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2016 NFL Draft: Broncos have been busy attending Pro Days

The Broncos scouts have been busy in the month of March.

Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

With the Senior Bowl and NFL Scouting Combine in the books, the teams, prospects, and scouts have shifted their focus to Pro Days.

At these Pro Days, prospects will go through a series of workouts(some suggested by the NFL Scouts and/or coaches) and they will interview them and set up potential visits/workouts in the coming weeks.

The Broncos scouts have been at all the top Pro Days these past few weeks. They attended Ohio State's, Alabama's, Clemson's, LSU's, Penn State, UCLA's and others.

So let's take a look the prospects the Broncos have been showing the most interest in.

LSU Cornerback Rashard Robinson

According to Walter Football's draft insider Tony Pauline, the Broncos met with the physically gifted Robinson during LSU's Pro Day.

Robinson is listed at 6'1", 171lbs and ran a 4.43 40 time at LSU's pro day earlier this week. He tested much better at his pro day than he did at the Combine because he was one of many prospects who caught the flu bug that week.

Robinson is one of these prospects full of raw talent and would be a first round pick if they did not have character questions surrounding them.

Here is what a former SEC defensive backs coach had to say about Robinson.

"I'm not sure he's a bad kid, but I know he hates school. He's really tough -- ­typical south Florida kid. You know what you get. The interviews will work themselves out for better or worse, but you keep things simple for him and let him chase one guy around the field all day. He's really good at that."

John Elway usually ends up drafting a cornerback or two during the NFL Draft, so it makes sense that the team is doing their homework on Robinson. He has lots of raw athleticism, and could be a steal in the mid rounds of April's NFL Draft.

Ohio State Tight End Nick Vannett

The Denver Broncos were among the teams that met with the Ohio State tight end after his Pro Day workout earlier this week per Walter Football.

The 6'6", 257lb tight end had a pretty good workout. He ran a 4.85 40 time, had a 29.5 inch vertical, and a 9 foot, 5-inch broad jump.

I expect the Broncos to add a tight end during the NFL Draft. They released veteran Owen Daniels and are a little thin at the tight end position currently. They have blocking specialist Virgil Green and 2015 third round pick Jeff Heuerman at tight end but neither has proven to be starter material in the NFL just yet. So adding a tight end within the first four rounds seems likely.

Nick Vannett would give the Broncos another big weapon in the middle of the field and would reunite him with his former Ohio State teammate Jeff Heuerman.

Alabama Pro Day

The Broncos and the rest of the NFL were present at the Alabama Pro Day earlier this month to check out the long list of potential NFL players they have available for this year's NFL Draft.

They have three defensive players who will likely be first round picks, and would fill an area of need for the Broncos. Those players being defensive tackle's A'Shawn Robinson and Jarran Reed, and inside linebacker Reggie Ragland.

Robinson is likely a top 10 to 15 pick and Reed is probably a top 20 pick. Both figure to be high on the Broncos draft board(they reportedly love Jarran Reed), but it would take a big trade up to get either player.

Ragland figures to be the next Alabama inside linebacker to have success in the NFL. He could fall near or to the Broncos, so he will be a name to watch in the coming days and weeks.

Then you have the guys who could be late first round picks or go early in the second round. Those players being center Ryan Kelly and running back Derrick Henry.

The Broncos seem set with Matthew Paradis at center so I doubt they will look at Kelly early. The same can be said about Derrick Henry. With C.J. Anderson back with the team, I do not see the Broncos spending a high draft pick on a running back. I'd expect them to select a speedier guy in the middle rounds of the draft.

Speaking of speedier backs in the middle rounds of the draft, an option for the Broncos will be Kenyan Drake. The explosive running back is expected to be a late day two selection.

Quarterback Christian Hackenberg

Penn State held its Pro Day on Thursday and the Denver Broncos were among the teams paying close attention to quarterback prospect Christian Hackenberg.

The Broncos are in need of a quarterback after Brock Osweiler bolted for the Houston Texans early in free agency and Hackenberg could be that guy.

Hackenberg reportedly had a pretty solid Pro Day performance and threw the ball great one NFL evaluator told NFL Network's Kim Jones. He also reportedly completed 44 of 52 passes during his Pro Day and had a streak of 21 straight which drew some "wows" from the crowd.

Hackenberg is considered one of the second tier quarterbacks behind Carson Wentz, Jared Goff, and Paxton Lynch. He is competing with Connor Cook, Cardale Jones, and Dak Prescott

If the Broncos like what they saw from Hackenberg, he would be in play for them in the second round and possibly even at 31.

Other Pro Day notes:

Here is the complete list of prospects the Broncos have reportedly been showing interest in so far in the draft process.

Pos. Player School Rd. Shrine Game Sr. Bowl Combine Private Workout/Visit Pro Day Rumors
CB Juston Burris NC State 7th-UDFA X




WR Devon Cajuste Stanford 7th-UDFA X




G Parker Ehinger Cincinnati 6th X




DT Javon Hargrave South Carolina State 4th X




RB/FB Devon Johnson Marshall UDFA X




WR Hunter Sharp Utah State 7th-UDFA X




WR Tajae Sharpe Massachusetts 4th-5th X




G Joe Thuney NC State 7th-UDFA X




WR Malcolm Mitchell Georgia 4th
X



WR Sterling Shepard Oklahoma 2nd/3rd
X



OLB Dadi Nicolas Virginia Tech 5th
X



QB Dak Prescott Mississippi State 2nd-3rd

X

X
QB Paxton Lynch Memphis 1st




X
DT/DE Jarran Reed Alabama 1st




X
OT Halapoulivaati Vaitai TCU 7th-UDFA

X


QB Josh Woodrum Liberty UDFA




X
RB Tyler Ervin San Jose State 5th

X


G Joshua Garnett Stanford 2nd-3rd

X


WR Jordan Payton UCLA 4th

X


TE Beau Sandland Montana 7th

X


WR Rashard Higgins Colorado State 2-3

X


WR Nelson Spruce Colorado 7th-UDFA

X


G Rees Odhiambo Boise State 5th-6th

X


DE Carl Nassib Penn State 2nd




X
CB Ken Crawley Colorado 7th-UDFA X




S Lamarcus Brutus Florida State UDFA

X


DE/DT Luther Maddy Virginia Tech 7th

X


OT/G Germain Ifedi Texas A&M 1st/2nd




X
RB Daniel Lasco Cal 4th-5th

X


ILB Josh Forrest Kentucky 7th-UDFA



X
DE Emmanuel Ogbah Oklahoma State 1st



X
G Cody Whitehair Kansas State 1st-2nd



X
FB Glenn Gronkowski Kansas State 4th-5th



X
CB Rashard Robinson LSU 4th



X
TE Nick Vannett Ohio State 3rd



X
QB Jeff Driskel Louisiana Tech 7th-UDFA



X
DE/OLB Mike Rose NC State UDFA



X
WR Quenton Bundrage Iowa State 7th-UDFA



X
QB Christian Hackenberg Penn State 2nd-3rd



X X
LB/ILB Quentin Gause Rutgers 7th-UDFA



X
LS Kameron Canaday Portland State UDFA


X
DE/DT Drew Iddings South Dakota State 7th-UDFA



X