Finding Broncos: Top-10 Draft Prospects at Each Position | Defense
Every NFL non-playoff team is shifting focus to the offseason. For some, that means head coaching searches, for others that means shifting to the Senior Bowl, Shrine Game, and NFLPA Bowl.
Obviously, the Denver Broncos are part of that second group since they have a head coach. Having a head coach established during this time is beneficial because that means a team already knows what it's looking for personnel-wise, and it is what it has been looking for all season long.
When teams make changes to their coaching staff, that usually means there are new schemes being installed and different types of players they’re looking for. That can be damaging, but it can be even more so if they end up making changes to the scouting department.
As a result, over the last few years, teams have started to wait to make scouting changes until after the NFL Draft. The Broncos have the benefit of knowing exactly what type of players they are looking for on both sides of the ball when it comes to the draft.
Help is needed on both sides of the ball and thankfully this is a good draft if a team is looking to add to its offensive coffers. For defense, it's a pretty top-heavy class.
Cornerback is the only position group that has good depth across the class. Denver could try to find gems later on, in which there are some, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see them pick at the top talent on the defensive side of the ball and instead capitalize on the depth the draft has on offense.
To highlight just how weak the defensive side fo the draft is, here are my Top-10 prospects position-by-position. If you haven't yet, be sure to check out my Top-10 rankings for offense, too.
(Note: These rankings were updated January 4th in the early morning. Any players who have since returned/declared after that point may still be included or left off.)
Defensive Line
- Derrick Brown, Auburn
- Javon Kinlaw, South Carolina
- Josh Blacklock, TCU
- Neville Gallimore, Oklahoma
- Raekwon Davis, Alabama
- Justin Madubuike, Texas A&M
- Leki Fotu, Utah
- Jordan Elliott, Missouri
- Rashard Lawrence, LSU
- Larrell Murchison, NC State
There are only two defensive linemen with first-round grades for me right now, and they are Brown and Kinlaw. Brown looks more ready to cause an immediate impact, while Kinlaw will need work and development. These two are also the only two defensive linemen in the top-50.
Blacklock has some medical concerns that depending on results can drop him. You will find he is also a bit higher on my board than others, but that is because the length, power, and motor can be devastating if the technique is developed.
There is a very high ceiling, but it is going to take time to get there. As for Gallimore, he is far too inconsistent with his play for me. If there was more consistency to his game, he would be higher because the flashes are awesome.
Alabama’s Davis never developed his pass rush and looks limited to being a run defender. Potential is there, but he has to be developed but after this long, I question how much he can be developed as a rusher.
Madubuike is going to rise up boards during the pre-draft process. He is an athletic monster that can crush the Combine and really draw attention. The Utah Utes are a pipeline for the Broncos, and Fotu is a big boy in the middle. If he was more consistent at the point of attack, there would be a chance of him being higher.
Elliot is all projection, but he can really develop into a great lineman in the NFL. LSU’s Lawrence isn’t the most versatile guy, but teams that run a 4-3 base could do worse than snagging him to play there under tackle in the scheme. He is a good run defender that can generate some push up the middle.
Lastly is Murchison, whom my colleague Nick Kendall pointed me towards. He is a potential havoc wreaker in the NFL if he can get the technique improved and consistent.
Edge
- Chase Young, Ohio State
- A.J. Epenesa, Iowa
- K'Lavon Chaisson, LSU
- Curtis Weaver, Boise State
- Alton Robinson, Syracuse
- Julian Okwara, Notre Dame
- Kenny Willekes, Michigan State
- Bradlee Anae, Utah
- Yetur Gross-Matos, Penn State
- Terrell Lewis, Alabama
In the draft, the edge defenders have some talent, but it is mostly at the top. Young, Epenesa, and Chaisson are all first-round graded prospects. Young is the best player in the draft.
While listed at edge, Epenesa can bulk up and play on the defensive line as well. Chaisson was a player I was low on entering the season, but his play setting the edge and getting after the quarterback boosted him up.
Both Weaver and Robinson barely sit in my top-50. They are very capable run defenders as well as pass rushers and pretty consistent with both. Okwara is an athletic freak, but it leads to some struggles against the run as he doesn’t have the power to hang in there at the point of attack.
Willekes had a tremendous season that saw him pick up 15 tackles for a loss and 10 sacks. His play this year really helped his stock and he has the talent, skills, and smarts to be a starter at the NFL level. Anae isn’t the most athletic of edge rushers, but he has a good arsenal of pass-rushing moves and good quickness to win around the edge.
Gross-Matos is one edge I am lower on than most others. The technique is there, but he tends to be overly patient with his attack and that leads to him getting pushed out of the play or out of position. If he would just play and not overthink, he could really bo a good player.
As for Lewis, to round out the top 10 edge, if he played more refined and less wild man as a pass rusher, he could win more reps and likely be getting talked about as a mid-second-round pick. There are also major medical concerns that need to be vetted.
