hopefully healthy) is a big part of that. No team is scared to face Selvin Young or Hall on the goalline, but even an injured Henry isn't a trifle, because he can break tackles.

Add in ST tackling, which Ryan should be a standout in, and injury insurance for Henry, where our running game doesn't become utterly one dimensional and frail when Henry gets hurt, and this is an awesome, and very solid pick. And this is without even considering what this kid can earn for himself, such as goalline reps ala Marion Barber. I made the mistake of looking at Young/Hall depth late in the draft, partly on the assumption that the durable bruisers would be gone, or non-cutback runners (i.e. Hart). I never once considered Ryan on the grounds that his toe injury would make him a less than ideal choice, and it is possible we should be concerned about it, but he is a durable back with a mild injury history (toe, cramping, an ankle sprain).

He fits the system and Denver wanted him. When it comes to RBs, that all that we need to know.

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2008 NFL Draft -- Denver Selects CB Jack Williams

by Jeremy Bolander on Apr 27, 2008 3:18 PM MDT in 2008 NFL Draft Comment 8 comments

You don't know Jack.

And it is fairly debatable about whether you want to or not.

First, let's get the obvious out of the way. The guy is too small. At 5' 9" (generously) he comes to a team that won't draft elite safety help if their lives depended on it, and is guaranteed to be mismatched 9 times out of 10 in one on one coverages. I love D-Will, but I remember him being burned a lot in one on one scenarios against precise passers. He was at his best when the opposing QB was screwing up, where his tenaciousness made teams pay for their mistakes.

Which is something you see in J-Will as well. Tenaciousness. Fire. Competitiveness. You WILL see him in the mix at KR/PR. You WILL see him fly down the field with some of the best timed speed in the draft. You WILL see his willingness to work and his great team attitude. You WILL see a combination of strength and speed that is rare in a CB. And you WILL see a player who will never give up.

In fact, I would fairly say that, of all the words you might use to describe J-Will, WILL might be the best one. Nothing has or will be handed to him. He knows this and he understands it. What he lacks in height he makes up for in an unheralded devotion to filmwork and study. He knows tendencies and he doesn't bite on misdirection, while showing tremendous discipline in not relying on his speed to save him. And he will be entering a DB environment in Denver where nothing less is expected. He has a tough learning curve ahead of him, but he's tackled these kinds of things before, and where he looks like he isn't up to the task, he WILLS himself through with a combination of dedication, experience and tenacity.

His range is excellent, and he knows how to get his hands on the ball, though he was allowed to zone frequently in his college scheme and thus would attack the ball. But as a nickle back, he may be able to combine the best of what he does with the best that Slowik will require. Like Darrent, he may be asked (or prefer) to play with some cushion and rely on smart safety zoneplay behind him to read the route and the play, which are two areas he excels at. It is to be expected that he may struggle with man coverage, although it should also be noted that he possesses many of the traits needed for good man coverage ability: he moves his hips well and has great anticipation, and accelerates with good burst. He reads receivers well, though he can be caught with good double moves, and he needs to get better with his hands, since he doesn't have the size to stay with a receiver off the line, and is not good at rerouting the receiver.

Regarding the pick itself, Denver has shown that they are not interested in leaving much to chance. They KNOW that Abdullah, Foxworth and Paymah will be free agents, and they know that it may even be in the teams best interests to trade any of those players. There isn't time to lose in insuring the defensive backfield, and with only weak options at safety, they looked to get the kind of player that can work hard and make other's expendable in his wake. Foxy and Paymah will both have to EARN their free agent contracts from Denver next year, and this pick ensures that.

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2008 NFL Draft -- Broncos Select C, Korey Lichtensteiger

by Jeremy Bolander on Apr 27, 2008 2:49 PM MDT in 2008 NFL Draft Comment 4 comments

I didn't see this coming but I definitely love this pick.

This is another nasty Olineman with good instincts and versatility, and what really excites me is what he can bring to Denver's running game down the line: as a guard he had 184 knockdowns, 27 resulting in TDs. That's what I'm talking about.

When you factor in his effortless move to center, where he graded the highest among NCAA centers for his blocking (92 knockdowns in first year, 10 for TDs), you can understand why he was the highest ranked center going into 2007, but that leads you to ask: Why didn't he stay at the top?

He began 2007 by recording 96 knockdowns, and 16 were for TDs, and he did this through only nine games. He also added 6 other knockdowns that resulted in big plays (over 25 yards) and gave up only 1 sack through that time period. But unbeknownst to him he was playing through pain that would ultimately prove to be a torn labrum, which was repaired via arthroscopic surgery, but considered a delicate heal. He needs to be shelved for a little while, and then take it slow coming back, but even with the longest timetable imaginable for this he will be back to form by the time training camp officially starts. There is some ado about him not matching up well with certain types of DTs, but his move to center maximized his potential, and when you combine that with his quiet and determined attitude, great work ethic, and football smarts, you get a guy that could actually make Nalen break out in a sweat competing with him in practice!

Hands down, K-Lic (a nickname is inevitable here folks), was the best NCAA center playing last year prior to his injury, and an argument could be made for being the best after, as well. His powerful lower body strength stands on its own and is one of the qualities we have been passing over in our Olineman for a little while now (Eslinger, Myers). He has good, but not great hands, and he has some technique issues to address when getting his hands on fast interior D-linemen, especially the kind who specialize in splitting the gap, but his move to center went a long ways towards helping him hold up in that area.

One of the best things you have to like about him is how well he moves in tandem with his linemates, and how great his vision is, useful for reading defenses and for holding the point in pass protection. He is a relentless competitor, and loves to get his hat on someone, and in runblocking it isn't unusual to see him taking in inordinate amount of pleasure in taking out defenders.

Denver did the right thing by not letting any news coming through the grapevine interfere with their evaluation of this kid. If you only go by what you see, you can't help but think you might just be looking at one of the best.

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