Broncos Predicted to Draft Dominant UCLA Edge Rusher by PFF
Five games into the 2023 regular season, the Denver Broncos are a completely different team than the one fans have had to endure in the post-Peyton Manning era.
While the style of play under new head coach Sean Payton is completely different, boasting one of the NFL's best offensive EPA/play metrics behind a revitalized Russell Wilson, the once-proud defense has gone completely in the tank playing as unarguably the single worst defense in the NFL so far.
Unfortunately for Broncos Country, these games look a lot different than years past, but the results are still the same, with the Broncos sitting at 1-4 on the season. As it stands, the Broncos are angling for a top-5 draft pick in 2024.
Just how high the Broncos will pick in the upcoming draft will be greatly influenced by what transpires over the next few weeks. The loss to the New York Jets could trigger the Broncos to aggressively sell as the deadline approaches, pushing the team's odds of securing a top-5 pick even higher. But there's a lot of football yet to be played.
However, with the way the Broncos currently look and how Payton has talked about the team, this does appear to be a club that truly believes itself to be one building towards the future. With that perspective, it's never too early to start looking ahead towards the NFL draft.
In Pro Football Focus’ most recent mock draft, the football analytics giant mocked UCLA Bruins edge rusher Laiatu Latu to the Broncos.
The Broncos might be tempted by a quarterback if they’re picking in the top five, but I’ll let you Google Russell Wilson’s dead cap hit if they choose to move on from him. The next best move would be to acquire the class' top pass-rusher. The 6-foot-5, 265-pound Laiatu Latu posted a pass-rush win rate above 20% in each of the past two seasons.
Ironically for the Broncos, after years of fielding a great defense, the 2023 unit has fallen off a cliff. After all these years of fans screaming for Denver to draft offense early and instead opting for defense, the situation has flipped.
Alas, this coming draft class appears to be one truly devoid of elite defensive players that would qualify as blue chip-caliber prospects. The first round will likely be dominated by quarterbacks, offensive tackles, and wide receivers.
Picking at No. 3 or No. 4 would also be a missed opportunity as there appears to be a clearly defined line after the first three players in the class in USC quarterback Caleb Williams, North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye, and Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.
If the draft was tomorrow, the Broncos would be picking at No. 3, but a finish anywhere past that — even if it's still in the top 5 — means Denver would miss out on the opportunity to select from that tier of prospects as well as entertain the massive draft haul that would come in from trade requests. Not that Denver would not be able to add talent picking outside the top-3, but there does seem to be a value drop from pick No. 3 to No. 4 as the consensus currently stands.
The Broncos undeniably need defensive help, but at this current juncture, if the team was picking at No. 4 overall, the best player available would likely be Penn State offensive tackle Olu Fashanu. At 6-foot-6 and 320 pounds and just 20 years old, Fashanu is regarded by many as one of the best offensive tackle prospects to come out in many years.
While Broncos left tackle Garett Bolles has been playing solid football, his contract makes his position questionable going forward beyond this season. Furthermore, even though Denver paid good money on right tackle Mike McGlinchey, his play has been poor through five games as a Bronco. Neither player has the pedigree or profile to necessitate the Broncos bypassing the best remaining player on the board.
Notre Dame's Joe Alt also deserves a shoutout when talking about offensive tackle as well. While not the athlete or pass protector that Fashanu appears to be, Alt is an extremely capable tackle prospect who will likely go in the first 10 selections in the upcoming class. It wouldn’t be surprising if some teams liked him as much as Fashanu.
If Denver is hellbent on taking defense in Round 1 in the upcoming draft to help rejuvenate the anemic unit, Latu could certainly be in play. He has looked extremely promising this season. Medicals will be huge for the former Washington Husky, though.
During his time in Seattle, Latu was forced to medically retire from the program due to a neck injury he sustained. Similarly to former first-round pick Jaelen Phillips, who medically retired at UCLA only to transfer to Miami and play well, the neck will be a huge source of conversation and controversy in the draft process for Latu.
There are a few other edge rushers worth considering for Denver in Penn State’s Chop Robinson and Florida State’s Jared Verse, but my current favorite for the first defensive player off the board in the upcoming draft is Alabama edge rusher Dallas Turner. While lighter than a typical edge at 240 pounds, Turner has tremendous burst, bend, and acceleration, and appears to have solid length and a frame to continue to add muscle.
Turner has taken a larger role in leadership and impact for the Crimson Tide after Will Anderson’s departure and appears to be another top-10-caliber defensive prospect groomed under Nick Saban.
There's quite a lot of football yet to be played, but as things currently stand, the Broncos are more likely to earn an early draft pick in the upcoming draft than be playing meaningful football down the stretch. Thus, it’s not too early for many of those in Broncos Country to start getting familiar with some of the top names in the upcoming class, and educating fans on the upcoming draft class is what we do best here at Mile High Huddle.
The Broncos could certainly use help on the defensive side of the ball, but will there be a single prospect on that side of that ball that earns a top-10 grade or is worthy of a top-5 pick? That remains to be seen.
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