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Looking back at the 2011' Class:
Player |
Round |
Role |
Von Miller |
1st |
Starter |
Rahim Moore |
2nd |
Starter |
Orlando Franklin |
2nd |
Starter |
Nate Irving |
3rd |
Backup |
Quinton Carter |
4th |
Depth |
Julius Thomas |
4th |
Starter |
Michael Mohammed |
6th |
Gone |
Virgil Green |
7th |
Backup |
Jeremy Beal |
7th |
Gone |
In this article Bucky Brooks labels the Rahim Moore pick as the worst in the Broncos draft class that season:
This is not a slight to Moore's considerable talent, but the second-round pick has not delivered the kind of impact plays observers expected when he entered the league after a stellar career at UCLA. He has been victimized by the deep ball, including a critical Hail Mary toss in the 2013 playoffs that kept the Broncos from making a deep postseason run. Although Moore has shown signs of improvement, it's fair to say some of his draftmates have outplayed him to this point.
To an extent, I understand where Bucky is coming from but it is hard to call a guy who has started each season the worst pick of the group. In fact when you look up and down this draft class, to only miss on a 6th, and 7th rounder thus far while filling the roster with 4 starters and a couple of valuable backups and special teamers has to make this Elway's best draft thus far as a GM.
Moore has a place on this team and outside of a fluke play and a fluke injury still has time to carve out his legacy as a Bronco.
All-Time Broncos Team, Results
Thanks for those that took the time to nominate and vote on players from Broncos past. I know I promised a 1st and 2nd team, but we didn't quite make it on some of the positions for 2nd team so I'll just include the 1st team votes here:
Offense
Pos |
1st |
Recs |
QB |
Elway |
38 |
RB |
Davis |
39 |
WR 1 |
Smith |
35 |
WR 2 |
Thomas |
28 |
TE |
Sharpe |
38 |
FB |
Griffith |
19 |
LT |
Zimmerman |
28 |
LG |
Schlereth |
24 |
C |
Nalen |
36 |
RG |
Bishop |
9 |
RT |
Ryan Clady |
24 |
An astounding 8 starters from the Super Bowl offenses of the late 90's comprise the 1st team offense. Ryan Clady won the RT spot by default after losing out to Gary Zimmerman in the rec battle. Fellow newbie Demaryius Thomas earned 2nd place honors at the WR position while Keith Bishop was a write in by me. He told the offensive huddle "We've got em right where we want em." before the start of "The Drive." I love Louis Vasquez folks, but there is something inherently wrong with naming a 1-year player to an all-time team.
Defense
Pos |
1st |
Recs |
LDE |
Rich Jackson |
14 |
NT |
Keith Traylor |
10 |
RDE |
Trevor Pryce |
20 |
LOLB |
Von Miller |
26 |
LILB |
Randy Gradishar |
35 |
RILB |
Karl Mecklenberg |
28 |
ROLB |
Tom Jackson |
19 |
CB |
Champ Bailey |
43 |
CB |
Louis Wright |
18 |
FS |
Steve Atwater |
38 |
SS |
Billy Thompson |
10 |
Here we have a good mix of old and new. Starting up front you have a player from three different generations along the line. Rich Jackson was a terror at DE with the famed Orange Crush defenses of the late 1970's. Keith Traylor was a disruptive NT with the Super Bowl teams of the late 90's, and Trevor Pryce grew into his own as the Broncos came out of their dynasty of the late 90's. At Linebacker, we have quite possibly the most disruptive and play-making four in team history. In fact you could dub this lineup "The Four Horsemen."
On the back-end you have a group that combined for 142 interceptions. Champ Bailey and Louis Wright were the epitome of lockdown corner. Forget the Strong Safety label on Billy Thompson, he could do it all. We already know Steve Atwater was that great "Roamer" just looking to make a play. Combine all four and this defense with the disruption up front could have stopped any NFL offense throughout history.
Special Teams
Pos |
Player |
Recs |
KR/PR |
Rick Upchurch |
19 |
P |
Mike Horan |
N/A |
K |
Jason Elam |
38 |
Specialist |
Keith Burns |
N/A |
Rich Upchurch and Jason Elam are no-brainers. From there you get a couple of Bronco Mike write-ins. Mike Horan may not be remembered by many, but he was the punter for the Broncos for much of the 80's and early 90's. Horan's trademark were his single bar face-mask and thick mustache.
Keith Burns on the other hand later on became a coach, but excelled for years as a special teamer, much like David Bruton does these days.
This was a lot of fun, and I hope to do some similar votes in the future. Until then, crack those history books and learn more about your team Broncos Country!
Horse Tracks
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2011 draft grades: 49ers, Bears on opposite ends of grade curve - NFL.com
Three years after the fact is an adequate time frame to evaluate a draft, and Bucky Brooks has graded the 2011 NFL Draft, which featured major hits and misses at the quarterback position.
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