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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.
Of course, all 32 teams were at Alabama pro day. Belichick and Pagano only head coaches, Bills' Whaley and Colts' Grigson there as GMs ...
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) March 10, 2016
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.
Jets, Bills, Bucs, Colts, Giants, Broncos, Bears, Cowboys were all keeping a VERY close eye on Hackenberg. Especially Jets, Giants, Bills
— NFL Mocks Crew (@NFLMocks) March 17, 2016
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:
- Klein Kubiak, son of Head Coach Gary Kubiak and a scout for the Broncos was present at the Baylor Pro Day. Some of the prospects they could have been taking a look at are defensive tackle Andrew Billings, wide receiver Corey Coleman, defensive end Shawn Oakman, and guard Spencer Drango.
- Rutgers linebacker Quentin Gause met with the Broncos after his Pro Day.
- Broncos scouts were present at the Missouri Pro Day. Some of prospects they could have been taking a look at are inside linebacker Kentrell Brothers, guard Connor McGovern, and center Evan Boehm.
- Broncos scouts attended South Dakota State's Pro Day. While there they met with Drew Iddings, a 6'5", 290lb defensive end prospect.
- Broncos also attended the Texas State Pro Day.
- Broncos were among the teams to attended the Montana Pro Day as well.
- The Broncos reportedly talking to second-round cornerback prospect Kendall Fuller at the Virginia Tech as well.
- Broncos attended the Louisiana Tech Pro Day and watched a pair of prospects who figure to be top 50 picks. Those players being defensive tackle Vernon Butler, and running back Kenneth Dixon.
- All 32 NFL teams(Obviously including the Broncos) were represented at the Florida Pro Day. Some prospects the Broncos were watchings are cornerback Vernon Hargreaves, defensive end Jonathan Bullard, running back Kelvin Taylor(Fred Taylor's son), receiver Demarcus Robinson, safety Keanu Neal, tight end Jake McGee, and linebackers Antonio Morrison and Alex McCalister.
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 | |||||