Draft for the 3-4?

[mattob14]

Watching the Defense move in and out of the 3-4 today with pretty good success, I have to start thinking Terrence Cody of 'Bama may become a realistic option in round 1. It's probably 50-50 as to whether he comes out this year, and he needs to work on conditioning and use his hands better, but the guy has the potential to dominate the middle of the line. 3-4 NT's typically aren't valued as top-20 picks, so we may well have a shot at him if he declares.

I could see Cody seeing the majority of the time at NT in the 3-4 and clogging the middle in short-yardage and goalline situations next year, with Robertson rotating at NT and playing DT in the 4-3. Thomas and Peterson can play 3-4 DE or 4-3 DT and Ekuban/Engleburger provide depth in either scheme. Moss and Dumerville give us a couple of pass-rushers, although we'd still need help here, and DJ's versatile enough to play inside of the 3-4 or outside in a 4-3.

With all that said, I'd love to see an off-season where we sign a FA LB like Channing Crowder, who shouldn't be all that expensive and could play ILB in a 3-4, then draft Cody in round 1, assuming he comes out. Grab Patrick Chung in round 2, an OL in the 3rd, then grab a couple of OLB/DE prospects, and possibly another safety, in the late rounds. IMO, that gives us a versatile line-up, capable of playing either 3-4 or 4-3 and giving a variety to looks to opposing offenses. It also eases a transition to a full-fledged 3-4 in another year or two.

I know Shanahan's always been a proponent of the 4-3 and there's a good chance we'll continue to use that as our base formation, but today's game did show more versatility in some of our personnel than I'd seen in the past, so it got me thinking. Thoughts?

[SpringStein]

He's a fascinating prospect. Can anyone confirm if he is eligible to be in the '09 draft? I think he's listed as a JUCU transfer as a sophomore.

[Schism]

A genuine NT is a must if we plan on moving to a 3-4 on a permanent basis, and Cody would certainly fit the bill.

That said, my belief is that we're gonna use the 3-4 as a passing down defense primarily. It's a good way to disguise blitzes and coverages, could really help Moss as well as some projected him as a 3-4 OLB.

However, I think we'll stick with the 4-3 as our base defense. Thomas and Robertson look a good tandem in the middle stopping the run, and Elvis can't be one of 3 down-linemen on running downs and expect to not be a liability.

It's nice that we're mixing in some 3-4 looks on passing situations, but I don't see a full on permanent change in the future to be honest. We'd need an entirely new D-Line to be stout against the run from a 3-4, and I think our run D is looking promising in the 4-3 with the guys we have.

[skpac1001]

Watching the Defense move in and out of the 3-4 today with pretty good success, I have to start thinking Terrence Cody of 'Bama may become a realistic option in round 1. It's probably 50-50 as to whether he comes out this year, and he needs to work on conditioning and use his hands better, but the guy has the potential to dominate the middle of the line. 3-4 NT's typically aren't valued as top-20 picks, so we may well have a shot at him if he declares.

I could see Cody seeing the majority of the time at NT in the 3-4 and clogging the middle in short-yardage and goalline situations next year, with Robertson rotating at NT and playing DT in the 4-3. Thomas and Peterson can play 3-4 DE or 4-3 DT and Ekuban/Engleburger provide depth in either scheme. Moss and Dumerville give us a couple of pass-rushers, although we'd still need help here, and DJ's versatile enough to play inside of the 3-4 or outside in a 4-3.

With all that said, I'd love to see an off-season where we sign a FA LB like Channing Crowder, who shouldn't be all that expensive and could play ILB in a 3-4, then draft Cody in round 1, assuming he comes out. Grab Patrick Chung in round 2, an OL in the 3rd, then grab a couple of OLB/DE prospects, and possibly another safety, in the late rounds. IMO, that gives us a versatile line-up, capable of playing either 3-4 or 4-3 and giving a variety to looks to opposing offenses. It also eases a transition to a full-fledged 3-4 in another year or two.

