MVN - Most Valuable Network

Mile High Draft Views: Special Teams and Offensive Line

I’m tacking special teams onto this article because while the need may be the gravest it’s been in Broncos history, it is difficult to project how well kickers and punters will do at the next level.  For example, the Patriots struck the lode stone when they made the controversial decision to let Adam Vinatieri walk to their arch rivals in Indianapolis and drafted the rookie Stephen Gostkowski to replace him.  On the other hand, the Chiefs blew it when they handed the kicker’s job to rookie Justin Medlock, who couldn’t make it past Week 1.

Obviously, I hope that the Broncos can emulate the Patriots’ success.  I would not be surprised if the Broncos two seventh round picks were for a kicker and a punter.  Who those players could be, however, I have no clue.  The team could also use help in the returner department—hopefully I previously identified some possibilities to compete with the likes of Glenn Martinez.

Moving to the offensive line, the first sign of the Broncos’ 2007 crumbling beyond repair was when the O-line’s play deteriorated.  Left tackle Matt Lepsis knew it and bravely called it a career.  As I’ve said before, even if Ryan Harris can take over at left tackle, the Broncos could still use competition and/or an upgrade on the right side for Erik Pears.

With Glenn Dorsey and Sedrick Ellis likely long gone by #12, it is offensive tackle that I would likely advocate at this point for the Broncos to invest in.  Unfortunately, the Dolphins have already begun the run on tackles by agreeing to terms with Jake Long of Michigan yesterday.  Long is one of the rare talents that could play in any system, including the zone blocking system that he had experience with as a Wolverine, and which of course the Broncos have made famous in the pros.

There are two blue chip tackles that I would be delighted to see the Broncos select:

Ryan Clady, Boise State – Having lived in the backyard of where Clady played, it’s evident that he has the athleticism to be a zone blocker.  He blocked for a wide open spread offense that featured the likes of the mobile quarterback Jared Zabransky, including, of course, the legendary Fiesta Bowl against Oklahoma.  Daryn Colledge, Clady’s former teammate, is also playing for the zone blocking Green Bay Packers.

What pushes Clady to the upper tier, however, is his size.  It is impressive that he can move the way he does at around 317 pounds.  If the Broncos were to draft Clady, the goal will be for him to become what George Foster never could reach.

Chris Williams, Vanderbilt – Williams was the pick that I made in the MVN 2008 mock draft, and for more details, please peruse the article and feel free to comment on the pick and the picks of my colleagues.  What intrigues me the most about this path is whether former Commodore teammate Jay Cutler is giving the coaches and scouts any input on whether to draft Williams.  After all, Cutler likely single handedly raised the stock of Earl Bennett by throwing nothing but complete passes to him.

In the interior, the largest concern is probably at center, where both of the potential heirs apparent to Tom Nalem (Chris Myers and Greg Eslinger) are now in Houston.  This means that the likely succession plan will now be to shift left guard Ben Hamilton over to the middle in the future.  If this is the case, the Broncos should be fine with Chris Kuper and Montrae Holland flanking the center.  Nevertheless, I could see the Broncos investing a second-day pick in the interior.  Players such as Jeremy Zuttah of Rutgers or Steve Justice of Wake Forest look to be the best fit for a zone blocking system.

Of course, it would not surprise me if the Broncos pick a complete no-namer that they know can fit in their system.  After all, who could have foreseen that North Dakota’s Kuper would have ascended the way he has?

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008 at 8:39 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.