CSU TE Trey McBride & Montana State LB Troy Andersen Mocked to Broncos by NFL.com

Mock draft season is in full swing. However, with the Denver Broncos not having any Round 1 selections or picks in the top-50 of the 2022 draft, the mocks with write-ups from analysts across the NFL landscape are somewhat few and far between.

NFL.com analyst Chad Reuter was gracious enough to produce a four-round mock draft with plenty of prospects mocked to the Broncos to analyze. While not every pick would be a slam-dunk selection for the Broncos, the fit of prospect with the team is worth pondering and discussing as that is what mock drafts are for at the end of the day.

Here's how Reuter's four-round mock shook out for the Broncos.

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Round 2 | Pick 64: Trey McBride | TE | Colorado State

Perhaps one of the most desired prospects by fans, many in Broncos Country would be elated by selecting McBride. While not a freakish athlete coming out of the draft such as Atlanta's Kyle Pitts in 2021, nor a dominant blocker to the point of being an extra offensive lineman like San Francisco's George Kittle, McBride is a solid-across-the-board tight end.

The Broncos certainly could use an additional tight end in the room. After trading Noah Fant in the Russell Wilson acquisition, the Broncos are set to go into the draft with Albert Okwuegbunam, Eric Tomlinson, and Andrew Beck as the team’s best options.

However, is investing in a tight end a smart decision for the Broncos given Wilson’s aversion to throwing over the middle of the field, and what Nathaniel Hackett has done offensively, utilizing the tight end much more as a niche player rather than a featured piece in his offense?

That is certainly debatable. But talent-wise, McBride is worth a mid-Day 2 selection. But would he be as valuable to Denver as to other teams? Again, debatable as was laid out by Mile High Huddle’s Erick Trickle in the following thread:

I know there's a lot of love for Trey McBride from Broncos fans (Colorado State connection playing a role presumably) but he doesn't make much sense for Denver. Over 50% of his targets/catches/yards came between the hash marks. QB and O scheme don't attack the middle often enough
— Erick Trickel (@ErickTrickel) April 13, 2022

Round 3 | Pick 75: Troy Andersen | LB | Montana State

Another position whose overall value tends to be dropping in today’s NFL, much like tight end, is that of the off-ball linebacker. Looking over the last decade, no position is filled with as many early-round draft busts as that of linebacker. However, the league is chock-full of great linebackers selected Day 2 of the draft.

At 75 overall, Andersen would be a very good selection for the Broncos. Even if linebacker is devalued in today’s game, a good athlete on the second level of the defense is still a valuable commodity.

Andersen is not only a good athlete for the position, but he's a plus athlete. After logging a blazing fast 40-yard dash time at the NFL Combine of 4.42 seconds and a solid set of jumps with a 36-inch vertical and a 128-inch broad, his combination of solid size and overall athletic skills make him an extremely intriguing athlete.

While athleticism doesn’t always translate to success at the linebacker position (likely a large reason why there are so many first-round busts at the position), one area it does translate is as a pass rusher. Andersen would be a fun blitzing option for defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero in this defense.

Andersen has questions as far as his ability to read his keys and fit the run, but given his overall football acumen, having played running back and quarterback to great success for Montana State in the Big Sky Conference, his relative rawness to the position might mean he is just scraping the ceiling of his potential.

Round 3 | Pick 96: Juanyeh Thomas | S | Georgia Tech

Perhaps one of the biggest head-scratchers on any Broncos mock to date, Reuter took Thomas out of Georgia Tech. Whereas most draft analysts have Thomas as a mid-to-late Day 3 player, Reuter calls his shot with Thomas going in the top-100 in his mock draft 2.0.

Thomas has the frame and athletic measurables to be a solid safety. While not an exceptional athlete with any testing at the NFL Combine, he has impressive mass at 6-foot-1 and 212 pounds with a 32-⅜-inch arm length. With his size, potentially becoming more of a 'dime-backer' type who can play slot and the box is his best path to the field, but that seems like a rather niche role and ceiling for a top-100 selection.

Where Thomas does shine is as a special teams player. For the Yellow Jackets, he amassed 550 special teams coverage snaps and multiple returns for touchdowns. Thomas is a fine player, but 96 seems like 50 to 75 selections too early to be considering him.

Round 4 | Pick 115: Marcus Jones | CB | Houston

Perhaps one of the best slot options in the entire draft, Jones is another dynamic special teams player and returner to help the Broncos improve their running group of sorrow that has been their special teams.

Jones is somewhat the opposite of Thomas as he is a quick-twitch athlete with tremendous burst and change of direction on tape. However, as the opposite of Thomas, he also has historically small arm length at 28-⅞ inches. That is the zero-percentile and only three defensive backs in the history of the Combine have had shorter arm length.

Jones still had plenty of ball production in college, but the arm length is such an outlier it should draw some pause. With NFL teams currently trending towards bigger and heavier receiving options playing the slot, he might be in trouble in some matchups from the slot.

Luckily, the Los Angeles Rams also had concerns with smaller corners in the slot going up against bigger slot options. What did they do? The Rams simply rotated their smaller-body corner to the boundary in off-coverage and lined up Jalen Ramsey in the slot. Problem-solving!

The biggest concern for Jones isn’t the length or size concerns, but rather shoulder injuries (yes, both shoulders) that caused him not to test at the Combine. If he falls farther down the draft then expected, the shoulder to be the largest contributing factor. Jones might be a tad rich Day 2 of the draft, but early-Round 4 for Denver would be a slam dunk selection assuming his shoulders aren’t a major concern.

Round 4 | Pick 116: Pierre Strong, Jr. | RB | South Dakota State

Last but not least is the addition of a running back to the Broncos’ room in South Dakota State’s Strong. One of the surprise stand-out testers from the NFL Combine this season, Strong ran a blazing 4.37-second 40-yard dash with solid jumps with his vertical that tested in the 71st percentile and the 84th in the broad.

Strong could likely stand to add some muscle and mass to his frame to hold up in the NFL as his weight of 207 doesn’t put him in great company as far as recent backs to become major contributors in the run game in the NFL. With more and more teams playing lighter boxes and two high safety shells, the big bruiser back that can force opposing defenses to bite harder on play-action, or not play more conservative coverage, are more valuable than the speed slashers that gained more popularity over the last decade.

Still, Pierre Strong, Jr. looks like he could be a very good speed slash back type for Denvers’ outside zone-centric scheme and compete with Mike Boone for the RB2 role. Given that neither Javonte Williams nor Boone has ever had a season in the league (and for Williams in college) as a high-volume running back, adding to the room is likely a must for the Broncos entering the 2022 season.

This isn't the first, nor will it be the last Broncos mock from the national-media perspective. MHH will be here to continue chronicling how the NFL's leading draft analysts project things shaping up for the Broncos.

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