"The first-round of the 2019 NFL Draft is just days and hours away from beginning. Soon we will be finding out which prospects will be joining the roster and filling the holes that the roster currently has. Like most years Dre’Mont Jones Denver Broncos Jersey , General Manager John Elway has plugged a decent amount of these holes via Free Agency, but some do remain. So let us take a position by position look at the current needs the Broncos have.QuarterbackNeed: Quarterback of the future/Developmental quarterback As we know, the Broncos traded a fourth-round selection to the Baltimore Ravens for quarterback, Joe Flacco. This secured their starting quarterback for 2019, but what about beyond? Flacco’s deal has no guaranteed money remaining so he can be easily replaced after this year freeing up plenty of cap with zero dead money penalities. It is pretty much a guarantee that the Broncos will draft a quarterback during the 2019 NFL Draft, but when is the big question. Will they select a Dwayne Haskins or Drew Lock at 10th overall? Plenty of rumors say they like Lock so we shall see. Or will they get a developmental prospect to learn behind Flacco? Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty ImagesIf they truly believe in Flacco, they will go the developmental route. If they want to replace Flacco in a year or so, they will take a Lock or Haskins. This likely will be the biggest story-line for the Broncos prior and after the draft. Running backNeed: Depth onlyThe Broncos are set at running back and should only add depth in the later rounds at he earliest. Phillip Lindsay flourished in 2019 and Royce Freeman should see a bigger workload next season as well. Former fourth-round pick Devontae Booker is a solid third back who can do a little bit of everything for them if needed. Adding depth and some competition on the back end of this positional group is all they really need to do here. Wide receiverNeed: Depth and competitionWide receiver isn’t the biggest immediate need for the Broncos, but could be a darkhorse early round pick for the Broncos. Emmanuel Sanders is coming off an achilles injury and is entering his final year of his deal. They do have youngsters Courtland Sutton, DaeSean Hamilton, and Tim Patrick behind him, but depth and competition likely will be added.You probably won’t see anyone added until day three, but if someone falls to them on day two, I wouldn’t be shocked to see them pull the trigger there. Tight endNeed: Starter and depth This might be the Broncos biggest need entering the draft. They did re-sign Jeff Heuerman, but he’s nothing more than a depth piece really. Jake Butt is recovering from his third ACL tear and really can’t be counted on at this point and Troy Fumagalli is basically a rookie for the Broncos. So a starter/impact player is needed here, especially in this offense.Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY SportsA T.J. Hockenson is in play for the Broncos in the first-round and I wouldn’t be shocked to see multiple tight ends added during the draft. A move tight end as well as a run blocker could be added. Josh Oliver is a name to watch in the mid-rounds for the Broncos. Offensive lineNeed: Starter at guard or center and depthThe Broncos have four starters set in place right now on paper. Bolles at left tackle, Leary at left guard, McGovern at center or right guard, and James at right tackle. They need to find someone to start at either center or guard and likely will add that person during the draft.If they trade back, center Garrett Bradbury figures to be play since he is a perfect fit in a zone-blocking offense. Guards Chris Lindstrom and Dalton Risner will be in play as well. Look for the Broncos to add one sometime before day two ends. Depth is needed because Leary has a long injury history and is coming off an injury as is. So you may need to find two potential starters there. Also, you can never have enough tackle depth and the Broncos are kinda lacking there after losing veteran Billy Turner. Defensive lineNeed: Potential starter at nose tackle and depthShelby Harris is currently listed as the Broncos starter at nose tackle, but will they add some size to that position? Vic Fangio’s history says yes. In his past two stops, his defenses have had a big traditional nose tackle in the middle of his defenses. Harris is a very good player, but he is not a big traditional run stuffer. So I would expect them to add a big nose tackle at some-point during the draft.Big Dexter Lawrence could be play if he remains on the board in the second-round. Another name to watch is Khalen Saunders and Daylon Mack. They are two nose tackle prospects that the Broncos have shown some level of interest in. I would also keep an eye out for a 5-technique defensive end to be added as well. Harris and Gotsis are entering the final year of their deals and replacement could be added. I’d keep an eye out for Kingsley Keke as a potential mid-round selection for them.Edge RusherNeed: Rotational pass rusher/depthThe past few seasons the Broncos have had an embarrassment of riches at the edge rushing position, but that depth took a bit of hit with Shaq Barrett and Shane Ray leaving via Free Agency. This left 2018 UDFA Jeff Holland as the Broncos lone reserve at this position. I’d look for them to address this need as early as the third-round of the draft. You can never have enough pass rushers and a rotational edge rusher is a nice luxury to have to spell your starters. The Broncos currently do not have one and I believe they will add one during the draft.Some names to keep an eye on are Justin Hollins, Ben Banogu, Jalen Jelks, and Maxx Crosby.Inside linebackerNeeds: Athletic starter or sub-package pieceVic Fangio’s defenses routinely feature a pair of athletic linebackers who cover a bunch of space, total a bunch of tackles, stuff the run, and hold their own in coverage. Well, right now they have two solid run defenders in Josey Jewell and Todd Davis, but not an athletic cover guy. This will be something that will be likely added as early as the first-round of the draft. Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY SportsThe first-round names to watch as well known and fan favorites for the Broncos. Those two being the Devin’s. LSU’s Devin White and Michigan’s Devin Bush, both of whom figure to be early first-round picks. Unfortunately for the Broncos, White figures to be off the board by the first six picks leaving Bush as their best option at 10th overall. Like the tight end Hockenson, Bush is in play for the Broncos 10th overall pick.Some other names to watch during day two and three are Mack Wilson, Blake Cashman, Jahlani Tavai, Germaine Pratt, Bobby Okereke, and Terrill Hanks.CornerbackNeed: Potential starter/depthThe Broncos have a holding out Chris Harris Jr. entering the final year of his deal, newly signed slot corner Bryce Callahan, 2019 third-round pick Isaac Yiadom, and newly signed corner/safety Kareem Jackson at cornerback right now. With Jackson looking to be more of a safety, it opens up a potential starting spot at outside corner. Isaac Yiadom had his ups and downs as a rookie but could be counted on as a starter for Vic Fangio’s defense. However, I wouldn’t be surprised to see some early round depth added to compete for that job as well. Some names to keep an eye on are Byron Murphy, Rock Ya-Sin, DeAndre Baker, JoeJuan Williams, Isaiah Johnson, Amani Oruwariye, and Sean Bunting for the Broncos.SafetyNeed: Depends on Kareem JacksonIf Kareem Jackson is a safety, then the Broncos are set with Justin Simmons, Kareem Jackson, and Will Parks are your trio with Dymonte Thomas and Su’a Cravens pushing for a roster spot. However Dre’Mont Jones Denver Broncos Jersey , if Jackson plays more corner, they could add a safety early on to push Parks for that other safety spot. I originally viewed Jackson as a corner, but it appears he will be the Broncos other starting safety who can be a matchup corner in certain spots. This likely removes safety as a potential early round draft pick for the Broncos. With news coming out that Vic Fangio will be the new head coach of the Denver Broncos and Gary Kubiak will coordinate the offense, I continued my look at Denver’s roster. What players mean the most to the team. Obviously some of these players could move up and down based on how the schemes change. That means this is as much art as science, but to be as transparent as possible I wanted to lay out how I made my list. There are 3 main aspects I considered.1. Their value to this year’s team and past performance.2. Positional value3. Salary compared to both past & expected future performance.All three factors are important, but obviously this isn’t an exact science, so I look forward to seeing how Broncos Country disagrees with me.Check out last week’s GIF Horse to see players 45-35 here.34. Tramaine Brock - CornerbackWhen he was healthy, Brock had some serious ups and downs last season.In his favor was the fact that he only allowed 6.6 yards per pass on throws in his direction. He also missed 4 games and parts of others because of injuries, which is the story of his career really. Just 30 years old, it wouldn’t be out of the question for him to return, especially if Roby is not resigned. I’ll be looking at more Fangio tape as the offseason continues to get a better idea how Brock may fit the new system, but one thing stands out. While Prince Amukamara and Kyle Fuller played like stars for the 2018 Bears, Fangio has made hay on defense with less than stellar cornerback play in the past. An aging Carlos Rogers and Tarrell Brown were manning the corners for much of his stint with the 49ers. His last year in San Francisco, former Bronco Perrish Cox and Chris Culliver combined for 9 interceptions. 33. Max Garcia - GuardPlayed a little more than 20% of the Broncos snaps before tearing his ACL in November, but was really disappointing when he did. Garcia has had a fortunate career path so far, he’s been better than free agents busts like Menelik Watson and Donald Stephenson, which has masked the fact that he’s also pretty mediocre. Broncos should move on this offseason, but if he returns he has experience playing both guard spots. He’s also pretty mobile for a guard and did start some games as a rookie when Kubiak was head coach. If he’s resigned, he’ll probably find himself in a fight with Sam Jones over the summer. He needed help on the block, but it was a lot to ask Garcia to wall off Allen Bailey. 