Well, Elway and Co. have been calling the shots in the front office for three Drafts now. As I have noted in some of my previous threads, this office has been absolutely crushing it in free agency the last two years. So much so, that over at grantland, Bill Barwell and Robert Mays characterized this as a team largely built through free agency. Now, it is not within the scope of my current post to refute the bald-faced ignorance of that assertion. Instead, I simply want to run through the past three drafts and assess what we have gained thus far.
Grade system:
***** Pro Bowl Level player
**** Solid Starter
*** Solid Depth Rotation
** Replacement Level
* Practice Squad/Development
Note, my rating system is simply for what the player has contributed to the team at this point. So, even guys who I think may develop into future stars may not get that grade for this post. Lets get started
2011 Draft
Von Miller *****
Rahim Moore ****
Orlando Franklin *****
Nate Irving **
Julius Thomas *****
Mike Mohammad *
Virgil Green ***
Jeremy Beal *
So yeah, the front office pretty much crushed the 2011 draft. This is the kind of draft that dynasties can be built from.
2012 Draft
Derek Wolfe ****
Brock Osweiler *
Ronnie Hillman **
Omar Bolden **
Philip Blake *
Malik Jackson ***
Danny Trevathan ****
A little bit of a step back from the epic 2011 draft but there is still some good stuff in there. There are also more players on the longer development curve that may yet pan out for us in this draft.
2013 Draft
Sylvester Williams ***
Montee Ball ***
Kayvon Webster **
Quanterus Smith *
Tavarres King *
Vinston Painter *
Zac Dysert *
I so wanted to break my own rule here because I strongly feel that both Sly and Ball will soon become Pro Bowl Level players. Kayvon has been abused this year, but I honestly feel he can continue to learn and improve and eventually become a solid starter. The Broncos definitely played the long game this year with a lot of developmental guys in this draft.
So, not bad work for their first three years. I look forward to what future drafts will bring.
Grade system:
***** Pro Bowl Level player
**** Solid Starter
*** Solid Depth Rotation
** Replacement Level
* Practice Squad/Development
Note, my rating system is simply for what the player has contributed to the team at this point. So, even guys who I think may develop into future stars may not get that grade for this post. Lets get started
2011 Draft
Von Miller *****
Rahim Moore ****
Orlando Franklin *****
Nate Irving **
Julius Thomas *****
Mike Mohammad *
Virgil Green ***
Jeremy Beal *
So yeah, the front office pretty much crushed the 2011 draft. This is the kind of draft that dynasties can be built from.
2012 Draft
Derek Wolfe ****
Brock Osweiler *
Ronnie Hillman **
Omar Bolden **
Philip Blake *
Malik Jackson ***
Danny Trevathan ****
A little bit of a step back from the epic 2011 draft but there is still some good stuff in there. There are also more players on the longer development curve that may yet pan out for us in this draft.
2013 Draft
Sylvester Williams ***
Montee Ball ***
Kayvon Webster **
Quanterus Smith *
Tavarres King *
Vinston Painter *
Zac Dysert *
I so wanted to break my own rule here because I strongly feel that both Sly and Ball will soon become Pro Bowl Level players. Kayvon has been abused this year, but I honestly feel he can continue to learn and improve and eventually become a solid starter. The Broncos definitely played the long game this year with a lot of developmental guys in this draft.
So, not bad work for their first three years. I look forward to what future drafts will bring.
Comment