The Denver Broncos had a lot to dwell on this offseason after suffering a three-point loss to the New England Patriots in the American Football Conference Championship.
The Broncos dropped the low-scoring affair 10-7 without its starting quarterback, second-year man Bo Nix out of Oregon, but blaming the loss on that fact when there were plenty of opportunities to score throughout the game is an excuse that none of the players want to use.
It’s a good indication that the Broncos front office believes in the group of players it already has, hence why most of its offseason was spent on re-signing its own free agents. The one big move the team made was going out and trading for star wide receiver Jaylen Waddle from the Miami Dolphins, sending the 30th, 94th and 130th picks in this year’s draft to Miami as compensation.
Denver was OK with parting ways with those first-, third- and fourth-round picks because of the impact Waddle will bring to the receiving room. Coach Sean Payton said the Broncos wouldn’t find anyone at No. 30 that would help the team as much as Waddle will; he might be right, but the Broncos needed to have a great draft in the middle and late rounds for there to be no doubts about its offseason move.
ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. wasn’t really a fan of how Denver went about its draft and graded it a C-plus.
“I would have liked seeing [Denzel] Boston in orange at Mile High, too, but quarterback Bo Nix is going to love having Waddle running routes for him,” Kiper wrote Sunday.
Boston, a wide receiver from Washington who was selected by the Cleveland Browns with the 39th overall pick, would have been available for the taking if Denver didn’t make this move. While his upside is great, I’m with Coach Payton – Waddle will make more of an impact than Boston will this season. After that? I’m not so sure, but that’s neither here nor there.
“The downside is Denver was left with seven total selections and only one in the first three rounds (No. 62),” wrote Kiper. “Denver dropped back to No. 66 to add an additional sixth-rounder and took Tyler Onyedim. I heard some buzz on him in the lead-up to the draft, but it was of the ‘Day 3 sleeper’ variety.”
Kiper noted that Coach Payton will get his guys when he wants to and doesn’t exactly care about value. Kiper found some positives for running back Jonah Coleman (pick No. 108 from Washington), offensive tackle Kage Casey (pick No. 111 from Boise State), tight end Justin Joly (pick No. 152 from NC State) and linebacker Red Murdoch (Mr. Irrelevant, pick No. 257 from Buffalo) but still doesn’t love how the Broncos went about its business.
“Jonah Coleman is another option at running back, scoring 17 scrimmage touchdowns last season. Kage Casey can be a backup at offensive tackle, Justin Joly is a stretch option at tight end, and Mr. Irrelevant Red Murdock is a tackling machine.”
Who knows if/when we will see these guys in action, but the Broncos are comfortable with the team it has on paper.