The NFL Draft is just days away and for Bronco Nation the team’s first selection will write the script.  With the ninth overall pick many experts envision a scenario in which Denver moves up a few spots to grab their franchise quarterback.  Others have the Broncos staying where they are and either hoping a quarterback falls in their lap, or a linebacker is available to fill out their defense.  There is even the possibility that Denver has no choice but to go offensive tackle.

A look at Denver’s draft order, their potential options, and the best way to fill the roster.

ROUND ONE (#9)

• Justin Fields – QB/Ohio State – 6’3, 227 lbs
• Micah Parsons – LB/Penn State – 6’3, 246 lbs
• Penei Sewell – OT/Oregon – 6’6, 330 lbs

If Denver decides to move up in a trade or Fields or Trey Lance (South Dakota State) falls to them at number nine, look for the Broncos to go with the quarterback.  But the most predictable outcome is that all the quarterbacks are gone and Micah Parsons is sitting there waiting to help Denver’s defense.  Very few draft boards have Sewell falling to number nine, but if there are four to five possible quarterbacks projected to go high, three top wide receivers, and an explosive tight end, it may just take Cincinnati passing on the tackle at number five for things to fall Denver’s way.

ROUND TWO (#40)

• Tevin Jenkins – OT/Oklahoma State – 6’7, 320 lbs
• Walker Little – OT/Stanford – 6’7, 309 lbs
• Jabril Cox – LB/LSU – 6’3, 232 lbs

With the most likely scenario of Denver ending up with either a quarterback or Micah Parsons, the value at offensive tackle is hard to ignore in the second round.  Look for either Jenkins or Little to be the pick here, with an outside shot of taking a linebacker if Parsons goes elsewhere in round one.

ROUND THREE (#71)

• Baron Browning – LB/Ohio State – 6’3, 240 lbs
• Jamin Davis – LB/Kentucky – 6’4, 234 lbs
• Tommy Togiai – DL/Ohio State – 6’2, 300 lbs

Many draft boards do not have Browning going this low, or Davis going this high, but in a scenario in which Denver grabs a quarterback in the first round, and a tackle in the second round, the need to fill a linebacker spot still remains, otherwise it is BPA (Best Player Available).

ROUND FOUR (#114)

• Kendrick Green – G/Illinois – 6’4, 315 lbs
• Jamar Johnson – S/Indiana – 6’1, 197 lbs
• Kelvin Joseph – CB/Kentucky – 6’1, 192 lbs

In the fourth round, someone is bound to drop that Denver has interest in and the team needs depth in the secondary and on the offensive line.  The Broncos did a great job solidifying their secondary in free agency, but a few of the players are only locked up for one season.

ROUND FIVE (#152)

• Davis Mills – QB/Stanford – 6’4, 225 lbs
• Best Player Available

After the top quarterbacks are off the board in round one, I only see two quarterbacks that are left in the entire draft that are worth looking at.  Kellen Mond (Texas A&M) and Mills.  Mills will probably be gone before round five, but he would fill the one requirement of providing competition for Drew Lock if Denver fails to grab a quarterback with their first overall pick.

ROUND SIX (#191)

• Pooka Williams – HB/Kansas – 5’10, 170 lbs
• Best Player Available

Williams tries to replace what Denver lost in Phillip Lindsay.  Good speed, good bounce, and does a nice job of catching the ball out of the backfield.  Besides, it is fun to say Pooka.

ROUND SEVEN (#237, #239, #253)

• Tarron Jackson – Edge/Coastal Carolina – 6’2, 260 lbs
• Bryan Mills – CB/North Carolina Central – 6’2, 170 lbs
• Quintin Morris – TE/Bowling Green – 6’4, 251 lbs

The odds of even making a roster as a seventh-round draft pick are minuscule unless you are looking for a third-string quarterback to hold a clipboard.  So why not roll the dice on players from lesser-known football programs, that hopefully excelled in basketball as well.  Otherwise, trade all this draft capital in the later rounds for the future, and more draft capital.

Images via 9news.com, si.com, kentuckysportsradio.com, profootballnetwork.com, usatoday.com

Alan Tapley The Athletic Supporter

Alan Tapley is an educator, author, and blogger who has lived just outside of Boulder for the last twenty years.  His published work includes two novels, two children’s books, a series of cartoons in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, and multiple sports related articles. His love for family and the state of Colorado is only matched by one thing, his passion for sports.  The first baseball game he ever attended was at Wrigley Field, before there were lights.  At the final Bronco game at the old Mile High, he allegedly cut out a piece of his seat in the South stands.  But regardless of being here for the Avalanche’s last Stanley Cup, the Rockies only World Series appearance, and all the Broncos’ Super Bowl Victories, his wife never fails to remind him that he wasn’t at the University of Colorado in 1990, like she was.  The year the Buffs football team won the National Championship