On a Team With Mile High Ceilings

If we lived in a world where success in college was directly equivalent to success in the NFL, the Broncos would have already guaranteed themselves a few Super Bowl rings. Sadly though, there are no guarantees in the NFL, especially when drafting. In the wake of the draft, Tim Tebow has begun his transition to the NFL, and Demaryius Thomas is recovering from an injury.

Broncos Claim G Stanley Daniels.

Friday, the Broncos claimed Guard Stanley Daniels previously of the Green Bay Packers off of the waiver wire, and onto their 80 man roster.

Daniels (6-foot-4, 320 pounds) is a first-year player who saw time on the Packers’ practice squad last year. He also competed on the New York Jets’ practice squad in 2008 and entered the NFL with the Rams in 2007 as a college free agent from the University of Washington.

The Tebow Factor

Tim Tebow is more than just a football player. He is a name. I have had all sorts of people who don’t even watch football, step into my office to talk about him being a Bronco. Everyone knows Tebow. He is quite possibly the most divisive figure in football over the last decade. Only Tebow can have one great football mind like Tony Dungy say that he thinks that he will be great, and another great football mind like Dan Fouts say that he will fail miserably.

That is in essence why the Tebow pick was so publicized, and so why after he was drafted, everything else became a simple afterthought. Tim Tebow may end up being one of the biggest factors in the NFL play wise, but long before that, his presence alone will be a factor in the league. Wait, forget that. His presence in the NFL will be a factor in every single sector of the media.

Westbrook Visiting Denver Today

Yesterday it was announced that f0rmer Eagles running back Brian Westbrook would be visiting the Denver Broncos today, after visiting former Broncos coach Mike Shanahan the day before in Washington D.C. Adam Schefter has expressed the Broncos interest as “serious”.

It is rumored that the visit to the Redskins was more out of courtesy, due to the fact that Westbrook and Redskins owner Dan Snyder were appearing at a NFL High School charity event. All signals point to that the Broncos on the other hand, have interest in bringing him on board.

Broncos Cut Brown, Sign Lyons.

Nothing too exciting in Denver today, but the Broncos have decided to cut undrafted running back Chris Brown out of Oklahoma. He was signed by the Denver Broncos on April 26th, two days after the NFL Draft. Reasons for the cut have not been disclosed.

In his place, University of Kentucky wide receiver Dicky Lyons has been signed to fill the roster spot left open by Brown. He finished his career, fifth among all time receivers from the University of Kentucky with 141 receptions for 1,752 yards.

Broncos Mini-Camp Underway…

So I took a week off from the site, a little bit of football cleansing you could say, and I let the entire draft sink in on me. My opinions haven’t changed too much. (Whenever I see a picture of Tim Tebow in a Broncos jersey though, I still get really excited.) I think that the Broncos might be on the right track.

With that said, the Broncos rookie mini-camp has begun, and 29 players are there. They include our nine draft picks, our 19 un-drafted free agents, and two veteran wide receivers that are trying out with the team. The goal of the mini-camp is to prepare for the season, both mentally and physically while trying to impress coaches in a quest to receive a roster spot this season. There will also be terminology lessons, and introductions to strength and conditioning training.

Broncos Draft Day 3: Guess Who’s Sleeping?

I got a question in an email last night, asking why it seems the Broncos have put so much effort in getting late round picks. To sum it up, every single team, including the Broncos, are looking for their great sleeper. Coaches from the Belichick tree, like McDaniels, are even more applicable to this statement. There may be no greater joy for them than drafting someone they think is a sleeper.

Every year, there are one or two players that have great success that were drafted in the 5th-to 7th rounds. Now success is relative. There are players who do a good job and have success, but that doesn’t mean they are the kind of sleeper Tom Brady was. Ahmad Bradshaw in 2007 for instance was only a seventh round pick, and he averaged 8.3 yards a carry for the Giants.

Broncos Sign 13 Undrafted Free Agents, More To Come

Denver Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels loves his undrafted free agents, that is for sure. Since the end of the NFL Draft yesterday, the Denver Broncos have signed 13 undrafted free agents.

The list goes as follows: WR – Alric Arnett (WVU)RB – Chris Brown (Oklahoma), DT – Jaron Baston (Mizzou), TE – Nathan Overbay (Eastern Washington), TE – Michael Palmer (Clemson), OT – Chris Marinelli (Stanford), S – Marcellus Bowman (Boston College), G – Michael Shumard (Texas A&M), TE – Riar Geer (Colorado), CB – Cassius Vaughn (Ole Miss), RB – Toney Baker (NC State), S – Kyle McCarthy (Notre Dame), OLB – Kevin Alexander (Clemson).

