Impact of Al Wilson on the draft

[BritBronco Maniac]

I have been thinking that Denver were going to find Al's replacement in the draft since the trade rumblings to Detroit.
However, I am surprised that Mike played his hand before the draft, it now appears too obvious that Denver need a LB and given Mike's history for bamboozling prognositicators, maybe he is going to go another direction.
The DP has been speculating Denver may go for Ed Hartwell as an imediate replacement, if they do I see them taking a lower round rookie as well. Lets look at the options:

1) Patrick Willis - appears to be a the consensus no.1 LB in the draft, and I know a lot of posters on here like him. I watched some film on him, he certainly is very quick, although most of the tackles I saw he was chasing down the RB rather than meeting them at the L.O.S. Maybe it was just the highlights package. If you believe the hype he appears the perfect heir to Wilson.
Depending on what happens in the top 10 it is unlikely he will get past SF at 11 or Buff at 12, so we would have to trade with the Texans in all likelihood. What would this take on the value chart?

2) Take the best LB available at the bottom of round 1, what are the opinions on POZ? Or does anyone have any better ideas at this spot?

3) Take a LB later and sign Hartwell.

4) Take a LB later and stick with Nate Webster (we lasted a whole season with Glen Cadrez at MLB, seems a similar situation to me)

[phisig150]

I like Harris if he's there at 3a

[SpringStein]

I like Harris if he's there at 3a
I'd be thrilled if he were there at our second. He's highly likley to go in top half of second round.

[BritBronco Maniac]

Scott Wright has him as a mid-rounder, although the 2nd MLB on the board.
He looks too slow for Denver's taste.
I think a lot of OLB's will go before him, in the hope they may be able to bulk up for the inside.

[SonOfLe-loLang]

Dont see the need of dradfting on in the first when id rather take a DL. Later on, sign a vet id say

[SpringStein]

Scott Wright has him as a mid-rounder, although the 2nd MLB on the board.
He looks too slow for Denver's taste.
I think a lot of OLB's will go before him, in the hope they may be able to bulk up for the inside.

double post

[SpringStein]

Scott Wright has him as a mid-rounder, although the 2nd MLB on the board.
He looks too slow for Denver's taste.
I think a lot of OLB's will go before him, in the hope they may be able to bulk up for the inside.

Mayock ranks him as #34 overall. Not that it means that he will go there, but I do respect Mayock's ratings.

[Requiem]

I think people are looking way too much into 40 times. Harris at any case is in that 4.5 range, but he's more quick than fast in my honest opinion.

I think LB is a given somewhere on Day 1.

[Dean]

What we are going to do hinges upon whether Bates thinks that DJ can do the job at MLB. If that is the case, strong side LBs are much easier to obtain either through the draft or in free agency. With our "Big Nickle" package he would come out in passing situations anyway.

If you are expecting to obtain a starting MLB, then an early first round pick will probably be required.

[Requiem]

Yeah Dean, I think it is contingent on what Bates thinks of DJ.

[bpc]

Quincy Black, University of New Mexico. The guy is going to be a stud.

[Hercules Rockefeller]

I think people are looking way too much into 40 times.

People are looking way too into this move with regards to the draft. If the Broncos were putting all their eggs in the draft basket, this cut would have been made in 3 weeks.

[Barry Ramey]

I heard Mayock the other day saying he wasn't a fan of Siler, but really liked Harris and thinks he could even sneak into the late 1st round.

[Drek]

Quincy Black, University of New Mexico. The guy is going to be a stud.

