Rookies on the team Good or Bad?

[no-pseudo-fan]

I know it is early, but Denver's Draft cllass(including UDFA's) this year is looking very good. How many of these guys are going to make the 53 man roster?



Clady and Royal are locks. So that is 2.



Hillis, Alridge, and Torain look very good, but will we really carry 3 rookie RB's on the active roster?



Barrett and JMFW look like almost locks, especially with Lynch leaving.



Polumbus?



So we could be looking at least at having a team that has 8 rookies make the team. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Only 1 or 2 will start, but it is still a high number of rookies.

I think that we are becoming extremely young and very exciting at a lot of positions.

My question, is this going to hurt us this year?

[Clockwork Orange]

This is another transition year. Any young talent that can be developed is a positive for the franchise.

[broncofan2438]

They all look good but we still have to see how they perform in a GAME

[NFLBRONCO]

I think it will hurt us in 08 and maybe 09. I love that we are reloading with young guys I hope we keep it going so in another year or two we can have a real nice young core to build on.

[cutthemdown]

If you don't give youth a chance you will never find diamonds in the rough.

[bpc]

Yes, we're going to see the affects in the win/loss column. This young team will probably be 7-9, 8-8, improving while the season goes away.

This sounds cliche but we could have a season very similar to 95', Shanny's first season.

[dekers]

Yes, we're going to see the affects in the win/loss column. This young team will probably be 7-9, 8-8, improving while the season goes away.

This sounds cliche but we could have a season very similar to 95', Shanny's first season.

Am all for that but can we skip the 96' season next year and go straight to 97' 98' ? ;D

[Hogan11]

Every team has to get young at one point or another....it's the Broncos turn now.

[TheChamp24]

I see Clady, Royal, Hillis, Torain, Williams and Barrett making the team.
The others, not much of a chance.
And even then, it will be tough for all the guys except Clady and Royal.

[maher_tyler]

I know it is early, but Denver's Draft cllass(including UDFA's) this year is looking very good. How many of these guys are going to make the 53 man roster?



Clady and Royal are locks. So that is 2.



Hillis, Alridge, and Torain look very good, but will we really carry 3 rookie RB's on the active roster?



Barrett and JMFW look like almost locks, especially with Lynch leaving.



Polumbus?



So we could be looking at least at having a team that has 8 rookies make the team. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Only 1 or 2 will start, but it is still a high number of rookies.

I think that we are becoming extremely young and very exciting at a lot of positions.

My question, is this going to hurt us this year?

I think its good and bad...good because they're stepping up and the future looks bright but bad because the "right now" doesn't look so good...unless its Clady, A. Peterson or guys of that calibur i don't want them starting as a rookie!!

[socalorado]

I see Clady, Royal, Hillis, Torain, Williams and Barrett making the team.
The others, not much of a chance.
And even then, it will be tough for all the guys except Clady and Royal.

Not only will those guys make the team, but will be eventual starters THIS YEAR.
Clady-starter day 1
Hillis- Starter day 1
Royal-Starter day 1 (KO/PR)
Torain-Starter- week 4
Barrett-Starter week 6-8
MFWill-Starter (nickel, limited action)

Lichtensteiger-IR
Woodyard-PS
The rest, i am not sure of, but it will suck if Aldridge doesnt make the team.

[TheChamp24]

Not only will those guys make the team, but will be eventual starters THIS YEAR.
Clady-starter day 1
Hillis- Starter day 1
Royal-Starter day 1 (KO/PR)
Torain-Starter- week 4
Barrett-Starter week 6-8
MFWill-Starter (nickel, limited action)

Lichtensteiger-IR
Woodyard-PS
The rest, i am not sure of, but it will suck if Aldridge doesnt make the team.

Woah, I highly doubt that.
Clady is the only guy I will say will be a starter this year, Hillis may start.
I don't count Royal as a starter for just returning.
Torain, Barrett and Williams will not be starters unless they turn out amazing.

[socalorado]

Woah, I highly doubt that.
Clady is the only guy I will say will be a starter this year, Hillis may start.
I don't count Royal as a starter for just returning.
Torain, Barrett and Williams will not be starters unless they turn out amazing.
I think your opinion of some of the current "starters" is a little "inflated" lets just say.
I see all those guys starting.
Write it down.

[PRBronco]

I'm hoping that once the preseason games start, Woodyard shows what he can do and earns himself a roster spot on special teams.

[ReillyB]

Here are the rookies I believe will make the team:

Clady - This one's obvious

Royal - As is this one

Lichtensteiger - We need someone to take over when Tom calls it a career, and I don't believe it will be Casey Wiegmann. He may be on on the PS.

Torain - Apparently he has already been very impressive at TC and should be our goalline back.

