Broncos Fans, Your 2008 Broncos Draft Class

[Rohirrim]

Denver Broncos 2008 Picks

1 12(12) Ryan Clady OT BOISE STATE
This pick comes as somewhat of a surprise because Virginia's Branden Albert and Vanderbilt's Chris Williams are still on the board. That said, Clady has the potential to develop into an outstanding starter in Denver's scheme; he moves extremely well for his size, so he's an ideal player for a zone-blocking system. Also, he should develop into a good run-blocker. The one concern is that he's raw and needs to work on playing with a wider base.


2 11(42) Eddie Royal WR VIRGINIA TECH
Royal has had some problems staying healthy, and the fact that he doesn't have great size only accentuates concerns about his durability. He has to improve his route running, but he has the quickness and athletic ability to separate from coverage once that happens. He's fast enough to stretch the field and make an impact as a punt returner.
Complete analysis

4 9(108) Kory Lichtensteiger OC BOWLING GREEN
Lichtensteiger can play center or guard and plays with a mean streak, but he lacks athletic ability and struggles in pass protection. He will provide depth on the offensive line, however.

4 20(119) Jack Williams CB KENT
From Washington
Williams has the instincts and athletic ability to become an effective No. 2 corner. He's also an excellent player on special teams. Still, he doesn't have great size, so he's going to have problems slowing receivers down at the line of scrimmage.

5 4(139) Ryan Torain RB ARIZONA STATE
From Oakland
Torain was slowed by ankle, knee and foot injuries last year. To make matters worse, he isn't very elusive and runs high, so he takes big hits. On the flip side, he's a no-nonsense north-south runner who excels at getting yards after contact.

5 13(148) Carlton Powell DT VIRGINIA TECH
Powell lacks the closing speed to develop into an effective pass-rusher. He misses the occasional open-field tackle, but plays with good leverage and has the upper-body strength to shed blocks. He is a better run-stopper than his size would suggest.

6 17(183) Spencer Larsen ILB ARIZONA
From Houston
He is a tough and instinctive inside linebacker with good awareness in pass coverage. He plays with a mean streak and he is not the type of guy you want to meet in a dark alley. He plays too high at times and has trouble shedding blocks. He is overaggressive at times and finds himself out of position.

7 13(220) Joshua Barrett S ARIZONA STATE
He is a physical safety who possesses great size and has the ability to re-route receivers at the line of scrimmage. He is aggressive in run support and sheds blocks very well. He plays with a high motor and takes good angles to the ball and has sound ability to make the solid open-field tackle. His knee injury may have been more severe than we thought and is perhaps the reason he slid in the draft.

7 20(227) Peyton Hillis FB ARKANSAS
From Tampa Bay
He is a versatile athlete who is a technician and gives good effort as a blocker. He does a solid job of adjusting on the move and sustaining blocks. Hilis is an excellent route-runner and can find the open area when the quarterback scrambles, but he lacks ideal strength and base of a traditional iso-blocker. He also needs to improve his hands.

[spdirty]

Cool. Got the guy I wanted with Clady.

Who knows, could be 2003 or 2006, but lord knows we addressed our needs this draft. Im happy so far with it.

In fact, Im happy with our last 3 drafts so far.

[Dukes]

Nothing flashy. Just solid contributors. Exactly what this team needs.

[Dukes]

I'm still hoping we can bring a couple rookie kickers into camp.

[Rohirrim]

These all seem to be the same type: Guys who have good character and play with a mean streak.

[Cmac821]

Originally Posted by Dukes

I'm still hoping we can bring a couple rookie kickers into camp.

Yah I figured we would have goten one in the draft.

[loborugger]

I have to say I am excited that we drafted a fullback - an actual fullback. Yes, it was the 7th round, but we drafted a FB.

Additionally, Hilis is an excellent route-runner and can find the open area when the quarterback scrambles. I remember Griff being the outlet guy for Elway - or hell, the primary target - on a # of plays, esp near the goal line.

I have never bothered with an adopt-a-Bronco, but maybe it is time for one.

[Cmac821]

Wish we could have gotten the S out of Army instead of Joshua Barrett. But we were 1 pick to late.

[Dr. Broncenstein]

Solid Draft... Clady, Lichtenstieger, and Hillis were great picks. Clady just fell into our lap due to the chain reaction set off by the retards in Atlanta.... which made the Chiefs draft a spectacular one as well....

[Tombstone RJ]

Spencer Larsen went on a Mormon Mission for two years. WTF is this analysis that he's "not the type of guy you want to meet in a dark alley"?

[Dukes]

Originally Posted by Tombstone RJ

Spencer Larsen went on a Mormon Mission for two years. WTF is this analysis that he's "not the type of guy you want to meet in a dark alley"?

Maybe his hobby is MMA?

[SureShot]

Originally Posted by Tombstone RJ

Spencer Larsen went on a Mormon Mission for two years. WTF is this analysis that he's "not the type of guy you want to meet in a dark alley"?

What does one have to do with the other?

[Sassy]

[TheDave]

On paper I'm real happy with it...