Thats my hope. Put him at MLB, swap DJ and Gold back to where they should be, trade for Jenkins and draft Moss in round one. DJ is a tackle machine, he'd cover Moss' and Dumervil's asses against the run on the weak side, Gold is our best cover LB, put him at SAM where he can match up with TEs. Quincy Black reminds me a lot of Urlacher, impressive athlete, good tackler, nice ball skills for an LB but he's not strong enough to handle interior linemen getting on him. People forget that early in Urlacher's career he struggled when moved to OLB, he couldn't handle blockers getting on him consistently. Black is a similar player, but iff we team Jenkins and Warren in the middle thats hardly going to be an issue. He's got sideline to sideline speed and ball skills that'll make QBs pay, let him rove around the middle of the field on 1st and 2nd downs causing mayhem, then in a couple years he'll take Gold's place in the nickel downs when we cut him too.

My current "dream draft":
1. Jarvis Moss
2. Eric Weddle
3A. Quincy Black
3B. Paul Soliai
6A. Legedu Naanee
6B. Dan Sepulveda
7. Cory Anderson

[Dean]

Gold is our best cover LB, put him at SAM where he can match up with TEs.

My current "dream draft":
1. Jarvis Moss
2. Eric Weddle
3A. Quincy Black
3B. Paul Soliai
6A. Legedu Naanee
6B. Dan Sepulveda
7. Cory Anderson


If I were the offensive coordinator and I knew that Gold was going to be at the strong OLB coupled with the fact that we have no run stopping LDE, I would run right at him on every play. I think that I would either gain large chuncks of yardage or injure either Gold or Champ. Sometimes you win by attrition.

Defensively, I would leave Gold at weak LB. I would use a significantly bigger SLB and play the big nickle on sure passing downs.

[SoCalBronco]

Thats my hope. Put him at MLB, swap DJ and Gold back to where they should be, trade for Jenkins and draft Moss in round one. DJ is a tackle machine, he'd cover Moss' and Dumervil's asses against the run on the weak side, Gold is our best cover LB, put him at SAM where he can match up with TEs. Quincy Black reminds me a lot of Urlacher, impressive athlete, good tackler, nice ball skills for an LB but he's not strong enough to handle interior linemen getting on him. People forget that early in Urlacher's career he struggled when moved to OLB, he couldn't handle blockers getting on him consistently. Black is a similar player, but iff we team Jenkins and Warren in the middle thats hardly going to be an issue. He's got sideline to sideline speed and ball skills that'll make QBs pay, let him rove around the middle of the field on 1st and 2nd downs causing mayhem, then in a couple years he'll take Gold's place in the nickel downs when we cut him too.

My current "dream draft":
1. Jarvis Moss
2. Eric Weddle
3A. Quincy Black
3B. Paul Soliai
6A. Legedu Naanee
6B. Dan Sepulveda
7. Cory Anderson

Ian would get blown up at Sam. Teams would run the pin and pull play, counters, leads and sweeps at him and run his ass over all day. I like the idea of David Harris in the third round, even though he is listed as an ILB, he has good strength and is a thumper, so he would fit well as a 4-3 strongside linebacker. Put DJ at Mike where we can take advantage of his athleticism. Third round should be one of Free/Marten for OT, and Harris for SLB.

[Cito Pelon]

I have been thinking that Denver were going to find Al's replacement in the draft since the trade rumblings to Detroit.
However, I am surprised that Mike played his hand before the draft, it now appears too obvious that Denver need a LB and given Mike's history for bamboozling prognositicators, maybe he is going to go another direction.
The DP has been speculating Denver may go for Ed Hartwell as an imediate replacement, if they do I see them taking a lower round rookie as well. Lets look at the options:

1) Patrick Willis - appears to be a the consensus no.1 LB in the draft, and I know a lot of posters on here like him. I watched some film on him, he certainly is very quick, although most of the tackles I saw he was chasing down the RB rather than meeting them at the L.O.S. Maybe it was just the highlights package. If you believe the hype he appears the perfect heir to Wilson.
Depending on what happens in the top 10 it is unlikely he will get past SF at 11 or Buff at 12, so we would have to trade with the Texans in all likelihood. What would this take on the value chart?

2) Take the best LB available at the bottom of round 1, what are the opinions on POZ? Or does anyone have any better ideas at this spot?

