Broncos Select Massive Georgia NT Jordan Davis in The Athletic's Mock Draft 1.0

With the College Football Playoffs set, the end of the season is nearing its conclusion, so it's time for some to start pouring over mock drafts and assessing which prospects the Denver Broncos might select in the 2022 NFL draft.

If the draft were today, the Broncos would be picking No. 14 overall. Luckily, for a .500 Denver squad, the 2021 campaign hasn’t yet come to the point where fans are dreaming of who their team might select at the top of the draft.

While many will claim there is an oversaturation of mock drafts, there are a few must-reads in the industry that are always worth taking note of. One of those people is The Athletic’s Dane Brugler.

With their first-round pick in Brugler’s mock draft 1.0, the Broncos selected one of the largest defensive tackle prospects people have ever seen entering the NFL in some time in Georgia's Jordan Davis.

"A dominant run defender, Davis is a massive human (6-6, 360 pounds) with range (might run sub-5.00 seconds in the 40-yard dash) and the upper-body power to stack the point of attack, toss blockers and find the football. He has a low ceiling as a pass rusher but is able to create push by bullying interior blockers into the pocket."

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There is no doubt the Broncos could utilize the 6-foot-6, 340-pound Davis along the trenches. Denver's defense has undoubtedly been playing better as of late, but the overall metrics surrounding the unit have been below average.

Relinquishing 4.4 yards per carry on the ground, the Broncos rank No. 20 in the NFL. With a Defensive EPA/Rush rating of -0.048, the Broncos rank 21st in the league and currently stand as Football Outsiders' No. 25 rushing defense with a DVOA at -4.4%.

The Broncos' defense has not held up consistently against the rush this season. Adding Davis would not only greatly change how effectively the Broncos can take away opponents' rushing attack on first and second down, but he would also allow whoever is calling the defensive shots in Denver the ability to play more coverages featuring two high safeties.

With variations of the two-high safety defense currently in vogue across the NFL, a player who appears as more of a pure run game neutralizer can actually help a passing defense. A team with Davis in the trenches could feel more comfortable allocating bodies to the box and run fits in favor of having more defenders in space to slow down the passing game.

Denver could also be looking to make an investment on the interior of the defensive line this offseason at the nose tackle position. The Broncos could save just under $3 million by releasing current defensive tackle Mike Purcell as a pre-June 1 cut with a $1.5M dead cap hit.

While that may not seem like huge savings, it's something Denver might consider to free up cap dollars to help the roster elsewhere. Without reading too much into it, it could be noteworthy that Purcell found himself as a healthy scratch when Denver took on Kansas City in Week 13.

Davis would undoubtedly be a nice piece to add to the Broncos’ defense. However, would using a mid-first round pick on a nose tackle who doesn’t offer much as a pass rusher, when an investment at edge rusher, offensive tackle, defensive back, or cornerback would likely provide more value at a more impactful position the right move?

Perhaps 1 if you think Davis’ size and ability are that special of a player at his position. Another deterrent for using a mid-first-rounder on a run-stopping nose tackle such as Davis comes down to projecting what percentage of defensive snaps he'd play.

Against SEC opponents, Davis played only 38.6% of his team’s defensive snaps (235 plays out of 609 possible) on the season. Even if Davis ends up as a really good nose tackle in the NFL, would it be worth it to invest a mid-first-rounder into a guy who's on the field less than 40% of the time?

Are snap count problems more of a concern for a prospect Denver may select given that the team plays at altitude? These are details that the Broncos will have to hammer out leading up to the draft.

Honestly, although it's always interesting to see which prospects Brugler connects to the Broncos, GM George Paton isn't likely to select Davis in the first round. There are just too many unknown factors to be resolved, and that goes for all prospects, assuming the Broncos even hold onto their first-round pick come April.

Nevertheless, this time of year is about getting to know all the possible prospects that could be potentially making up Paton’s second draft crop for the Broncos.

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