Mile High Roundtable: Grading Broncos' Day 3 Draft Picks
Khalid Alshami (@KhalidHAlshami): Day 3 got off to another surprise start for the Broncos when they took one of my favorite picks of the draft in Missouri TE Albert Okwuegbunam. With 4.49 speed and having caught 17 TDs from QB Drew Lock at Mizzou, Alberto O. immediately upgrades the TE room and has plenty of chemistry with the young QB. Taking Justin Strnard with their next pick filled another massive need as he should become an immediate contributor if healthy after tearing his biceps last season. Netane Muti comes with a pretty significant injury history, but is now considered fully healthy and would have been one of the top guards in the draft without the injury concerns. The next pick is my least favorite of the entire draft — Florida WR Tyrie Cleveland. He has all the athleticism and raw talent you could want in a seventh-round WR, but dipping back into the well with guys like Alex Taylor and Calvin Throckmorton still on the board was ill-advised. This selection looks worse after the Broncos' first two UDFA signings were also wideouts. To close out the draft, North Dakota State's Derrek Tuszka fills a need and absolutely terrorized lesser competition while in college, he's a very good depth pick for the edge.
Grade: B-
Josh Carney (@ByJoshCarney): Another year, another terrific draft for Elway and the Broncos. The goal was clearly to load up on weapons and protection for Lock, maximizing his window on a rookie contract. Elway dipped into the personal connection with Lock and grabbed former teammate and tight end Albert O., giving Lock a seam-stretching TE. I also liked the pick of Cleveland late. He has some deep speed and is a YAC threat on short screens and slants. He’ll also play on special teams right away. Adding a mailing OG like Muti should he stay healthy, was a no-brainer. Denver really gave Mike Munchak some tools to work with upfront in this draft. Defensively, I’m a big fan of Tuszka. He is very traitsy and will develop nicely behind Von Miller and Bradley Chubb.
Grade: B+
Keith Cummings (@KeithC_NFL): There was no let-up in this Lock-centric draft conducted by GM John Elway on draft day three. Lock's old TE target Albert O. has 4.49 speed and when put in tandem with last year's first-rounder Noah Fant gives the Broncos a real matchup edge moving forward. Strnad will likely provide some instant pop on special teams as he learns the ropes and Vic Fangio might attempt to make him a safety/linebacker hybrid. Perhaps the most intriguing Day 3 gamble was Muti, who some draftniks had a second-round grade on. Elway is taking a chance on a player who has been unable to stay healthy and available but who offers great value if he fends off the injury bug. Elway went with Cleveland as his third WR taken in this draft class. Tuszka has his work cut out for playing time behind Miller and Chubb but showed in college he likes sacking opposing QB's. Overall the final day offers value and will be assessed in the future largely based on how well Albert O. hits it off with his buddy Lock in Denver.
Grade. B
Carl Dumler (@CarlDumlerMHH): There are three things this entire draft revealed. The first being Elway was not kidding when he wanted high-character leaders. That trend continued here on Day 3. The second is the Broncos stayed disciplined to their board even if the position was not the top need. Finally, this entire draft continued to scream Lock is the future. The Broncos went from maybe bottom-5 skill position group to top-5 in one offseason. Day 3 gets a great grade from me as I love a lot of the players Denver took. I just hope the drafted pool fills in some of the holes still remaining in the depth category.
Grade: A-
Thomas Hall (@ThomasHallNFL): The Broncos were smart by not trading away a bunch of choices to move up and ended Day 3 with some intriguing choices with their five remaining picks. Regardless of the number of TEs on the roster, there is only one above-average. Which is why Albert O. was a necessity. Picking Strnad and Muti will be good picks in the end. Tuszka is a depth need, but triple dipping at WR seems overkill. The Broncos needed a developmental OT, but came away empty-handed. Day 3 was a solid day.