3) Take a LB later and sign Hartwell.

4) Take a LB later and stick with Nate Webster (we lasted a whole season with Glen Cadrez at MLB, seems a similar situation to me)

It's not a good situation at LB right now. It wasn't good before Al was released, either. Webster, Vaughn, Gold, DJ even at this point, these are ST's guys not starters. It will take a couple years IMO to get a good corps of LB's on the team. Meanwhile, I guess Bates will have to make do with what he has. Willis sure seems like a stud and a good start to rebuiliding the LB corps, but from what I've seen here there isn't a ton of talent available at LB to the Broncos in the draft at their spots as they are right now. This seems like a BAP draft all through the board for the Broncs.

Grab the BAP at a range of positions this draft, and hope the revamped coaching staff can maximize the talent and parlay it into a playoff spot, I guess.

[Dedhed]

My dream would be

#1 Priotity- Get Kris Jenkins

Move up as far as needed in order to get Patrick Willis.

[Drek]

If I were the offensive coordinator and I knew that Gold was going to be at the strong OLB coupled with the fact that we have no run stopping LDE, I would run right at him on every play. I think that I would either gain large chuncks of yardage or injure either Gold or Champ. Sometimes you win by attrition.

Defensively, I would leave Gold at weak LB. I would use a significantly bigger SLB and play the big nickle on sure passing downs.

Ebenezer Ekuban is a solid run stopping DE, he had nearly 70 tackles last season. Also, we'd have Lynch behind Gold backing him up. Add the best run stopping CB in the NFL with Champ and I don't see it as a massive weakness if we had Jenkins and Warren inhaling blockers.

Gold played SAM in Tampa, in '05 he and DJ rotated at SAM and WILL. Its pretty doable, all a matter of if we will or not.

[NFLBRONCO]

Can we afford just adding Jenkins and Willis and not upgrade DE?

[longtimer]

Any body know any thing about Zak DeOssie he might be a good option in the middle rounds

http://www.nfldraftcountdown.com/scoutingreports/ilb/zakdeossie.html

Height: 6-45/8 | Weight: 250 | 40-Time: 4.62

Official Bio

Strengths:
Terrific size and bulk with the frame to get bigger yet...Very good timed speed for a big guy...Superb in pursuit and has a motor that never stops...Great range and moves well...Does an outstanding job in coverage...Very productive...Is versatile and could project inside or outside...An excellent special teams prospect who can also long-snap...Strong & tough...Plays with a nasty demeanor...Good bloodlines.

Weaknesses:
Did not play against elite competition...Has some durability concerns...Needs to play with better pad level...Struggles to shed blockers...A bit of a workout warrior and his measurables don't translate to the field...Average awareness & instincts.

Notes:
Father, Steve, played in the NFL with Dallas, the New York Giants, the New York Jets, and the Patriots...One of the premier small school sleeper prospects in this draft...Has all the physical tools and is the type who could surprise...He will play in the pros, even if it's only as a backup and special teams ace, but there is upside

[SureShot]

Can we afford just adding Jenkins and Willis and not upgrade DE?

Yes. Ekuban and Dumervil will get plenty of pressure with the likes of Jenkins and Warren clogging the middle.

[PRBronco]

Buster Davis with our late third! Undersized but instinctive, he's a new Zach Thomas for coach Bates.

[NFLBRONCO]

I'd love Willis but, I'd prefer DE honestly.

[Requiem]

People are looking way too into this move with regards to the draft. If the Broncos were putting all their eggs in the draft basket, this cut would have been made in 3 weeks.

Perhaps it wasn't that easy of a decision to make. However I feel that if Denver was going to make a move around the boards (particularly up) it would have already happened by now.

I think Denver is going to wait and see what falls on draft day, and if there's a player like Anderson, Willis, or whoever they are interested in who are within reach that they grade out well enough to give up additional picks for, I'd expect them to do it.

Right now, I think the first-round pick is still defensive line.

