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MVN writers mock draft: 12. Denver Broncos – OT Chris Williams, Vanderbilt

NFL

By Nick Korte

With the twelfth pick in the MVN writers’ mock draft, the Denver Broncos select Chris Williams, offensive tackle from Vanderbilt.

The Broncos have a handful of positions that have varying sizes of holes that could use an upgrade. The largest need is likely at defensive tackle, but with both Glenn Dorsey and Sedrick Ellis off the board, there is no rookie prospect remaining that would demand the #12 overall. Therefore, the Broncos elect to go to the other side of the ball, where the retirement of left tackle Matt Lepsis creates concern. Ryan Harris may be the answer, but even if he is, the right side could also some competition against Erik Pears. As an added bonus, what better way is there to address the depth here than getting a player who once protected Jay Cutler in college?

When it comes to the famed zone-blocking system of Denver, one of the prized traits that the coaches look for is athleticism to make the quick blocks necessary for the system to function. This is a strength of Williams, who should have the feet to do well in this system. His weight at 315 may not be notable for most offensive tackles, yet he still tips the scales farther than Lepsis did at 290 or Pears does at 305. It has been a goal of the Broncos to get bigger on the line without sacrificing athleticism, as 320 pound Montrae Holland proved.

It should be noted that this is a difficult decision to make between Williams and Boise State’s Ryan Clady, who holds several of the same positives and would also fit well in a zone blocking system. If the Broncos were to not go the route of offensive tackle, other players that would fit well in Denver would be wide receiver Malcolm Kelly of Oklahoma, or linebacker Dan Connor of Pittsburgh.

Nick Korte is a columnist for MVN’s Denver Broncos site, Thin Air.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 15th, 2008 at 8:31 pm and is filed under Chris Williams, Mock Drafts 2008, 2008 NFL Draft. 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.