Gut Reaction: Broncos Punctuated Draft with a High-Quality Day 3 Haul
The Denver Broncos went into Day 3 of the 2021 NFL draft with very few holes on a roster that seems to be rounding into great shape. First-year general manager George Paton stayed true to his promises from the first press conference, accumulating extra capital to get as many darts as possible to finish out a solid roster from top to bottom.
With six selections over the final four rounds, Paton continued to stay true to his board and select high-quality players that could have an immediate impact on this team, especially in the third phase of football.
Secondary Depth Boosted
One of the Broncos' biggest weaknesses last season was their depth in the secondary. After bringing in a pair of cornerbacks via free agency and adding a third in the first round of the draft a few nights ago, Paton needed to add a safety to round out an already stellar secondary unit.
But he didn't draft just one. He drafted two safeties with back-to-back selections and a possible third later on.
Paton crushed the third day of the draft. Adding safeties Caden Sterns of Texas and Jamar Johnson of Indiana brings a pair of highly productive ball-hawks to a unit that had severe question marks behind starters Justin Simmons and Kareem Jackson.
It's too early to say for sure, but with these two selections, you might not find a better safety room in the league.
Another My-Ball Receiver
Then, the Broncos added a boom-or-bust boundary receiver in Auburn's Seth Williams. A height/weight/speed athlete with a massive catch radius, Williams could be an eventual replacement for Tim Patrick, who is going into the season playing on the restricted free-agent tender and is also a prime trade candidate.
Williams has some drop concerns over the middle of the field and sometimes makes the easy things look incredibly difficult. He also has the ability to make the difficult things look easy, as his spectacular catches in the red zone jump off his tape.
Scrappy Nickel Corner
With head coach Vic Fangio and defensive coordinator Ed Donatell loving their slot cornerbacks and questions about the health of Bryce Callahan and Essang Bassey, Paton went out and selected a high-quality coverage cornerback with size concerns in LSU's Kary Vincent, Jr. Vincent is a smaller defensive back, but he plays physically and has tremendous fluidity for the position, and could slide back to man the safety position as a player with great range on the back end.
A pair of defensive linemen rounded out a high-quality class that completely retooled the Broncos' defensive front, a unit that is aging rapidly and desperately needed a youth infusion this season.
Again, Paton crushed his first draft as a general manager. He got highly athletic players at multiple positions of need. Most of the players have been lauded for their incredible character and bring a good mentality to the locker room.
One Thing Missing
You can crush the draft and retool a roster all you want to. But it means nothing if you don't have the quarterback position figured out. Right now, the only palpable hole on the roster is at the most important position in all of sports. And Paton passed on one of the top options in the class to draft Patrick Surtain II.
Perhaps there is a bigger picture here (hello, Aaron Rodgers). If that is the case, my thoughts about this draft haul change dramatically. It is widely considered as one of the top classes by any NFL team, and almost every player has the potential to be a contributor from day one.
I love what Paton was able to do on Day 3. This youth movement was desperately needed, and he hit on a lot of high-quality options. We'll see if this team has what it takes to become a legitimate playoff contender because as constructed, the Broncos have the potential to get there.
But again, it all comes down to the quarterback play. Regardless of who it is under center, the play hasn't been nearly good enough, and that's not debatable.
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