In the second and third rounds, I think you'll see an offensive tackle, linebacker (ILB or OLB) and a safety.

It'll be interesting either way. But I do feel that getting rid of Al will make us more inclined to find a backer in the draft.

[NFLBRONCO]

Perhaps it wasn't that easy of a decision to make. However I feel that if Denver was going to make a move around the boards (particularly up) it would have already happened by now.

I think Denver is going to wait and see what falls on draft day, and if there's a player like Anderson, Willis, or whoever they are interested in who are within reach that they grade out well enough to give up additional picks for, I'd expect them to do it.

Right now, I think the first-round pick is still defensive line.

In the second and third rounds, I think you'll see an offensive tackle, linebacker (ILB or OLB) and a safety.

It'll be interesting either way. But I do feel that getting rid of Al will make us more inclined to find a backer in the draft.

Do we need to move up at all. We can get a decent player either DE DT S or LB at 21. I'd give it til friday the 20th before we rule out a move up draft boards. I think we have been thinking about Jenkins and Wilson moves. If we move up I think 15 is the highest we would go.

[bpc]

Screw the flipping SAM and WILL ideas. I hated that when Coyer brought it up. COMMIT to somebody. If DJ is the guy, lets go that direction and make him a monster. I don't care about Gold playing the WILL. It is all he can play. I feel opposite of what you said Drek. I think Quincy Black can be a difference maker at SAM, he is about 6'2", 240 right now. He could probably 5-10 more lbs as well. He has the ability to be the best coverage LB in the league. That is a statement but he has hands and coverage skills... he could play safety with his athletic ability. I wouldn't be surprised if we pull the trigger on this guy in round 2.

Check out his film from the CNNSI film room. The guy is great in coverage, has a 40 inch verticle and will help defense some of these TE's we have in our division. I like Black as well as any LB in this draft and he has crazy upside. Bates could make a monster out of him.

[chaz]

Quincy Black, University of New Mexico. The guy is going to be a stud.

i love his athleticism as much as the next person but he is too small for our alreayd undersized LB core....i dont think both he and ian could hold up for an enitre season with teh beating out lb's will take in bates system...they are gonna absorb A LOT of contact...

[chaz]

Can we afford just adding Jenkins and Willis and not upgrade DE?

yes. bottom line is that ekuban is above average and lang/dumervil/engleberger on the other side can get it done just wont be spectacular

[usedupbraids]

trade up in get Mr Willis

[Barry Ramey]

Drafting a LB would be a good idea, but that's secondary to finding guys for the DL. The defense will not be good until they find legit players on the DL and not just a bunch of role players. We've seen what happens when good offenses with good QB's have all day to throw against the Broncos the last few years. I don't care the defense played well against the Browns and Raiders of the NFL, they need to start playing well against the good offenses and in big games too.

Not only a solid running game will help the young QB Cutler, but also a defense that can get some 3 plays and punt and give the offense some decent field position for a change, which didn't happen all last season.

[Dedhed]

Can we afford just adding Jenkins and Willis and not upgrade DE?

I think so. Adding Jenkins would be such a monstrous upgrade to our DL, it would give us much more flexibility in the draft. Lang and Ekuban are servicable NFL DEs, and will be better than average with the addition of Jenkins and Bates' system.

With Jenkins on board, I think we can leave the DL alone for the 2nd or 3rd round. If we're committed to DJ inside, I would target Quincy Black in rd 2 (Harris won't be there at #56).

I would be ecstatic with the remainder of the off-season if we added Jenkins and Patrick Willis.

[Drek]

Screw the flipping SAM and WILL ideas. I hated that when Coyer brought it up. COMMIT to somebody. If DJ is the guy, lets go that direction and make him a monster. I don't care about Gold playing the WILL. It is all he can play. I feel opposite of what you said Drek. I think Quincy Black can be a difference maker at SAM, he is about 6'2", 240 right now. He could probably 5-10 more lbs as well. He has the ability to be the best coverage LB in the league. That is a statement but he has hands and coverage skills... he could play safety with his athletic ability. I wouldn't be surprised if we pull the trigger on this guy in round 2.

