Elway: “We got better on the offensive side, no question”.

The Broncos addressed the defensive side of the ball on Thursday night when they drafted edge rusher, Bradley Chubb with their fifth overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. Well, they entered day two of the draft with one thing in mind, and that was to improve the offensive side of the ball.

After selecting SMU wide receiver Courtland Sutton and Oregon running back Royce Freeman, Denver Broncos General Manager John Elway believes that they got better on the offensive side of the ball.

“We got better on the offensive side, no question. There were some areas that we needed some players, and so we’re really excited. [SMU WR] Courtland [Sutton] is big, fast and he’s really raw. We feel like he really has a tremendous ceiling and upside. [WR Coach] Zach [Azzanni] is going to have fun working with him, and he’s also going to be able to help us right away. [Oregon RB] Royce [Freeman] has obviously carried the ball a lot at Oregon. He had tremendous production there. He’s a big banger that we haven’t had for a while so we’re excited to have him, too. [Boston College CB] Isaac [Yiadom], we had him down at the Senior Bowl and really liked him. He’s really long and can run, and really does a nice job on the deep balls. He’s physical and we think he’ll be a really good special teams player. We’re excited about the three players we got today.”

The Broncos selected SMU wide receiver Courtland Sutton with their 40th overall pick in the second round of the draft. Sutton gives them a high upside receiver who can contribute on day one for the Broncos.

Elway told reporters that Sutton is a kid who wants to be great at football.

“Again, the scouting report and the character we got back on him was tremendous coming out of SMU. We had the chance to meet with him in Indy for the 15 minutes. He came across as a kid who wants to be a great football player. He wants to be great and loves the game of football. He’s physical, he’s tough and he’s got the tools. It’s just a matter of coaching him. That’s what’s exciting about him, how high his ceiling is.”

Sutton’s ceiling is high and will need some development to reach it, but he has the sort of mindset to reach that high potential.

Elway and the Broncos did not stop there. They added Oregon runner, Royce Freeman in the third round. He is a big back with some speed who will compete for touches with Devontae Booker and De’Angelo Henderson throughout the offseason and likely the season.

A reporter asked Elway if Royce Freeman reminded them of recently released veteran running back C.J. Anderson. Elway said they are similar, but that Freeman is faster than C.J.

“Yeah, he’s got the same type of size. Royce has got a lot better speed, he’s a 4.5 [40-yard dash time] guy. He’s got breakaway speed and has that ability. The experience that he’s had, he’s really got a good feel between the tackles. He’s a guy that if we can get him on the safeties, he has a chance to break it.”

The Broncos offense figures to look much different than it did in 2017. Trevor Siemian, C.J. Anderson, and Cody Latimer(among others) are out and Case Keenum, Royce Freeman, and Courtland Sutton are in. Hopefully, this leads to big-time improvements from this group.

With at least four more picks remaining, I would be surprised to see one or two more reinforcements added to the Broncos offensive side of the ball during today’s day 3 of the 2018 NFL Draft.