Gut Reaction: Erick Trickel's 7-Round Broncos Mock Draft
Now that the Super Bowl is over, the NFL offseason is in full swing and draft season is officially upon us. With that comes countless mock drafts, scouting reports, the NFL Combine and eventually the Draft at the end of April. Here at MHH, we have a hand in creating several of these mock drafts and scouting reports as part of the best draft coverage you can find, whether it pertains to the Denver Broncos or not.
Last night on the Dove Valley Deep Divers podcast, our senior draft analyst Erick Trickel sat down by himself to run a mock draft scenario for the Broncos using the Pro Football Focus mock draft simulator, without making any trades. Unfortunately I was unable to attend the show as his co-host, so we’re going to do a gut reaction piece to break it all down for you and give my thoughts on how I would have influenced the conversation.
How did it turn out?
Round 1, Pick 12: Olumuyiwa Fashanu, OT, Penn State
Top players available: Taliese Fuaga, Dallas Turner, Jared Verse, Terrion Arnold, Bo Nix, Michael Penix, Jr., JJ McCarthy
While many fans in Broncos Country would like to see them draft a quarterback with their first-round selection, Trickel and I are both in lock-step thinking that the Broncos are much further than just a quarterback away from being competitive. This roster needs a massive overhaul, and if they do move on from Garett Bolles this offseason, the Broncos desperately need a new left tackle.
While Fuaga may be climbing up draft boards with his nasty demeanor, he hasn’t played on the left side of the offensive line. Fashanu has, and despite a small lack of power in his game, he is an elite dancing bear as a pass protector. This was an easy selection to make.
I’ve mentioned several times before that I would rather see the Broncos use the 12th overall selection as a trade chip, whether to move up for one of the top quarterbacks or to trade down to acquire more draft capital, depending on how the board fell. Fashanu and Georgia tight end Brock Bowers are probably the only two non-quarterbacks that I would be excited about the Broncos drafting with this selection.
Round 3, Pick 76: Malachi Corley, WR, Western Kentucky
Other names mentioned: Roman Wilson, Michael Pratt, Jalen McMillan, Leonard Taylor, Ruke Orhorhoro, Marshawn Kneeland
During the show, Trickel mentioned that he typically stays away from players in these mock drafts that he doesn’t feel like they will actually be available due to already being drafted. Corley was the reason why. Many pundits, myself included, believe Corley is likely to be a top-50 selection.
With that being said, Trickel added arguably the best run-after-catch player in the class as a beautiful fit for the Sean Payton offense. Denver is looking at completely resetting the wide receiver room this season, including potentially trading both of Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton. Corley would instantly become a viable first option and focus point for the passing attack, as some are comparing Corley to 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel.
One name that I had seen as one of the top options on the board that would have been brought into the conversation was Louisville cornerback Jarvis Brownlee, who has really started to stand out in the draft process. Brownlee was one of the best players at the Senior Bowl a few weeks ago regardless of position, and with a massive need to upgrade the cornerback position with sticky coverage defenders, Brownlee makes a ton of sense for Denver.
Round 4, Pick 114: Michael Hall, Jr., DL, Ohio State
Other players mentioned: Zak Zinter, Beaux Limmer, Jaden Hicks, Malik Mustapha, Chau Smith-Wade, Khristian Boyd, Javon Baker
One of the biggest issues with the Broncos’s defense last season was the complete inability to create pass rush pressure without sending blitzes, especially along the interior of the offensive line. Zach Allen is a quality player in his own right, but he cannot do it all by himself. Hall had a great week in Mobile at the Senior Bowl, showing that he can penetrate the pocket in the B-Gaps with intense ferocity as a 3- to 5-technique defensive lineman, with his best fit as a face-up 4-technique at the next level.
There are some significant issues holding up as a run defender, but I think some NFL coaching and a quality weight training regimen to build strength could be the ticket to unlocking that potential. He has a really nice first step and uses his hands well to keep blockers out of his chest plate, but he lacks strength to shed blocks and can get washed out rather easily if blockers can latch on.