32. Tim Patrick - ReceiverPatrick is an upside guy who showed flashes of a bright future in 2018. He’s the kind of size/speed prospect you hope your team takes a shot on every couple of seasons with hopes that proper coaching and health luck will lead to a steal or two. If there was one player to benefit from Emmanuel Sanders injury it was Tim Patrick, who’s role increased exponentially. He made the most of it: 82% of his receptions and 76% of his receiving yards came after the Bengals game. 31. Elijah Wilkinson - Offensive LinemanOne of the Broncos swing lineman before the season began, Wilkinson was kicked inside to guard after injuries derailed Matt Paradis, Ronald Leary, and Max Garcia’s seasons.The opportunity proved fruitful for Wilkinson, as he put out some really solid tape. Individually, the 3rd-year pro isn’t anything special. As a true tackle, he’s heavier and taller than all of the Broncos other interior lineman, but he also lacks the movement skills they do. Generally speaking, an offensive line as a unit can survive one weak link and if it’s Wilkinson the Broncos are in good shape. Ideally, he returns to the 2019 squad as a more experienced swing lineman for his efforts last year. 30.Jeff Heuerman - Tight EndIf the former Buckeye posted a 49-564-4 line in 2018, he would be a bit higher on this list. Alas those are the 5th-year pros career numbers after injuries have limited him to a grand total of 37 games as in the NFL. If I were managing the Broncos I would probably move on from Heuerman in 2019. By all accounts this is a loaded draft class at tight end and Heuerman’s shown nothing worth breaking the bank for. He’s a serviceable dump-off receiver and blocker, but don’t let his game against the Houston Texans fool you; he has yet to show he can be a true X-factor against a team that adequately defends tight ends. If he’s retained the cost is worth a bit of scrutiny. 29. Jake Butt - Tight EndIf you wanted to swap 29 and 30 you’d hear no protests from me. Both have been injury prone below average tight ends so far. Heuerman has obviously produced more at the NFL level, but if he plays for the Broncos in 2019 it will be on a new contract. Meanwhile Butt has two years remaining on the rookie deal he signed when Elway drafted him in the fifth round out of Michigan.28. Andy Janovich - FullbackThere may not be a Bronco more impacted by the news that Gary Kubiak will return to the call the offensive shots. Throughout his coaching career Kubiak’s used a lot of 2 back personnel sets. In the past that meant using an H-back at times, such as James Casey with the Texans, but Jano is likely to see the field in a Kubes O more than the 200 times he did last season. Another thing that could be good news for the former Cornhusker is how Kubiak makes the most of his fullbacks. He’ll rarely be asked to bash straight on in an iso-style lead block. Instead, Kubiak will use more outside zone than Musgraves did, which will lead to angle blocks. 27. Isaac Yiadom - CornerbackThis is an optimistic ranking for Yiadom, with the hopes that he continues to improve as he did over the course of the season. When pressed into duty against the Ravens, Yiadom looked as bad as Brendan Langley did in 2017. So it should come as a bit of a surprise to see that the final numbers had the Broncos as average or better against all receivers by DVOA. They were the best D in the league against tertiary receivers, but also 11th against WR1s and 17 against WR2s. All of those numbers are relevant to Yiadom as he found himself moving around a bunch with the injuries to players ahead of him on the depth chart.Additionally, Yiadom’s charting numbers showed significant growth: He averaged 7 yards allowed on passes where he was the primary defender according to Sports Info Solutions and plays where the offense attacked him were “successful” only half the time. (SIS defines their success rate as 45 percent of yardage on first down, 60 percent on second down, or 100 percent on third down). Not bad for a raw third round pick who couldn’t cover a rock with a blanket in the early going.Flacco went after Yiadom early and often in week 3. To be perfectly honest, all that leaves me intrigued enough that I hope to go back and watch his games later this offseason. Let me know if that’s something you’d be interested in Broncos Country. 26. Domata Peko - Interior Defensive LinePeko is a player I had some trouble ranking, through no fault of his own. The Broncos nose tackle had another solid year in 2018, but without going back over the tape at length it’s hard to know how much the decline of the interior run defense is on him compared to players around him. It’s something on my list, but those questions combined with his age and expiring contract left me conflicted at 26. With a loaded draft and free agent class, as well as Shelby Harris on the roster, Peko may be number crunched. 25. Billy Turner - Offensive LinemanWould you be surprised if I told you that Turner played more snaps than all but 3 Broncos in 2018?It probably shouldn’t. I’ll admit I was completely wrong on Turner, who I thought was a surprise survivor of the final roster cuts at the end of the preseason. He began the season as a reserve tackle but wound up with playing time at both guard spots and filling in when Jared Veldheer was injured. While he had his fair share of troubles against top tier edge rushers at tackle, he looked very good inside. He even earned praise from Pro Football Focus for his week 11 game against the Los Angeles Chargers. Turner should be a Bronco in 2019. Going forward, Turner is an unrestricted free agent that Elway and the Broncos front office should explore resigning. His experience along the line of scrimmage would be a valuable commodity with the Broncos offensive line again in flux with Ronald Leary’s injury as well as Veldheer and Matt Paradis’ contract situations. Only 27, his best years should be ahead of him. What do you think Broncos Country?