I know Shanahan's always been a proponent of the 4-3 and there's a good chance we'll continue to use that as our base formation, but today's game did show more versatility in some of our personnel than I'd seen in the past, so it got me thinking. Thoughts?

Seems like most of the talent in this draft is for 3-4 rather then 4-3. I think what you outlined would probably be our best chance for dramatically upgrading the defense. Getting a NT like Cody would make our 3-4 package more flexable and unpredictable. He would be nice in a 4-3 rotation too.

[bpc]

Great thread. Cody is a junior but said he already was going to be staying for his senior year. We'll see. He still has a lot of baby fat on him but at 6'4", 375, you'll be hard pressed to find another guy that can hold the point like him.

[Br0nc0Buster]

Well we need to take a page out of New England's playbook on how to use a 3-4.
They spend high round picks on Dlinemen, and it pays off for them.
Regardless of what scheme we run, we need some more talented linemen.

Outside of Tyson Jackson, I am not familiar with elite linemen that would fit our needs.

[mattob14]

Great thread. Cody is a junior but said he already was going to be staying for his senior year. We'll see. He still has a lot of baby fat on him but at 6'4", 375, you'll be hard pressed to find another guy that can hold the point like him.

Yeah, the conditioning is a big issue right now and he'll have to work on that to play in the NFL. Reportedly, he has dropped down from 400 lbs to 365 at 'Bama though, and an NFL training program should do him well if he continues putting in the effort. And if he keeps this up, there's really no reason for him not to come out this year, he's far and away the #1 NT prospect if he does come out. Of course, maybe he just loves playing SEC football?

It will be interesting to see how we use the 3-4 the rest of this season. If we start having more success with it, draft day could be interesting this year.

[bpc]

I think we could get away with big bodies on the front line. I'm not opposed to doing linemen early but I think if we are to switch to a 3-4, we better have somebody who can hit home consistently as a pass rusher.

SD and Dallas got Merriman and Ware the same year and that gave their D teeth.

We just need to add the biggest playmaker we can next year.

Everett Brown, Aaron Curry, George Selvie, or William Moore.

[mattob14]

I think we could get away with big bodies on the front line. I'm not opposed to doing linemen early but I think if we are to switch to a 3-4, we better have somebody who can hit home consistently as a pass rusher.

SD and Dallas got Merriman and Ware the same year and that gave their D teeth.

We just need to add the biggest playmaker we can next year.

Everett Brown, Aaron Curry, George Selvie, or William Moore.

I like Brown best from that list. Curry will be a player too, I'm just not sure he's the natural pass rusher that would change the way teams gameplan. Selvie's good, but he'll go early and is pretty one-dimensional. Moore's a favorite of mine, but with the Safety depth this year, I think we're better off waiting.

[oubronco]

Red Bryant would've been a nice one to have had this year

[BroncoMan4ever]

we would need way too much of a change in players to become even a halfway decent 3-4 defense permanantly, not to mention we would need to overhaul the defensive coaching staff all over again.

we are closer to being a good 4-3 defense than we are to being an ok 3-4 defense. get this team a MLB, another pass rusher and a decent pair of Safeties and this is a Super Bowl contending team.

Aside from those glaring spots, we need depth on both lines, a new RB and depth at receiver.

[peacepipe]

we would need way too much of a change in players to become even a halfway decent 3-4 defense permanantly, not to mention we would need to overhaul the defensive coaching staff all over again.

we are closer to being a good 4-3 defense than we are to being an ok 3-4 defense. get this team a MLB, another pass rusher and a decent pair of Safeties and this is a Super Bowl contending team.

Aside from those glaring spots, we need depth on both lines, a new RB and depth at receiver.
Actually we're alot closer to a 3-4 than you may think. We have the tweeners in J. Moss & dumervil to play OLB in a 3-4 as well as DJ Williams & Boss to play ILB. coaching staff does need adjustment & our D-line needs some players but ouir talent on D is better suited to play 3-4.