Check out his film from the CNNSI film room. The guy is great in coverage, has a 40 inch verticle and will help defense some of these TE's we have in our division. I like Black as well as any LB in this draft and he has crazy upside. Bates could make a monster out of him.
See, I don't think its the only place Gold can play. He was a SAM in Tampa, did fine there with only limited action. He's the best proven coverage LB we have so why wouldn't we want him on TEs?

As for Black at OLB, my only problem there is that every scouting report I've read says he doesn't deal well with blockers getting on him. At SAM its real easy to get a TE or OT out there on a guy. I think he'd make a perfect fit for Bates' style or MLB though, getting to range from sideline to sideline making plays behind what will hopefully be two big uglies at DT.

That said, I'm fully aware that it won't happen like that, and so I'd be happy just to see us take Black and use him as a SAM since I get the feeling the staff will stick with Ian at WILL and move DJ into the middle. Not a horrible choice but I don't think it maximizes our talent. It will however at least keep our new field general out there for every play though. Hopefully DJ is up to the challenge.

i love his athleticism as much as the next person but he is too small for our alreayd undersized LB core....i dont think both he and ian could hold up for an enitre season with teh beating out lb's will take in bates system...they are gonna absorb A LOT of contact...

How is 6'2", 240 too small? For 3-4 OLB maybe, but not for any LB position in a 4-3.

[Cool Breeze]

trade up in get Mr Willis

Well that pretty much kills that idea.

[usedupbraids]

Well that pretty much kills that idea.

:(

[Requiem]

Quincy Black and Antwan Barnes. Barnes is a great pass rusher and blitzer though too. I'd keep an eye out for him too.

[mattob14]

Thats my hope. Put him at MLB, swap DJ and Gold back to where they should be, trade for Jenkins and draft Moss in round one. DJ is a tackle machine, he'd cover Moss' and Dumervil's asses against the run on the weak side, Gold is our best cover LB, put him at SAM where he can match up with TEs. Quincy Black reminds me a lot of Urlacher, impressive athlete, good tackler, nice ball skills for an LB but he's not strong enough to handle interior linemen getting on him. People forget that early in Urlacher's career he struggled when moved to OLB, he couldn't handle blockers getting on him consistently. Black is a similar player, but iff we team Jenkins and Warren in the middle thats hardly going to be an issue. He's got sideline to sideline speed and ball skills that'll make QBs pay, let him rove around the middle of the field on 1st and 2nd downs causing mayhem, then in a couple years he'll take Gold's place in the nickel downs when we cut him too.

My current "dream draft":
1. Jarvis Moss
2. Eric Weddle
3A. Quincy Black
3B. Paul Soliai
6A. Legedu Naanee
6B. Dan Sepulveda
7. Cory Anderson

I actually agree with this. Let Gold play SLB for a year and get DJ back to his natural position. From what I've read of Bates' scheme, the WLB is the playmaker, so lets put our best playmaker there. Let Gold go next year and add a true SLB. It's not ideal, but it's probably our best option right now. One question, though: How are we going to add Jenkins and still keep all of our picks?

[RocBronc]

CNNSi, has Black listed as 6'1" 226... (that's about how big he looks) so I don't know if he could play SLB. Don't get me wrong, his film footage was excellent I just don't know if he could fill a need for us right now.

After looking through the video of the LB's, this is what I thought.

I really like Willis, just won't be there at 21.

Timmons really jumped out at me.... I wasn't a big fan of what I have heard about him but he really seems to have the tools to fit in at the NFL level.

If Waters knee is better, I'd love to see us take him with our 2nd 3rd round pick.

Brian Smith can really get after the QB and would like to see him in the 6th round.

Harris would be a solid pick, maybe in the second but he would be a steal with either of our 3rd rounders.