Round 5, Pick 144: Drake Nugent, OC, Michigan
Other players mentioned: Malik Mustapha, Braelon Allen, Luke McCaffrey, Kamal Hadden, Tanor Bortolini, Andrew Raym, Isaiah Williams, Joshua Cephus
The Broncos are in quite a predicament on the offensive line this season, mostly due to a lack of salary cap space. Bolles is likely on his way out of Denver whether by release or trade, and center Lloyd Cushenberry is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent this offseason. It has been reported that Cushenberry is seeking a major pay day this year, which likely puts him out of the market for the Broncos, who are currently $24 million over the salary cap.
Enter Nugent, a fiery competitor that offers nice athleticism at the position. While Trickel did mention Wisconsin’s Tanor Bortolini as a preferred option at this particular point in the draft, he added the exact player I’ve had my eyes on as a replacement for Cushenberry for quite some time. Nugent was a huge part of the Michigan national championship offensive line, and has a ton of experience with nearly 40 career starts in his long collegiate career.
With Nugent, you know what you are getting. While there are some concerns as a pass protector when receiving rushers on stunts due a lack of length, Nugent still shows a high football IQ and gets back in position rather easily. He isn’t the most powerful player,but his low center of gravity helps keep him effective as a run blocker. He will probably be best fit for a zone running scheme, but i believe he can still fit in the Sean Payton offense that features a lot of duo-blocking plays.
Round 5, Pick 146: Kamal Hadden, CB, Tennessee
Other players mentioned: AJ Barner
Kamal Hadden was a player I had not studied prior to the show, but I am certainly glad Erick brought his name to the conversation. He has a good blend of size and length and plays incredibly well in press coverage. There’s some power in his punch, and while he does show some stiffness in his hips when turning and running the route stem, he has good recovery speed and his ball skills are top notch.
With that said, Illinois wide receiver Isaiah Williams was a player mentioned on the previous selection that was still available for the Broncos here, and I would have pounded the table to select him.
There could be some redundancy having Corley, Williams and Marvin Mims at the same time, but if you want to follow the Miami Dolphins model of stacking speed on top of speed, Williams would do exactly that. He is a jitterbug athlete that is incredibly slippery with the ball in his hands. He has incredible change of direction ability, is a solid route runner, and brings return ability to the special teams units as well. Williams offers enough versatility as a gadget player, but is also a high end explosive player creator both before and after the catch.
Round 6, Pick 209: Roger Rosengarten, OT, Washington
Other players mentioned: Dylan McMahaon, Brandon Coleman, Deshaun Fenwick, Taulia Tagovailoa, Carter Bradley, Devin Leary, Evan Anderson, Lideatrick Griffin, Brevyn Spann-Ford, Rasheen Ali
Unfortunately, this draft class isn’t nearly as deep as they have been over the past few years and the talent dried up rather quickly. That’s not the case with a player like Roger Rosengarten, who is also a player with ties to the Denver community. Rosengarten is a versatile athlete that can play at either tackle position as well as slide inside and play guard if needed.
This is incredible value for the Broncos, not only in terms of finding a quality developmental swing tackle that they desperately need, but also landing a player of Rosengarten’s caliber this late in the draft. I have a late fourth-round grade on Rosengarten at the moment based on his tape, but we need to see him test at the combine.
This is probably where I would have decided to take a swing at a quarterback, especially with Taulia Tagovailoa on the board. As a late-round dart throw, you can fight through the lesser tools and strengthen the overall floor of the room.
He may never develop into a quality starter at the NFL level, but he is more than likely going to be an upgrade over Ben DiNucci with more upside as a younger player. There are also rumors going around that quarterback coach Davis Webb was enamored with Tagovailoa at the Shrine Game a few weeks ago, so there is a connection already in place here.
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