[gyldenlove]

Actually we're alot closer to a 3-4 than you may think. We have the tweeners in J. Moss & dumervil to play OLB in a 3-4 as well as DJ Williams & Boss to play ILB. coaching staff does need adjustment & our D-line needs some players but ouir talent on D is better suited to play 3-4.

I call BS on that.

DJ played inside last year and failed to play at an acceptable level. Boss is not even remotely suited for ILB in a 3-4, he is a cover linebacker that needs to play in space, ILBs in 3-4 never have that luxury.

We would need 3 linemen (maybe only 2 if, and this is a really big if, Marcus Thomas can play DE) Neither Ekuban nor Engelberger can pay 3-4, and Kenny Peterson is nowhere near strong enough to hold up against double teams.

Moss could be interesting at 3-4 OLB if we play a scheme like the Chuggers with very aggressive blitzing linebackers, but since he is not much of a pass rusher now, I am skeptical that moving him 1 gap over will really help that much.

If we play a 3-4 like the Patriots DJ would be well suited to playing the OLB that Mike Vrabel played for them.

Realisticly we will need NT, at least 1 DE, at least 1 OLB and 2 ILBs to play the 3-4 well.

To play the 4-3 well, we need a MLB, DE and DT. If we get a big runstopping DT who can be plugged in an take a lot of double teams in the middle, we can alternate Thomas and Robertson on the UT position with Dumervil/Ekuban holding down one DE position opposite the everydown DE we need. DJ is set for a long time at WLB and Boss is servicable enough at SLB that with a good MLB we could have a decent front 7.

We can help ourselves with some utility picks tough, a big DT would fit both schemes, as would be a large every down DE and a strong hard hitting MLB with leadership skills.

[SoCalBronco]

With all that said, I'd love to see an off-season where we sign a FA LB like Channing Crowder

But I thought we cared about character.

[nickademus]

I agree that we are a way off from a 3-4 IMHO we should be looking for some players who fit the Tampa 2 as we are much closer to that and it has proven to be a good system over time. Crowder would be a decent pick up in the middle if we are drafting a first round FS I also agree that we need to be picking high round D-Linemen but I am not really sure as to what will be available in this draft. I really think we are 4 starters on D away from being a very good to great D.

[TheReverend]

But I thought we cared about character.

I don't put much stock into his character issues. However, I'm a big fan of getting our hands on a MLB who isn't mentally retarded, so count my non-existant vote a "no" for Crowder.

[BroncoMan4ever]

Actually we're alot closer to a 3-4 than you may think. We have the tweeners in J. Moss & dumervil to play OLB in a 3-4 as well as DJ Williams & Boss to play ILB. coaching staff does need adjustment & our D-line needs some players but ouir talent on D is better suited to play 3-4.

DJ played inside last season and wasn't great at it. Boss is better suited to be an OLB in a 3-4. I will give you Doom as being probably a really good 3-4 OLB. Not only that but to be any good as a 3-4 we need to groom a NT, because we won't find a good one for cheap in FA and would need to draft one. Typically a NT needs 2-3 seasons before he is showing anything. Plus we would still need pass rushers, because in the 3-4 Moss and Doom both become OLB's.
And in 2-3 years when the 3-4 is finally working decently the offense might have lost a few players and is not running at as high a level as it is now.

Right now we need another DT or 2 to add to the rotation and with Powell coming back we might need to draft one since, Robertson, Thomas, Peterson and Clemons playing decent right now. We have a pass rusher who could be a force if he had another decent rusher coming from the opposite side of the line. We need a MLB to lead the defense and to actually tackle and handle the appropriate gaps. And decent Safeties. We don't even need a Bob Sanders, or a Troy Polomalu type of Safety, just a pair with some speed to help in coverage who can tackle. A slight upgrade over what we have now.