There are several other LB's that look good but they all look like WLB's to me.

I wouldn't mind us using our 6th or 7th pick on local boy Thad Washington.

[SpringStein]

CNNSi, has Black listed as 6'1" 226... (that's about how big he looks) so I don't know if he could play SLB. Don't get me wrong, his film footage was excellent I just don't know if he could fill a need for us right now.
.

You want to believe that or what he weighed in at the combine? I'll take the combine scales myself which read 240. ;)

[bpc]

Seems like CNNSI (great film for people who want to watch cutups) is a little outdated on size not taking in combine weight, ect.

I have extensive film on Black. He is athletic as hell and I think he'll have an impact as a blitzer and also in coverage. He plays physical and will fly around the field. What he needs is coaching though. He played the LOBO position at New Mexico meaning that he was all over the field. DE, SAM, WILL, and the Mike. Bates could be the guy who takes him to the next level. He has the skill set of John Mobley, speed and good size.

I think that Bates will be protecting our LB's with our line so size won't be as big a deal.

If I had to go with option B, I like the SAM from Nebraska... (i hate that I just said that) the kid really gets after it though.

[Billy Clyde Puckett]

Don't Dismiss Harris. The biggest thing he has going for him is his football intelligence and leadership. He is capable of stepping right in and calling the defenses. He is a chalk board junkie.

[PRBronco]

Screw the flipping SAM and WILL ideas. I hated that when Coyer brought it up. COMMIT to somebody. If DJ is the guy, lets go that direction and make him a monster. I don't care about Gold playing the WILL. It is all he can play. I feel opposite of what you said Drek. I think Quincy Black can be a difference maker at SAM, he is about 6'2", 240 right now. He could probably 5-10 more lbs as well. He has the ability to be the best coverage LB in the league. That is a statement but he has hands and coverage skills... he could play safety with his athletic ability. I wouldn't be surprised if we pull the trigger on this guy in round 2.

Check out his film from the CNNSI film room. The guy is great in coverage, has a 40 inch verticle and will help defense some of these TE's we have in our division. I like Black as well as any LB in this draft and he has crazy upside. Bates could make a monster out of him.

Good post, I was dead set on getting a real, old school, big, strong, take on blockers SAM this year, but I did a bit of research, looked at the depth charts from all the years Bates was with Miami, and never once did they have a linebacker like that, it was always undersized, mobile guys like we already have at OLB, so, assuming Bates had input on the roster there, doesn't look like we'll go that route.

[JCMElway]

Buster Davis with our late third! Undersized but instinctive, he's a new Zach Thomas for coach Bates.

Don't let Slap hear you say that! He hates the fact that we have two midget linebackers starting!

[JCMElway]

As far as priorities for the draft changing, LB will either rocket up to a 1st or 2nd round selection, or it will stay around a 6th or 7th pick. If Mike likes Vaughn and Webster to start at SAM then we proceed with nabbing 3 DL, and a S fairly high in the draft.

If Mike doesn't want them starting, then we can't afford to draft a project. We'll need to get Willis, Posluznsy, Siler, D Harris, or Lawrence Timmons. If the later is the case Denver will probably trade down to get their LB at the end of the first round and then get a DT with an additional pick later.

Unless Mike blows up the whole draft and trades up to get Willis. Add to that the fact that Jamaal Anderson, Alan Branch, and Okoye may be slipping down some draft boards. So many different ways this could go.....

[chaz]

How is 6'2", 240 too small? For 3-4 OLB maybe, but not for any LB position in a 4-3.

my bad, i guess i'm wrong but he looks small on film...

[chaz]

I think that Bates will be protecting our LB's with our line so size won't be as big a deal.

If I had to go with option B, I like the SAM from Nebraska... (i hate that I just said that) the kid really gets after it though.

they wont have to get off as many blocks but they will be making so many tackles their bodies will still be taking a good beating....i just dont want ian to puss out at the end of the year like he did last season.