Broncos' 2008 Draft

[Geo]

The 2008 Draft is finally here!

It's Draft weekend, and best of luck to the Denver Broncos in finding good players to help the team for the future.

Discuss the event here.

[JCutlery]

Decent draft so far. Most won't like the Royal pick, but I think the kid is a playmaker and a better all-round receiver than Desean Jackson. Dan Connor would of made more sense, but I think there will be good ILB value in the 4th round.

[jaffe28]

I'm more okay with the Royal pick now after Dexter Jackson also went in the second round since I was thinking of them as sort of interchangable for the WR/KR role with one of our 4th round picks. We needed a playmaker of this sort one way or another so now we have'em and can concentrate on other areas.

[M]

What are the odds we take Alexis Serna in the end rounds tomorrow (K and PK)?

[Cunningham]

solid first day. clady was the right pick given that we didn't trade down. he's a franchise left tackle with good athleticism and size. the only thing that worries me is that clady seems to be extremely stupid. he scored very low on the wonderlic and his radio interview following his selection (posted on bronco's home page) was a little sad. i'm not sure if it will have any effect on his play on the field but it can't be interpreted as a positive.

royal was definitely a surprise. we ended up having a good deal of receivers to choose from so going with a guy who has been labeled as a slot receiver was interesting to say the least. there's still a chance he'll be more than stokely's future replacement however. virginia tech never had a good passing game while royal was there so i'm excited to see how he performs when matched up with cutler. he also seems to be the complete opposite of clady in terms of intelligence.

focusing on the second day, our first pick is in the fourth round, 108th overall. i really have no idea who we're going to target but i wouldn't mind taking a kicker and or punter in the last few rounds.

[jaffe28]

Originally Posted by M

What are the odds we take Alexis Serna in the end rounds tomorrow (K and PK)?

We don't need to take him. He'll be there as a UDFA. The NFL doesn't like him that much and a number of kickers are rated higher. I think if the Broncos take a kicker it will be either Coutu or Longest.

[Diehard]

I was pretty sure Clady was at the top of their list at 12, so when he slid down there it was pretty much a no brainer.

I like Royal in round 2, but I'm a little biased (go Hokies!). Certainly he fills the bill for the deep threat / returner that Shanahan was looking for. VT did not have the passing game to showcase this guy's abilities, which was very much reflected in his good performances at the Senior Bowl and Combine.

I'm not at all surprised we went offense with the first two picks. I was thinking OL & RB, but the idea is the same - build around Cutler. I wonder if offense will continue to get the attention in day 2? I'm still thinking RB is in the mix somewhere... could there be a later round gem the Broncos have their eye on?

Solid draft. Clady is a good pick and Royal is a BIG upgrade on special teams at the least...Plus he IS a better receiver than Desean Jackson. As for the second day, I like Kory Lichtensteiger for depth at center, although Jamey Richard would've been my choice later in the draft. I know nothing about Jack Williams other than he is pretty physical and athletic. I guess since Foxy is gonna be gone soon we need some depth there as well.

Ryan Torain at running back is an alright pick. He reminds me of Mike Anderson/Cecil Sapp though. I guess we need a power back too. Carlton Powell is a good character guy who can be good situational DT. Spencer Larson is a solid pick as well even though Dan Connor in the 2nd would've been alright, but I definately don't mind this pick. Josh Barrett is GREAT value in the 7th round when i've read from many people that he was projected to be a 3rd-4th rounder. He may not be the best safety in the draft but he's somebody for Lynch to mentor since he'll be retired next year. Peyton Hillis in the 7th round is extremely good. He has good size and athleticism and is a good special teamer.

Real solid draft overall though. I'm excited to see what these guys can do.

[Diehard]

Yeah, I'd never heard of Jack Williams before... had to look him up.

I follow VT, so I've seen plenty of Powell. He's got a nice burst and can really stuff the run. However, I can also see him getting pushed around a bit in the NFL.

IMO, the Arizona/ASU guys were nice picks. The all have talent, but fell for various reasons. I could see all of them cracking the starting lineup a year or two down the line (then again, my grandmother could probably be a starting safety on this team... and she's dead).

I heard we picked up Anthony Aldridge as a UFA. Man, that kid is fast. He's really small, but can make big plays as a RB, WR or KR. Both he and Royal have that game-breaking speed that we've been missing for a while now. I'm really hoping one (or both!) pans out...

Yeah we got Aldridge and some kicker I believe. And I think I read something about us getting Wesley Woodyard too.

[M]

Free Agent Signings to date:

RB Anthony Alridge, Houston
K Garrett Hartley, Oklahoma
OT Mitch Erickson, South Dakota State

Not very active so far, especially compared to the rest of the league - but historically we really never are very active by volume in FA market.

http://www.nfldraftbible.com/Latest/...A-TRACKER.html

[jaffe28]

According to The Denver Post these are our UDFA signings thus far:

Tyler Polumbus, OT, Colorado
Wesley Woodyard, OLB, Kentucky
Garrett Hartley, K, Oklahoma
Brett Kern, P, Toledo
Anthony Aldridge, RB, Houston
Mitch Erickson, OG, South Dakota State
Lorne Sam, WR, UTEP

Link

[Jimmy]

Originally Posted by Cunningham

the only thing that worries me is that clady seems to be extremely stupid.

i can vouch for this. wow. just wow. http://www.denverbroncos.com/page.ph...4&storyID=7986
around the halfway mark he starts talking