So a MLB, Pass Rushing DE, depth on the DL, and Safeties and our Defense goes from being a Piece of ****, to actually being pretty good. and with our offense we become favorites to win a super bowl.

[nickademus]

I dont think the DE we need is a Pass Rushing DE what we need is someone who will get Engleburger off the field and if he can rush the passer as well that would be ideal. So give me Peppers but if you can't make that happen I would take Marcus Spears It looks like there are some decent DE's in this draft but I am not ready to give a rook the reins just like that. would rather have a vet in place.

[mattob14]

I don't put much stock into his character issues. However, I'm a big fan of getting our hands on a MLB who isn't mentally retarded, so count my non-existant vote a "no" for Crowder.

I wouldn't want him in a 4-3 either. But, if we did decide to start transitioning to a 3-4, he could be a decent, fairly inexpensive option.

[mattob14]

DJ played inside last season and wasn't great at it. Boss is better suited to be an OLB in a 3-4. I will give you Doom as being probably a really good 3-4 OLB. Not only that but to be any good as a 3-4 we need to groom a NT, because we won't find a good one for cheap in FA and would need to draft one. Typically a NT needs 2-3 seasons before he is showing anything. Plus we would still need pass rushers, because in the 3-4 Moss and Doom both become OLB's.
And in 2-3 years when the 3-4 is finally working decently the offense might have lost a few players and is not running at as high a level as it is now.

Right now we need another DT or 2 to add to the rotation and with Powell coming back we might need to draft one since, Robertson, Thomas, Peterson and Clemons playing decent right now. We have a pass rusher who could be a force if he had another decent rusher coming from the opposite side of the line. We need a MLB to lead the defense and to actually tackle and handle the appropriate gaps. And decent Safeties. We don't even need a Bob Sanders, or a Troy Polomalu type of Safety, just a pair with some speed to help in coverage who can tackle. A slight upgrade over what we have now.

So a MLB, Pass Rushing DE, depth on the DL, and Safeties and our Defense goes from being a Piece of ****, to actually being pretty good. and with our offense we become favorites to win a super bowl.

In quantity, he probably aren't that far from a quality 4-3. In the 3-4, though, I think it's easier to find players that fill our needs. A 3-4 DE and ILB don't have to be the explosive athletes required for the 4-3, so it may be easier to draft/sign the 4-5 players needed to be competitive in the 3-4.

Also, I think the Broncos' coaches may disagree about how well their players fit in a 3-4. If they didn't have any of the personnel, I don't think we'd see it as much as we did last Sunday.

Either way, I don't foresee an immediate switch to the 3-4. I'd think, at least through next year, we'd continue to see a combination of the two as we continue to add pieces, then possibly go full 3-4 in 2010.

[BroncoMan4ever]

In quantity, he probably aren't that far from a quality 4-3. In the 3-4, though, I think it's easier to find players that fill our needs. A 3-4 DE and ILB don't have to be the explosive athletes required for the 4-3, so it may be easier to draft/sign the 4-5 players needed to be competitive in the 3-4.

Also, I think the Broncos' coaches may disagree about how well their players fit in a 3-4. If they didn't have any of the personnel, I don't think we'd see it as much as we did last Sunday.

Either way, I don't foresee an immediate switch to the 3-4. I'd think, at least through next year, we'd continue to see a combination of the two as we continue to add pieces, then possibly go full 3-4 in 2010.

the biggest need in a 3-4 is a solid NT. Robertson was given away basically because he doesn't play that position. Thomas is a penetrating DT, not a space eating DT.
I don't know of any decent NT's that will be available in FA next season and in the NFL it takes a NT a couple years before they are producing at a good level. Right now on our DL our Tackles are the strong part, we just need pass rushers.

If we had pass rushers, our Safeties wouldn't even look as bad as they currently do.

[mattob14]

the biggest need in a 3-4 is a solid NT. Robertson was given away basically because he doesn't play that position. Thomas is a penetrating DT, not a space eating DT.
I don't know of any decent NT's that will be available in FA next season and in the NFL it takes a NT a couple years before they are producing at a good level. Right now on our DL our Tackles are the strong part, we just need pass rushers.

