NFL Draft Countdown: Denver Broncos

Welcome to the NFL Draft Countdown, where each day until the draft on April 25-26, I will look at an NFL franchise to see what its transactions have been and what its needs are. Today, the focus is on the Denver Broncos.

Denver Broncos

• Draft Position: 12
• 2008 Season Result: 8-8 (2nd in AFC West, Missed Playoffs)
• 2008 Head Coach: Mike Shanahan
• 2009 Head Coach: Josh McDaniels (0-0; 0-0)

2009 Player Transactions

Players Lost:

• Jay Cutler (CHI)
• Darrell Hackney
• Cory Boyd
• Mike Leach
• Darrell Jackson
• Andre Hall
• Karl Paymah (MIN)
• Erik Pears (OAK)
• Patrick Ramsey (TEN)
• Marlon McCree
• Nate Webster
• Tatum Bell
• Tom Nalen
• Ebenezer Ekuban
• Michael Pittman
• Edell Shepherd
• Dre’ Bly
• Dewayne Robertson
• Marquand Manuel
• Jamie Winborn
• John Engelberger
• Nate Jackson
• Niko Koutouvides (TB)
• Josh Shaw
• P.J. Pope
• Clifford Russell
• Anthony Alridge
• Chad Mustard
• Alex Haynes

Players Re-Signed/Acquired:

• Kyle Orton
• Jeb Putzier
• Scott Young
• J’Vonne Parker
• Kenny Peterson
• Chris Simms
• LaMont Jordan
• Andra Davis
• Ronald Fields
• Andre’ Goodman
• J.J. Arrington
• Brian Dawkins
• Darrell Reid
• Correll Buckhalter
• Lonie Paxton
• Jabar Gaffney
• Renaldo Hill
• Matt McChesney

2009 Draft Picks

• 1-12
• 1-18
• 2-16
• 3-15
• 4-14
• 5-13
• 6-12
• 7-16
• 7-26

Analysis and Outlook

The whole Josh McDaniels / Jay Cutler situation really fell in the category “You couldn’t make this stuff up, even if you tried!”. We hadn’t had such a soap opera worthy storyline since the Al Davis / Lane Kiffin fallout, but this was potentially more intriguing, since we all know how Al Davis can be. Nevertheless, I’m not going to dwell on it more than necessary. Denver has put itself in the middle of a major overhaul: new coach, new QB, new offense, new DC and new defense. They’ve addressed many of their needs in free agency but many openings still linger.

Personally, I’m a believer in QB Kyle Orton and I think he can operate this offense. The Denver Broncos shouldn’t try and trade up for a QB because their draft picks are better spent on other talent. In the first round, I see the Broncos look at the defensive line and at the secondary. Players they’ll likely target are DT B.J. Raji, DEs Everette Brown and Tyson Jackson, and CBs Malcolm Jenkins, Vontae Davis and Darius Butler.

The Broncos will focus on similar players in the second round in case they miss a certain player/need with their first round picks. However, they could also hold off on the DT because they signed Darrell Reid from the Indianapolis Colts. Ricky Jean-Francois then becomes an interesting option in the middle rounds In the later rounds, they’ll focus on strengthening the interior O-Line (C/Gs Max Unger and Eric Wood are great options in round 3) and pick up additional talent at the LB and secondary positions. They could draft a guy like S William Moore to groom behind Brian Dawkins. Also, don’t be surprised if they spend late round selections on players like QB Nate Davis or RB Glen Coffee.

Right now, HC McDaniels is the big bad guy in Denver. If he has a poor season, he’s going to be under fire. If he succeeds, everyone will forgive him for the entire Cutler ordeal. His only solace at this point is that the Kansas City Chiefs and the Oakland Raiders are in bad shape so he faces a less competitive division. I think the offense will be fine with Kyle Orton, but DC Mike Nolan will need to prove that he can turn around a horrible offense to win games. That wraps up my look at the Denver Broncos, feel free to leave a comment!