Grade: B
Chad Jensen (@ChadNJensen): I didn't love the Albert O. pick because of all the positions on this roster, TE was a logjam on the depth chart. However, I'm open to having my mind changed down the road when this kid hits it off with Lock. Strnad in the fifth round was great value and so was Muti in the sixth. I didn't love the Cleveland pick but if WRs Coach Zach Azzanni can convert that explosive athleticism into polished production on the field, it'll be a big Day 3 win. Tuszka as a seventh-round flyer doesn't get much better. Overall, it's pretty hard to knock the collection of talent Elway came away with on Day 3, which is one of the big reasons why the Broncos have received almost universally high grades around the media landscape.
Grade: B
Trevor Judge (@TrevorJudge): It’s sometimes hard to get excited about Day 3 selections, but Saturday was the exception to that norm. The Broncos kept their theme of adding juice to the offense going by adding Lock’s uber-athletic former teammate Albert O. Then they went on to add 6-foot-3 coverage LB Strnad, who could push for playing time this season. And getting Muti where they did is just unreal. Another solid day in what rounded out a fantastic draft.
Grade: A-
Zack Kelberman (@KelbermanNFL): I like the Okweugbunam selection if only because it should spell the end — finally — of Jeff Heuerman. It could also force Jake Butt and/or Troy Fumagalli off the roster, revamping a long underachieving position. The Broncos got tremendous value with Strnad and Muti, the latter being one of my favorites picks of the class. I'm not wild about the seventh-round selections, particularly Cleveland. Still, a nice capper on another great Elway draft.
Grade: B
Nick Kendell (@NickKendellMHH): The Broncos on Day 3 did what Elway did Days 1 and 2: empowered Lock. The Broncos added massive fast seam threat TE Albert O. Then the Broncos nabbed Strnad. A solid coverage backer with a special teams floor. Elway landed Muti, a massive boom-or-bust guard that balances the safe pick of Lloyd Cushenberry earlier. Finally, the Broncos closed the draft by nabbing more speed in vertical threat Cleveland from Florida and the small but twitched up edge rusher Tuszka. Overall, this was about as solid of a draft class as Elway has put together top to bottom. While Denver leaves the draft with a need at OT, and still having concerns at DB and LB. All-in-all, good job Elway, Fangio, and Broncos.
Grade: A-
Bob Morris (@BobMorrisSports): The Broncos continued to send the message that the draft was mostly about building around Lock and giving him the weapons to succeed. Lock is now reunited with a former college teammate in Albert O., who brings speed to the TE ranks. Strnad was a good value pick and could be an immediate contributor if he's healthy. Muti might be the best OG prospect from a talent standpoint, with the only question being whether or not he'll recover from injuries. Tuszka was great value in the seventh round, but I'm not sure about taking another WR late. We'll see what Cleveland can do on special teams, though. Overall, it was a solid haul for the Broncos, but my grade will bump up higher if Strnad and Muti get healthy and become contributors.
Grade: B+
Luke Patterson (@LukePattersonLP): The Broncos threw a curveball in the draft by selecting Albert O. However, Lock campaigned for the TE and should solidify an injury-bitten position room. Broncos added serious manpower and OL depth with the addition of Muti. I would’ve liked to see LB emphasized earlier in today’s draft, but Denver still nabbed Strnad.
Grade: B-
Lance Sanderson (@SandersonMHH): I'm not quite as high on Day 3's haul compared to Day 2, but the need for speed was certainly addressed on offense. Albert O. brings another, yet redundant, seam-stretching TE that already has a rapport with Lock. I loved the Muti pick and feel that it was great value, should he stay healthy. The overall issue I have with Day 3's picks is that there was a lot more value at CB and LB that could have been had. I'm excited to see the UDFA class on top of it all.
Grade: B-
Erick Trickel (@ErickTrickel): I really like how things turned out on Day 3. Albert O. is the one pick that I have some issues with, but it still makes some sense. Strnad and Muti are low-risk/high-reward players and the Broncos rounded out the draft by adding more speed on offense and more edge competition.
Grade: A-
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