Off-Ball Linebacker
- Isaiah Simmons, Clemson
- Kenneth Murray, Oklahoma
- Troy Dye, Oregon
- Akeem Davis-Gaither, Appalachian State
- Markus Bailey, Purdue
- Jacob Phillips, LSU
- Evan Weaver, Cal
- Monty Rice, Georgia
- Malik Harrison, Ohio State
- Francis Bernard, Utah
Linebacker is going to be a case of finding the hidden gems, and there are a lot of possibilities. Simmons is a great player, but his role in the NFL is going to be very niche.
Murray really rose during the season and is now, rightfully, being talked about as a first-round prospect. Dye and Davis-Gaither can help themselves during the pre-draft process. Both are good cover linebackers and sound against the run. Davis-Gaither is one of my biggest sleepers at linebacker in this class.
Bailey was poised to help himself during the season, but then he got hurt and had to miss the remainder of the season. As a result, his medicals are going to be major in his draft stock. Phillips is another guy, but he isn’t a super athletic linebacker like we have seen out of LSU. However, he has the smarts and instincts to be good at the NFL level in the right scheme.
Weaver is a tackling machine and so good against the run. While he is limited in coverage, he can be used in certain ways to overcome the deficiencies he has there. Has drawn some comments of being similar to former Niners LB Chris Borland.
Rice has good athleticism, range, and mobility, but there is going to be a lot of time put in to fix his play recognition and reads. Harrison isn’t the most athletic linebacker, but he has the smarts and instincts to be very good in the NFL.
Bernard is going to need a great pre-draft process to really boost himself, but as a former running back, he reads the developing plays like a running back and finds himself in the hole before the ball-carrier.
Cornerback
- Jeffrey Okudah, Ohio State
- Trevon Diggs, Alabama
- Kristian Fulton, LSU
- Jeff Gladney, TCU
- Cameron Dantzler, Mississippi State
- A.J. Terrell, Clemson
- Jaylon Johnson, Utah
- Darnay Holmes, UCLA
- C.J. Henderson, Florida
- Bryce Hall, Virginia
Shaun Wade returning to Ohio State is a big bummer, but it doesn’t kill this cornerback class. His Ohio State teammate, Okudah, isn’t just the top corner, but one of the top players in the class. Okudah is a better man corner, but can work decently in zone.
Diggs is very good in zone coverage and does his best work in press-zone coverages. His tackling is a major focal point for NFL teams to fix the technique with. Fulton is another capable corner in either scheme, but he also has major tackling issues that seem to relate more to size and physicality than technique like with Diggs.
Gladney is one of my favorite corners in this class. He has such a quick click-and-close to make a play on the ball that off-zone coverage is where he is going to bring home the bacon in the NFL. Dantzler is a bit of a project, but the upside is up there to be one of the best corners in the NFL. It is going to take time and he needs to go into a scheme that runs a lot of off-zone, but the potential is there.
Terrell is a corner I am lower on, but as the season went on, he got better. He is an athletic freak, but the technical aspects of being a corner are a work in progress.
Inconsistent and lacking technical prowess are what hurt Johnson, but his flashes are awesome. A zone scheme is the match for him, but he can get very 'grabby' that can lead to some bad penalties against him in the NFL with stricter officiating.
Holmes was a first-round corner entering the season, but others rising caused him to fall some. He didn’t really take a big step forward this year, which was something that was much needed, especially with his technique.
Henderson and Hall are two terrible tacklers, and their play in coverage was inconsistent with a lot of messy in it. Both were top-6 corners, but now they’re are looking at falling out of the top-10.
Safety
- Xavier McKinney, Alabama
- Grant Delpit, LSU
- Ashtyn Davis, Cal
- Hamsah Nasirildeen, Florida State
- Brandon Jones, Texas
- Julian Blackmon, Utah
- J.R. Reed, Georgia
- Shyheim Carter, Alabama
- Terrell Burgess, Utah
- Nigel Warrior, Tennessee
There is good talent at the top of the safety class, but after those guys, it is a matter of finding gems. McKinney is a versatile chess piece for a defense, and he edges out Delpit for No. 1 safety due to poor tackling from Delpit.
Davis is very similar to Justin Simmons and can do a lot of things for a defense on the backend. Nasirildeen is a physically gifted safety with great size, length, and athleticism for the NFL. Just how is he best used is going to be the discussion for NFL teams.
Jones is a reliable safety with a high floor and a decent ceiling. He is very much a jack-of-all-trades type of safety and doesn’t excel in any one area. Blackmon is a corner convert that is still learning the safety role and technique. He did improve as the season went on, but there were still some very obvious new guy plays.
Reed, like his Georgia teammate, is a good in-the-box run defender but isn’t as effective in coverage. Alabama’s Carter is a versatile piece, but his role is going to need defining for the NFL. Whatever that role is, he will need to be used closer to the line of scrimmage as his range is lacking.
Burgess out of Utah is reliable and hasn’t missed time with injury. He is also reliable as a tackler and as a run defender, but with that, he doesn’t have some of the issues in coverage some other run defenders have. Look for Burgess to rise during the draft process.
Warrior of Tennessee is a versatile safety that can play well in deep zones, close to the line of scrimmage, and even down in the clot. Warrior will need work on his run reads as well as hands. There have been a lot of dropped interceptions over the years from him.
Follow Erick on Twitter @ErickTrickel and @MileHighHuddle.
