PFF Predicts Broncos to Draft These Trench Players
Mock draft season is in full swing, and the Denver Broncos are once again left out in the cold without a first-round selection. After Denver shipped its 2022 and 2023 first-rounders to Seattle for Russell Wilson and then sent the one acquired in the Bradley Chubb trade over to New Orleans in exchange for Sean Payton, Broncos Country will have to wait another year to read its team’s predictions in most mock drafts.
Luckily for Broncos Country, on a recent episode of the NFL Stock Exchange Podcast with Trevor Sikkema and Connor Rogers, the duo filled the desire of fanbases without first-round selections and conducted a three-round mock draft simulation, while selecting for each team, including the Broncos.
With the first pick at selection 67, the two hosts opted for an edge rusher. Noting how the Broncos’ current edge-rushing room is full of more speed-type edge rushers like Randy Gregory, Baron Browning, and Nik Bonitto, Denver currently does not possess an edge-setting defensive end type on the roster.
With each host running their own mock draft simulator, Rogers had more options to pick from at EDGE than Sikkema. Initially mentioning there were two obvious players he was really pulled towards — Ohio State’s Zach Harrison and USC’s Tuli Tuipulotu — Sikkema stated that “Harrison is kind of perfect for them,” and thus Rogers made the selection for Denver.
Listed at 6-foot-6 and 271 pounds with 35-3/4-inch arm length, Harrison is significantly larger and stouter than any EDGE currently on the Broncos. While not a very bendy edge rusher, his combination of length, power, and burst all would bring a unique player to Denver’s defensive front filling a niche the team likely needs. As a player who could play in a variety of schemes and in different techniques, Harrison would be a great pick for Denver at pick 67.
For Sikkema, both Harrison and Tuipolotu were gone in the simulator, so he instead opted for the versatile inside-outside pass rusher of Northwestern’s Adetomiwa Adebawore. At just 6-foot-1 and 284 pounds, Adebawore possesses impressive length with 34-inch arm length.
At the Senior Bowl, Adebawore was touted as one of the most impressive defensive linemen down in Mobile. While not a fit for every scheme, if Denver loses Dre'Mont Jones this offseason, Adebawore could fill his role almost identically as a versatile, undersized, defensive end or tackle with high pass-rushing ability crashing through a single gap or a weapon in twists and stunts.
With Sikkema and Rogers both taking a defensive lineman for the Broncos at pick 67 in their simulator, the pair switched their attention entirely to the offensive line for pick 68, stating, “There is a layup here. (Ohio State right tackle) Dawand Jones.”
As many in Broncos Country have screamed for years, Rogers said, “They need a right tackle so badly.” After an incredible day of practice down at the Senior Bowl, Jones shut it down and did not participate the rest of the week. Measured at an insane 6-foot-8 and 375 pounds with 36-5/8-inch arm length, Jones is one of the biggest tackles to ever come through the draft.
The podcast hosts joke, though, that perhaps Jones' height might be a detriment for Denver, given the short stature of quarterback Russell Wilson. Jones certainly gets in the way.
Appearing to have slimmed down some for the Senior Bowl, he was dominant in his one day of practice. In the reps in Mobile, the pass rushers he faced never really tested him with a counter back across Jones’ front, an area he struggled against in his college tape, but he won the reps and competition he did face.
With Rogers having the Broncos drafting two Buckeyes in Harrison and Jones and Sikkema selecting Adebawore as well as Ohio State's Jones in their mock, Denver could certainly do far worse. The Broncos face the prospect of a large upheaval in the trenches this offseason, and investing along the lines on both sides of scrimmage with the above players would be about as ideal of a situation imaginable.
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