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1. DT Sylvester Williams, North Carolina: 94 percent
Broncos fans have been clamoring for a first round defensive tackle for over a decade, so when John Elway and company finally delivered, we all saw it coming, right?
Wrong. Drafting a DT actually came as a surprise to many, including yours truly. Clearly it was a pleasant surprise: 94% of you loved the pick of Sylvester Williams, a combination of need, value, and long-term potential -- not to mention a continuation of this regime's policy that the Denver Broncos will be built in the trenches first.
2. RB Montee Ball, Wisconsin: 83 percent
One of the lower approval ratings of the bunch, the selection of Montee Ball might have been met with less enthusiasm because of the other running backs -- and players in general -- still on the board. Alabama RB Eddie Lacy is the most common name thrown out there, but some liked Johnathan Franklin more than Ball, and others liked a defensive difference maker like DE Damontre Moore.
I will say that this pick has grown on me. We've all heard the phrase" tread on the tires" a hundred times in connection with Ball, and his upside might be less than some of the other prospects. But Ball has great Year One potential -- and aren't the Broncos a win-now team?
3. CB Kayvon Webster, South Florida: 71 percent
This was the least-approved pick of the bunch, simply because we as fans do not perceive it as a value-pick. Most of us rely heavily on the media to let us know where a player is roughly expected to go. In large part the media is roughly correct, but there are always players who slip through the cracks or slip down the draft more than expected.
Is Webster someone the Broncos reached for, or is he someone the media missed on? Only time will tell.
5. DE Quanterus Smith, Western Kentucky: 97 percent
This was the position everyone was craving all weekend -- a replacement to Elvis Dumervil. So when a defensive end finally came off the board for the Broncos, you voted accordingly.
Smith is a long-term prospect. He'll be a sieve against the run and his rookie year might be a wash with injury concerns, but that pass rush is a thing of beauty. Just the fact that he dominated the Chargers' first round pick in college has most of salivating.
Interestingly, your favorite and least favorite pick of the draft mirror my favorite and least favorite pick of the draft.
5. WR Tavarres King, Georgia: 90 percent
Tavarres King is a guy our own Christopher spoke highly of during MHR Radio last week, and clearly he wasn't alone in singing King's praises -- 90% of you like this pick of the vertical threat out of Georgia. The Broncos are deep at wide receiver; King will have to have a good camp to make this roster.
In the meantime, I hope the Broncos use King's speed to keep the defense honest. I hope they use King to do their secondary a favor, every play of camp. I hope they give King one mission:
Tavarres King, your goal this down and every down: get behind Rahim Moore.
6. OT Vinston Painter, Virginia Tech: 93 percent
The Broncos live and die off their late round linemen, and OT Vinston Painter fits the Denver mold in his athleticism and versatility. This pick becomes worth it if Painter sticks on the roster past training camp -- he'll do that by beating out some of our veteran backups on the line.
7. QB Zac Dysert, Miami (OH): 86 percent
Face it, the Broncos needed two more signal callers just to get through training camp practice. I don't see Dysert pushing Brock Osweiler for playing time, but he's got a lot of college experience, and he watched film with the Broncos -- they must have liked his football intelligence.