[SonOfLe-loLang]

I dont really wanna meet anyone in a dark alley

[Lestat]

solid draft with guys who will contribute & could develop into key pieces.
not flashy but effective. boy i hope Barrett turns into a 1st round talent

[jutang]

Initially looks like a great draft for Denver. Hardly any head scratchers at all. Addressed a lot of the teams weaknesses and some definite contributors this year on ST. As mentioned before, the FO targeted high character guys more in the mold of the Patriots model.

[Tombstone RJ]

Originally Posted by SureShot

What does one have to do with the other?

Obviously, you've never spent much time around a Mormon....

[dreasher54]

i am very happy with this years draft.

[Paladin]

The Patriosts' model. Well stated. Also IOndy. We may be able to watcvh a very good team emerge towards the end of next year. That should excite the masses again..........

[iforgotmypassword]

I love the draft. This team got the added talent we needed.

[TheChamp24]

I'm just hoping we hit on a couple 2nd day picks. Not expecting much, but hopefully a couple of them turn out to be contributors.
I love the Clady pick though.
As for Royal, a little iffy on him, but the role we have for him is perfect. Some might say its high or a bad pick, but Hester was picked primarily to be a return specialist with hopes of being a good CB(which he didn't) and now is a WR.

[lex]

I give it a C+. Here is the breakdown:

OK, here is a breakdown of my grading:

Rd	Name		Weighted		Grade	
1	Ryan Clady		7	23%	2	0.451612903
2	Eddie Royal		6	19%	3	0.580645161
4	Kory Lichtensteiger	4	13%	2	0.258064516
4	Jack Williams		4	13%	2	0.258064516
5	Ryan Torain		3	10%	0	0
5	Carlton Powell		3	10%	3	0.290322581
6	Spencer Larsen		2	6%	3	0.193548387
7	Josh Barrett		1	3%	4	0.129032258
7	Peyton Hillis		1	3%	4	0.129032258
			       31			2.290322581

As you can see overall its a 2.29 which equates to a C+ since my scale was A=4, B=3, C=2, and D=1. A B- would have been 2.5. So 2.25 is the dividing line for a C+.

I gave Clady a C because we could have chosen any OT not named Jake Long and we took the one who played against the worst level of competition and therefore least proven...and probably least pro ready. That doesnt mean he's a bad player but its in relation to who we could have had.

I changed my grade on Royal. I like him as a player but there were other areas I would have emphasized here and drafting him meant forgoing something more important...not only that this was a frustration foul by Shanahan because we wasted a 2nd in getting Walker and Shanahan is going ahab on us with his quest to land Devin Hester. If he likes Hester so much, whey did we kick to him.

Ryan Torain was a dreadful pick and it caused me to dock the grade on the Spencer Larsen pick. If we wanted a ILB, we could have had Goff where we took Torain, whom we likely could have signed as a UFA or drafted later. Massive reach in addition to being a bad pick of the Cecil Sapp variety.

I really like Spencer Larsen but we could have had Goff earlier so what would have been an A went to a B.

Josh Barrett and Peyton Hillis had tremendous value for where they were picked.

[SureShot]

Originally Posted by Tombstone RJ

Obviously, you've never spent much time around a Mormon....

I have have. My cousins were great wrestlers.

[SureShot]

Originally Posted by lex

I give it a C+. Here is the breakdown:

OK, here is a breakdown of my grading:

Rd	Name		Weighted		Grade	
1	Ryan Clady		7	23%	2	0.451612903
2	Eddie Royal		6	19%	3	0.580645161
4	Kory Lichtensteiger	4	13%	2	0.258064516
4	Jack Williams		4	13%	2	0.258064516
5	Ryan Torain		3	10%	0	0
5	Carlton Powell		3	10%	3	0.290322581
6	Spencer Larsen		2	6%	3	0.193548387
7	Josh Barrett		1	3%	4	0.129032258
7	Peyton Hillis		1	3%	4	0.129032258
			       31			2.290322581

As you can see overall its a 2.29 which equates to a C+ since my scale was A=4, B=3, C=2, and D=1. A B- would have been 2.5. So 2.25 is the dividing line for a C+.

I gave Clady a C because we could have chosen any OT not named Jake Long and we took the one who played against the worst level of competition and therefore least proven...and probably least pro ready. That doesnt mean he's a bad player but its in relation to who we could have had.

I changed my grade on Royal. I like him as a player but there were other areas I would have emphasized here and drafting him meant forgoing something more important...not only that this was a frustration foul by Shanahan because we wasted a 2nd in getting Walker and Shanahan is going ahab on us with his quest to land Devin Hester. If he likes Hester so much, whey did we kick to him.

Ryan Torain was a dreadful pick and it caused me to dock the grade on the Spencer Larsen pick. If we wanted a ILB, we could have had Goff where we took Torain, whom we likely could have signed as a UFA or drafted later. Massive reach in addition to being a bad pick of the Cecil Sapp variety.

I really like Spencer Larsen but we could have had Goff earlier so what would have been an A went to a B.

Josh Barrett and Peyton Hillis had tremendous value for where they were picked.

I give you a 1.17 which in my weighted scale = idiot fanboy.