Why the Broncos should take a flier on La'el Collins tonight

I know what you're saying. You're saying that I need to stay far away from Shane Ray with this ridiculousness. I must be on something, right? Well, no, but I have a reason for me ranting about taking La'el Collins tonight (meaning 2nd round, possibly 3rd).

First of all, let me say that I'd much rather take him in the 7th round as most have him as "undraftable." My hesitation on waiting that long is this very basic philosophy: "It only takes one team." That's it. It only takes one team to want a player and that player is gone. Well, why can't the Broncos be that team? This young man is immensely talented, and last I checked, the Broncos were in desperate (not their words) need of a right tackle, center, and left guard.

Insert my main reason to take La'el Collins tonight. He is a mesmerizing right tackle and left guard. He is poetry in motion at those positions. He is by far the best offensive lineman in this draft, but he's going to be potentially undrafted because his ex-girlfriend was murdered. Look, I'm very sorry any time anyone dies, and that is the tragedy of this draft, but the optimist inside of me says that Collins will not be a suspect.

Unfortunately (or fortunately if the Broncos are that "it only takes one team"), Collins won't be talking with the police until Monday, which my calendar tells me is after the draft. But on the bright side, it just might mean that the Broncos get the absolute best lineman this draft has to offer.

Some say he needs hand mechanic work, but they'd be wrong. That is his knock while playing left tackle (Ryan Clady is already there). Some say he needs a bit of work on his feet for the elite edge rushers. But again, that is a knock on him being a left tackle. He will be asked to be the Broncos right tackle, and if anyone says he isn't an immediate upgrade over journeyman bench warmer Chris Clark, I have some wonderful beach front property in Montana to sell you.

The bottom line is this: La'el is an absolute beast of a lineman. He plays with a nasty edge that you just don't see every day. There is a place on this line for him and his talents. We just need to make sure he doesn't go all Hernandez on us.

So why draft him in the second round you say? Take away the "it only takes one team" mentality, and you still might be left with us overpaying for a player that might not ever play in the NFL. Well, I have 12 words for you that should convince you as to why we should take a flier on Collins and never look back, even if he is arrested and never plays in the NFL.

The 12 words you ask? Rahim Moore, Derek Wolfe, Brock Osweiller, Montee Ball, Cody Latimer, Orlando Franklin. Count them, that's 12 words. Those players represent John Elway's second round selections. While some of us loved Franklin, he's no longer with this team, and the jury is still out on whether or not Latimer will amount to anything (or Ball aka my man crush).

With Elway's poor choices in the second round, why not burn that pick on the best lineman in this draft? It isn't like Elway was going to pick anyone worth a damn anyway!

Would I rather remain calm, cool, and collected and wait for the seventh round to take him? Of course I would, but if any of you have ever read a single word I've typed, you know I'm not calm, cool, or collected. I'd rather waste a Brock Osweiller type pick (aka a player who won't ever play a meaningful down for the Broncos) on Collins than trust that Elway will draft a player that actually contributes to the team. Then again, if Elway takes Collins in the second round, maybe that is the nail in his (Collins) coffin considering his dreadful history in that round?

Let me add one other little nugget to think about. There is a difference between a first round talent being drafted in the second round, and a first round talent being drafted in the seventh round. In one instance, you have a pissed off player with a chip on his shoulder to prove everyone wrong. In a difference scenario, you have a pissed off player who won't give his all and be a headache and probably bust out of the league because he unjustly got penalized tens of millions of dollars. That ladies and gentlemen, is why tonight is the night to draft this man, not tomorrow. If we get him tonight, we'll have a player who wants to prove everyone wrong. If we by some miracle get him in the seventh round, we'll probably have a locker room cancer, and considering he's a great teammate, that would be a damn shame.

There you have it folks. That is why I'd love to see the Broncos take a chance on a kid who would have been the first lineman taken in the draft. If he indeed is "not a suspect" as the police have already said, then Elway will have the two biggest steals of this draft (Ray and Collins). If he is a suspect come Monday, then Elway simply picked poorly with his second round draft pick yet again. No harm, no foul, just the second round Elway curse.

Give me your opinions below. Tick tock, the draft starts soon.