If we had pass rushers, our Safeties wouldn't even look as bad as they currently do.

I agree to an extent, but you have to pay the price to pick up good 4-3 DE's that can rush the passer. The 3-4 is a little easier, since their seems to be a bigger supply of the athletic 'tweeners that fit so well as 3-4 OLB's.

[BroncoMan4ever]

I agree to an extent, but you have to pay the price to pick up good 4-3 DE's that can rush the passer. The 3-4 is a little easier, since their seems to be a bigger supply of the athletic 'tweeners that fit so well as 3-4 OLB's.

yes the LB position is relatively easy to acquire, in fact with Doom, DJ, Boss and even Moss we have the guys for OLB, but we still don't have anything for ILB. Also, he LB position isn't the part we need. We would need to acquire a good NT. there aren't many in the NFL currently that are good enough to build the Defense around, and if we draft one it will take at least 2 years before he is any good, and by then Champ is on his last legs, Bly is probably gone and the offense might not be as good as it has shown it can be this season. Right now this team is being developed to win beginning now and for the next couple of years. We don't have the time necessary to not only change out the players but the defensive coaching staff again. It would be much easier to try and steal away Peppers, get a true MLB leader for the defense, and get younger Safeties than it would be to retool everything about the defense except the LB's to turn the defense into a permanant 3-4.

[nickademus]

yes the LB position is relatively easy to acquire, in fact with Doom, DJ, Boss and even Moss we have the guys for OLB, but we still don't have anything for ILB. Also, he LB position isn't the part we need. We would need to acquire a good NT. there aren't many in the NFL currently that are good enough to build the Defense around, and if we draft one it will take at least 2 years before he is any good, and by then Champ is on his last legs, Bly is probably gone and the offense might not be as good as it has shown it can be this season. Right now this team is being developed to win beginning now and for the next couple of years. We don't have the time necessary to not only change out the players but the defensive coaching staff again. It would be much easier to try and steal away Peppers, get a true MLB leader for the defense, and get younger Safeties than it would be to retool everything about the defense except the LB's to turn the defense into a permanant 3-4.

I was talking to my father in law who works for the Jets and we were discussing the switch to the 3-4 and he was talking about how similar the jets D was personel wise to the broncos before the switch. the exception being they had Vilma and had to draft a replacement as well as LBs for the system. The point he was making was that even though he thinks denver has more players suited for the 3-4 than the jets did when they switched they wont be truely effective untill the D-line is settled. This is why the Jets went out and got a NT. Now it is my personal opinion that we run the hybird system and draft for the 3-4 go get a guy who like Marcus Spears who is a stout end Draft a project NT or two and move Thomas to end when we switch. As some have said we will need some inside backers for this to work but we need that anyways. So in the next few years we will have a good system in place and replacing our CBs will be the last step to a really good D. To me this should be a 3 to 4 year transition whith the focus on staying competitive with the personel we have durring the transition.

[BroncoMan4ever]

I was talking to my father in law who works for the Jets and we were discussing the switch to the 3-4 and he was talking about how similar the jets D was personel wise to the broncos before the switch. the exception being they had Vilma and had to draft a replacement as well as LBs for the system. The point he was making was that even though he thinks denver has more players suited for the 3-4 than the jets did when they switched they wont be truely effective untill the D-line is settled. This is why the Jets went out and got a NT. Now it is my personal opinion that we run the hybird system and draft for the 3-4 go get a guy who like Marcus Spears who is a stout end Draft a project NT or two and move Thomas to end when we switch. As some have said we will need some inside backers for this to work but we need that anyways. So in the next few years we will have a good system in place and replacing our CBs will be the last step to a really good D. To me this should be a 3 to 4 year transition whith the focus on staying competitive with the personel we have durring the transition.