Jack Williams - He might not make it but in a couple year he should be our nickel back.

Barrett - He may start down the road, but he is big, fast, and a ferocious hitter; should be a ST demon.

Hillis - Most Denver fans have pronounced him the steal of the century, and I also believe he should be a starter fairly early in his career.

Polumbus - before the season, my bold prediction was that he would eventually be our starter at RT, and I'm sticking to it.

Alridge - Insane speed, should be a good COP/Scat back.

[2KBack]

I personally think a good rookie is better than a mediocre or bad Veteran. So if it assumed that all of these rookies are improvements over the players they are replacing, there is every reason to be ecstatic for the season. Shanahan is notoriously stubbourn about starting rookies, so when/if eny of these guys see the field, you know it's because they are the best option.

[Drek]

Clady will be a starter at LT, he's in.

Royal will be our KR/PR and situational 3rd/4th WR, also on the 53 man.

Torain is our young power back option. He's in.

I've said that I think Hillis is going to take Sapp's starting spot, so obviously I think he's in.

Jack Williams is upgrading the spot previously held by guys like LeSueur and Shoate, he's in like flint.

Lynch's departure seems to have opened the door for Barrett to be our 4th safety. Wouldn't be surprised if he's seeing some real action by mid-season but not consistent action that early (other than STs).

Lichtensteiger's role hinges on the health of Ham-bone and Nails. The later isn't looking so hot right now health wise. I don't think we can hide him on the PS, but I expect him to be our 3rd OG/C option for the entire year as he learns the ropes.

Powell, IR obviously.

Larsen is a bubble guy but I think he catches on, knocking Louis Green off the roster. He's got more versatility and we'll want all the guys we can get to battle for snaps at MLB.

Woodyard, Polumbus, and Aldrige are practice squaders in the truest sense of the word. All have potential, but all have things to work on as well. Woodyard needs to define a position. Polumbus needs to add the 10-20 pounds that scouting reports claim he's got the frame for, and Aldrige is basically looking for Young or Hall to get hurt so he gets a shot to be our new speedy scat back type.

[no-pseudo-fan]

Do you think Alridge or Polumbus make it to the PS? If we cut them other teams can scoop them up. I think if they play well, they will force the team to keep them.

[lex]

I think all but one or two will make the team. Not sure who exactly. I hope Aldridge makes it but Im not sure.

I think that this was a draft for depth in a lot of ways. Its an indictment of how poor our special teams have been. I think we targeted a lot of guys who could help on ST and possibly push the starters or become starters themselves...and I think we got that. They dont need to start to make the team because in drafting them, the objective wasnt to replace the starters in many cases as much as it was to replace scrubs on the depth chart. And so basically from the outset, they made up their minds to replace guys who were already on the roster.

[PRBronco]

Do you think Alridge or Polumbus make it to the PS? If we cut them other teams can scoop them up. I think if they play well, they will force the team to keep them.

I'd be afraid to let Aldridge out of our sight :S

[Inkana7]

All the drafted kids stick, Powell and Lichtensteiger on the IR. Aldridge is going to be a nice little utility back for us, and Polumbus is currently our 2nd team RT, he stays. Aldridge PS.

[caster]

Don't forget Erickson, I think he has a future with team. He has been a sleeper all his career and I think he will prove himself again.

[Dukes]

This is another transition year. Any young talent that can be developed is a positive for the franchise.

Holy **** when did you come back? :thumbsup:

[SoDak Bronco]

If we get can manage 6 guys on the active roster and possibly stashing another 2 on the PSquad, that is a fricking good sign as far as the draft class goes.

Clady- Starting LT
Royal- PR/KR - and Gadget player (reverses, 4-wr sets)
Torrain- backup RB
Hillis- backup FB
JMFW- backup CB, special teams
Barret- 2nd string safety, Special teams

Kory Licht- Practice squad
alldridge- Practice Squad
Polumbas- Practice Squad

[OrangeDoofus]

We have... what was it, one starter remaining from all the drafts from 2003 to 2005? Obviously we hit the jackpot in 2006 and there's plenty of guys from '07.

But we're still needing talent upgrades at a lot of positions. If rookies are starting in those slots, that's probably a good thing.

[Colin]

Here is my oversimplified point . . . I am very happy that we actually had a solid draft and appear to have talent that we can talk about. How may times by this time are we clutching to talk about the player or 2 that MIGHT make the team, rather than the playerS. Personally I was a "please draft Barrett" fan prior to the draft, due to his size, speed and ability (don't know about the head).

Incidentially, I just love the JMFW nickname!

[Cito Pelon]

I know it is early, but Denver's Draft cllass(including UDFA's) this year is looking very good. How many of these guys are going to make the 53 man roster?



