Something that the Denver Broncos are facing right now is which of our needs is the greatest? Our horrible Run Defense last year begs a Defensive Tackle, Matt Lepsis' Retirement, asks for an Offensive Tackle, B-Marsh' injury, Walker's defection to the raiders and Rod Smith's "Retirement" demand a Wide Receiver, Signing Boss and K2 are looked at as great but leave us with a Linebacker corps who are all roughly the same age and what are seen as stop gap solutions at Safety mean a little attention there may be required as well. I know I did something similar to this last week but this time I am going to focus more on those five areas. It seems that they are the five we focus most on in our diaries and comments. I want to break down who we have as well as the draft potential at each position. Without further ado......

Wide Receivers-
Jeremy Bates looks promising and with him pulling the Offensive game together I can only assume that our run and pass games will be equally important as they both involve our current starting Quarterback. Focusing on Wide Receivers I see three possible game time starters in Marshall, Colbert and Stokley. As it is that is our #1, #2 and #3 respectively.

~Colbert does not impress anyone from the Denver fan base and it seems that the Carolina fan base wasn't too broken up about parting with him.

~Stokely CAN move into the #2 but he will never be as effective as he would as a #3.

~Marshall's injury doesn't help settle the stomach when it comes to receiver.

I think that most people here agree with the three problems above (please correct me if I am wrong). With Colbert, we face an unknown situation. People compare him to Eddie Mac (Coach included) but the fact is Eddie was number three or four because of depth, where as Colbert in fact competed for the #2 slot every year. He could be another steal like McCaffrey was but for now we don't know. Marshall has said he needs to grow up and Cutler has said its time to grow up. That being said, he needs to find someway to continue to train, Suggestion for the kid is if he can't catch balls right now he needs to watch tape. Watch San Diego Tape, Kansas City Tape, and jokeland tape, as well as tape of other teams receivers and defenses to break down what he can do better and how to anticipate defenses. The Stokley issue is kind of hard to do anything about. It will either be slot or #2 for him that's it.

Draft at Receiver-
Here are the prospects:

DeSean Jackson

Some teams will shy away from DeSean Jackson because of his size. Those same teams probably passed up on Steve Smith (5-9, 185) too. Still, you have to wonder why Jackson hasn't been able to put on any weight during his collegiate career. Jackson snapped out of his early-season slump, catching 11 passes for 160 yards and two touchdowns in an upset at Oregon. Compare him to Santana Moss who returned four punts for touchdowns in 2006. There's talk that Jackson may run a 4.2, which would put him into the top five. He's the same size as Ted Ginn, and could be even faster. Jackson recorded 59 receptions, 1,060 yards and nine scores last year.

Devin Thomas

Devin Thomas could be the receiver who raised his draft stock the most at the combine. A 4.32 from a 215-pound receiver? No one saw that coming. There are questions about why Devin Thomas played just one good season at Michigan State, but before you answer that, think of who his head coach was prior to 2007, John L. Smith, not the brightest head coach. After catching just six passes in 2006, Thomas has registered 75 catches, 1,226 yards and eight touchdowns this season. Where'd he come from? Thomas has a great 40 at his size, and could be drafted in the first round.

Earl Bennett

Earl Bennett's numbers slipped a bit in 2007, but you can attribute that to horrendous quarterback play. He had 75 catches, 830 yards and five scores. Bennett managed 82 receptions and 1,146 yards in 2006. Caught 79 passes a year ago as a freshman. He is also someone most people on this site want.

Dexter Jackson

Dexter Jackson followed up a solid Senior Bowl with a 4.37 40. He definitely put himself on the map this past month. Jackson's undersized, but his performance at the Senior Bowl puts him above guys of similar build, including Dorien Bryant. With a low 4.3, Jackson figures to be drafted as a return specialist as well as a receiver.

Todd Blythe

Blythe is a strong wide out. He doesn't have blazing speed but he can compliment Marshall well. He looks to be a 7th round selection which could pan out well for us. I really like his motivation and heart most of all. His stats are not too bad either 176 catches for 3096 yards over his college career. I personally think he would fit us well and be a vertical threat at 6'6" 209lbs.

For more receivers visit:
http://walterfootball.com/draft2008WR.php

[editor's note] The listed Receivers are the ones that some of our MHR faithful would like us to pick up.

Next up Offensive Tackles