Why wait a few years and end up changing out our best defensive player(Champ), when next year if we can acquire an all around DE/pass rusher a MLB and some new safeties and depth for the lines we could compete in the 4-3.
We don't need the Baltimore Ravens defense that won them a Super Bowl a few years ago. We need a defense capable of getting off the field, and only allowing 17-21 points again.

With this offense, get our defense running decent, and we can compete.

[mattob14]

yes the LB position is relatively easy to acquire, in fact with Doom, DJ, Boss and even Moss we have the guys for OLB, but we still don't have anything for ILB. Also, he LB position isn't the part we need. We would need to acquire a good NT. there aren't many in the NFL currently that are good enough to build the Defense around, and if we draft one it will take at least 2 years before he is any good, and by then Champ is on his last legs, Bly is probably gone and the offense might not be as good as it has shown it can be this season. Right now this team is being developed to win beginning now and for the next couple of years. We don't have the time necessary to not only change out the players but the defensive coaching staff again. It would be much easier to try and steal away Peppers, get a true MLB leader for the defense, and get younger Safeties than it would be to retool everything about the defense except the LB's to turn the defense into a permanant 3-4.

IF we can get Peppers, and IF we can pick up a that MLB in the draft, sure. I'm not against staying in the 4-3 by any means, but I'm not sure that's the direction the staff is leaning. I mentioned Cody in the original post, and I would only want to start transitioning to the 3-4 if we could pick him up(or an equivalent talent, just not sure who that would be) in the draft, grab a young S, then sign a DE or ILB.

I guess it boils down to this; either way, the Safeties need to be upgraded. In a 3-4, we need a NT, DE, and 1-2 ILB. In a 4-3, we need a DE, MLB, and another solid DT (I'm not convinced we can count on Robertson to stay healthy). Which is easier to get? IMO, we need more quantity to fill out a solid front-7 in the 3-4, but I'm not sure we need the IMPACT players we would to fill out the 4-3 (to really be effective, the DE and MLB should be top-notch players).

If we can sign a FA like Peppers, yeah, the 4-3 should be fairly easy to successfully run. If not, we need to draft and develop two top players. I'm not sure that will happen quickly enough to meet the window you mention.

[BroncoMan4ever]

IF we can get Peppers, and IF we can pick up a that MLB in the draft, sure. I'm not against staying in the 4-3 by any means, but I'm not sure that's the direction the staff is leaning. I mentioned Cody in the original post, and I would only want to start transitioning to the 3-4 if we could pick him up(or an equivalent talent, just not sure who that would be) in the draft, grab a young S, then sign a DE or ILB.

I guess it boils down to this; either way, the Safeties need to be upgraded. In a 3-4, we need a NT, DE, and 1-2 ILB. In a 4-3, we need a DE, MLB, and another solid DT (I'm not convinced we can count on Robertson to stay healthy). Which is easier to get? IMO, we need more quantity to fill out a solid front-7 in the 3-4, but I'm not sure we need the IMPACT players we would to fill out the 4-3 (to really be effective, the DE and MLB should be top-notch players).

If we can sign a FA like Peppers, yeah, the 4-3 should be fairly easy to successfully run. If not, we need to draft and develop two top players. I'm not sure that will happen quickly enough to meet the window you mention.

my main problem with the 3-4 is the NT. those guys are hard to find and usually take a few seasons to get up to speed in the NFL.

Plus to get anything going good with the 3-4 we would need to acquire better DE's since most of our young talent at the position are better suited to be OLB's in the 3-4.

I just worry that if we try to transition to the 3-4 defense, we get younger on the defense and by the time we are competitive with it, Champ might not be the lockdown badass he is now and we need to address CB in the draft.

I just think that our offense is built to win now, and if given a decent defense could be a Super Bowl contender as soon as next season.

[mattob14]

my main problem with the 3-4 is the NT. those guys are hard to find and usually take a few seasons to get up to speed in the NFL.