Clady and Royal are locks. So that is 2.



Hillis, Alridge, and Torain look very good, but will we really carry 3 rookie RB's on the active roster?



Barrett and JMFW look like almost locks, especially with Lynch leaving.



Polumbus?



So we could be looking at least at having a team that has 8 rookies make the team. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Only 1 or 2 will start, but it is still a high number of rookies.

I think that we are becoming extremely young and very exciting at a lot of positions.

My question, is this going to hurt us this year?

A younger roster I think the ST's will be better.

[That One Guy]

Not only will those guys make the team, but will be eventual starters THIS YEAR.
Clady-starter day 1
Hillis- Starter day 1
Royal-Starter day 1 (KO/PR)
Torain-Starter- week 4
Barrett-Starter week 6-8
MFWill-Starter (nickel, limited action)

Lichtensteiger-IR
Woodyard-PS
The rest, i am not sure of, but it will suck if Aldridge doesnt make the team.

Well, at least this confirms you aren't merely stupid when it comes to your draft talk - you're just full blown retarded.

How can you say Royal is a starter and then say KR/PR? Same with Williams and nickel... ST players and nickel backs aren't starters, doofus. You insult someone's assessment of our starters but you forgot to assess what you were talking about in the first place.

[Drek]

Do you think Alridge or Polumbus make it to the PS? If we cut them other teams can scoop them up. I think if they play well, they will force the team to keep them.

They were both UDFA for a reason and other teams have their own UDFA/late round rookies that they want to find a spot for.

Also, reports of a young RB and tall, lean OT looking good in Denver's early camps isn't going to get personnel evaluators around the league buzzing. Thats about as bit a "no **** sherlock" incident as their gets.

To most teams Aldrige the same as Andre Hall was a few years ago, and Hall road the PS for two seasons before we gave him a shot last year. For us he's excellent insurance in case Young or Hall gets hurt, but he isn't making the 53 man as long as we want Young (our feature back) Torain (up and coming feature back), Pittman (power back) and Hall (speed back) on the roster. He's an excellent insurance plan though and I think he'll be the immediate solution if one of the RBs, a return guy, and maybe even a WR gets hurt.

And every scouting report on Polumbus said the same thing. Tall, lean, needs to add weight but could play well in a ZBS like Denver. Teams aren't going to find a 53 man roster spot for someone like him unless they have serious OT health issues.

I don't think we could slide Lichtenstieger to the PS because he was a mid-round pick and a lot of scouts thought he was a top center in the class. Barrett and Hillis could be tough too. Barrett has so much physical talent that someone would be interested, and Hillis is a FB, most teams don't carry very many and he'd be one of the highest upside PS/open market options out there.

Larsen could probably slide through to the PS, but his versatility on special teams and ability to be a run stopping MLB might be worth too much for us not to give him a roster spot over someone like Louis Green.

Other than that, its pretty clear the rest will be on the roster as they've already settled into homes within the upper echelons of the depth chart.

[Broncos_OTM]

Well, at least this confirms you aren't merely stupid when it comes to your draft talk - you're just full blown retarded.

How can you say Royal is a starter and then say KR/PR? Same with Williams and nickel... ST players and nickel backs aren't starters, doofus. You insult someone's assessment of our starters but you forgot to assess what you were talking about in the first place.

still smacking it up i see... although i was rolling on the ground when i read this

[watermock]

It's time to open our eyes about how horrific our drafts have been prior to 06.

How this team made the 06 afccg with smoke and mirrors showed how talentd shanny is coching/playcalling, not drafting or even getting FA's.

[Eldorado]

It's time to open our eyes about how horrific our drafts have been prior to 06.

How this team made the 06 afccg with smoke and mirrors showed how talentd shanny is coching/playcalling, not drafting or even getting FA's.

05 was ok.

2 56 Darrent Williams CB Oklahoma State
3 76 Karl Paymah DB Washington State
3 97 Domonique Foxworth CB Maryland
3 101 Maurice Clarett -- Ohio State
6 200 Chris Myers G Miami (Fla.)
7 239 Paul Ernster K Northern Arizona

04 was DJ and 9 big steamers.

03 wow.

02 Portis and Sam Brandon, 2 very good players. (the rest? poop.)

[no-pseudo-fan]

Alridge is getting too much press, and if he plays well in the preseason there is no way we can slip him on to the PS. Polumbus maybe. What I have heard, a lot of teams were calling him.

[Cito Pelon]

I sure hope these rookies are as smart and as dedicated as they are physically talented. The team needs them to contribute this season. I'm getting amped up to see these rookies play. After being a Walter Matthau the whole off season, I'm getting excited to see this team in action. 7 days til the lights go on at Houston.