Denver Caps Off Draft w/ 2 Picks, Signing.

Everyone jumped the gun a little bit on the Broncos draft day being over. I mean, Josh McDaniels had already scheduled a post-draft press conference during the draft. We had no picks left, and did not have any extra ammo from next years draft lying around. It had to be over, right? Not so fast my friends…

The Broncos traded a 5th round pick from next year, to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in exchange for their 225th and 232nd picks in the 2010 NFL Draft. The picks were spent on two players, #225 on Cal cornerback Syd’Quan Thompson, and #232 spent on Jammie Kirlew, a hybrid Linebacker from Indiana. It was common consensus that the two would go un-drafted but the Broncos wanted to make sure they got these players, despite the high cost.

Broncos Draft Eric Olsen

The Broncos with the 183rd pick in the 2010 NFL Draft have selected Center Eric Olsen of Notre Dame, in the sixth round.

Olsen is the third offensive lineman to be taken by the Broncos over the last three days, and the second Center. The Broncos were left with no Centers coming into the draft after the release of both Casey Wiegmann and Ben Hamilton. It was considered a major focus point for the team this week. This pick makes a relatively good amount of sense. Olsen is a high value, projected in the 4th round by most.

Broncos Take Perrish Cox in 5th Round

The Denver Broncos with the #137th pick in the NFL Draft, have chosen Cornerback Perrish Cox of Oklahoma State in round five.

This pick makes sense from a number of aspects: Number 1, Champ Bailey and André Goodman are getting long in the tooth and are both over 30 years old. The Broncos need to find an eventual successor for the two of them. The other reason this makes sense is because Cox is an excellent return man and the Broncos do not want Royal to play return man at all, and focus on receiver.

NFL Draft Day 2: Looking for Intelligence?

I had a little bit of trouble stringing together one theme for the entire day 2 of the draft. The picks were safe, but after such a risky day yesterday, I felt that saying that would reflect on the entire draft, which it will not. Two of the picks were spent on the Offensive Line, but Eric Decker ruined that theme. That sent me into thinking about how they were offense, but that wasn’t exciting enough. So, I was left with a troubling question, how can I link together all of the picks today?

Then it hit me. Intelligence. That was what Josh McDaniels was trying to do today. All three of the players he drafted are among the most intelligent players available. Zane Beadles first and foremost, is by far one of the most intelligent Offensive Linemen in the class. He scored a wonderlic test score of 36, which is very high for a Lineman, and he is known for his ability to absorb the playbook.

Broncos Draft Beadles, Walton, Decker

The Broncos in day 2 of the NFL Draft, which for the first time included only rounds 2 and 3, selected three players today. They held their own second rounder, and two thirds, one which was their own, and one that was received from the Eagles after trading down to pick #24 on day 1.

The players selected were, at #45 Zane Beadles, OT/OG/C from Utah, at #80 J.D Walton, C, Baylor, and at #87, Eric Decker, WR, Minnesota. The three all filled reasonable needs, and were considered by most to be safe, but high value picks.

NFL Draft Day 1: Broncos Building a Future

Day one of the NFL Draft, was no guarantee for the Broncos. After years of the Broncos making safe picks, Denver is getting into some risky business. In fact, it can’t get much riskier than what the Broncos did today. It started by trading down their #11 overall pick to the San Francisco 49ers, for the 13th overall and a 4th round pick. It would set the tone for the rest of the day.

Minutes after that trade, the Eagles contacted the Broncos and they traded away their #13th overall pick for the Eagles 24th overall, and two third rounders, (#70, #87). We thought it was clear what the Broncos would do. If we kept the 24th, we would draft Tim Tebow, or we would trade up for Maurkice Pouncey and then trade back into the first round and draft Tebow still. Us fans forgot the golden rule of the draft, expect the unexpected.

Tim Tebow Picked by Broncos

The Broncos shocked everyone three picks ago, when they drafted Demaryius Thomas over Quarterback Tim Tebow. But Tim Tebow is officially a member of the Denver Broncos, after the Broncos traded away a 2nd, a 3rd and a 4th round pick to the Baltimore Ravens for the 26th overall pick in the draft.

I can’t sum up Tebow in just a few words, so you will have to wait for my editorial later tonight. This is definitely exciting.