Plus to get anything going good with the 3-4 we would need to acquire better DE's since most of our young talent at the position are better suited to be OLB's in the 3-4.

I just worry that if we try to transition to the 3-4 defense, we get younger on the defense and by the time we are competitive with it, Champ might not be the lockdown badass he is now and we need to address CB in the draft.

I just think that our offense is built to win now, and if given a decent defense could be a Super Bowl contender as soon as next season.

I'm actually not too worried about DE in a 3-4. Thomas and Peterson are pretty good fits to move out to DE, and even Ekuban and Engleberger could provide some depth. Marcus Spears has been mentioned a lot hear and shouldn't be all that expensive. Add him, and I think we've got a pretty decent group of DE's. NT is a problem, but again, Cody's probably the best 3-4 NT prospect in the last several years. Draft him, add a veteran FA to rotate and be a teacher and we should at least be decent in a year or two.

[gyldenlove]

I'm actually not too worried about DE in a 3-4. Thomas and Peterson are pretty good fits to move out to DE, and even Ekuban and Engleberger could provide some depth. Marcus Spears has been mentioned a lot hear and shouldn't be all that expensive. Add him, and I think we've got a pretty decent group of DE's. NT is a problem, but again, Cody's probably the best 3-4 NT prospect in the last several years. Draft him, add a veteran FA to rotate and be a teacher and we should at least be decent in a year or two.

Peterson would be a pretty lousy fit at 3-4 DE, his only strength is penetration which is what you don't need out of a 3-4 DE. Thomas could maybe play that spot since he combines power with quickness.

Engelberger gets dominated by 1 offensive lineman, how is he supposed to hold up against 2? Ekuban got shipped out of Cleveland because he doesn't fit in the 3-4.

[lex]

I'm actually not too worried about DE in a 3-4. Thomas and Peterson are pretty good fits to move out to DE, and even Ekuban and Engleberger could provide some depth. Marcus Spears has been mentioned a lot hear and shouldn't be all that expensive. Add him, and I think we've got a pretty decent group of DE's. NT is a problem, but again, Cody's probably the best 3-4 NT prospect in the last several years. Draft him, add a veteran FA to rotate and be a teacher and we should at least be decent in a year or two.

Well Cody suffered an injury today unfortunately and it didnt look good. Havent heard what exactly the injury was though.

[nickademus]

well If he is lost for the season I doubt he comes out this year then. I think he is a Junior right?

[lex]

well If he is lost for the season I doubt he comes out this year then. I think he is a Junior right?

I guess he's a Soph.

[nickademus]

I guess he's a Soph.

did he redshirt? I cant stand how that works in college you never know if a guy is elgible for the draft.

[mattob14]

Well Cody suffered an injury today unfortunately and it didnt look good. Havent heard what exactly the injury was though.

And that brings this thread to an end...Cody's not the only 3-4 NT out there, but he looked to be the best this year. Without someone who is a force, or at least has the potential to be one, in the middle, it'd be a tough sell to move to a 3-4.

[Elway777]

I don't think the Broncos would have a problem switching to the 3-4 . My Broncos draft wold be 1. Okakpo 2, Radji 3. Brinkley. The Broncos staring lineup Williams, Thomas, Brinkley , Orakpo
Thomas Robinson Peterson
Moss and Dumervil backup linebackers and Raji backup nose tackle.Eukuban backup De, Dumervil seeing alot of time as pass rusher while williams moves inside . The Broncos could also try and get Darsby in free agency to replace Thomas or Brinkley.

[SpringStein]

Just a guess (aren't they all this early?) is that Brinkley will fall and be a 5th round or later pick.

[chaz]

Why do people automatically assume all of these big time FAs are going to be lining up to play for the broncos?!?! Peppers is apart of a much better team in Carolina than us, Spears is a big piece of Dallas' D, etc...

We don't overpay, and we're not going to have a top record...I don't see teams letting their big guys go, and even if they do we'll be outbid or outdone by a "better" team