4 Broncos Takeaways From the NFL Combine Rumor Mill

The NFL Combine has come and gone, and several intriguing storylines have emerged following the largest job interview in the nation. Armed with a limited supply of draft ammunition, the Denver Broncos must be incredibly diligent in their search for talent to upgrade the roster and ensure they hit on as many of their six selections as possible.

With needs all over the Broncos roster, especially at quarterback now that Russell Wilson will be released next week, there are so many different ways the team can approach this year’s draft class. While many will pound the table for the Broncos to do everything they can to acquire their next signal-caller, it may be better, in the long run, to fill as many roster holes as possible this year and kick the quarterback can down the road to 2025.

That said, let’s look at some of the biggest takeaways from what we learned in Indianapolis over the past week, especially as it relates to the Broncos.

Quarterbacks Show Out

Despite not being able to look at the top three options in the class — USC's Caleb Williams, North Carolina's Drake Maye, and LSU's Jayden Daniels — the NFL world got a side-by-side look at the next three guys in Michigan's J.J. McCarthy, Oregon's Bo Nix, and Washington's Michael Penix, Jr.

McCarthy drew a ton of attention, not only in his media availability but in his work in the on-field drills. The hottest name connected to the Broncos at the position over the past few weeks, McCarthy proved that he has the necessary talent to make every throw at the NFL level.

While there were some inaccuracy issues, especially working to the flat, McCarthy did a great job showing zip on his fastball, timing to the outside, and adapting to a difficult situation learning on the fly with new receivers. His footwork was relatively clean, but there were times when his placement was affected due to relying more on his arm talent than keeping his base intact and working through his hips.

Nix, on the other hand, proved his arm talent lacks drive and velocity. While his accuracy was on display and the ball rarely touched the ground, you could tell the ball didn’t jump out of his hand nearly as impressively as others in the class.

Nix showed an accurate deep ball, completing a couple with nice timing and accuracy, but you could see he had to force the issue and put extra effort into the throws to drive them down the field.

Penix was arguably the top performer in the second group of quarterbacks, in terms of completing passes on the out-breaking and timing routes, but there was an obvious sense of forcing the issue to show off his arm talent. The fastball was there, and his ball placement was perfectly on point until it came to the deep throws.

There were a couple of obvious overthrows on the go routes, mostly from Penix trying to show off his beautiful deep ball to receivers he wasn’t familiar with. His best completion came on the post-corner route he threw to Jalen McMillan, who he played with at Washington.

The best of the later-round players was easily South Carolina's Spencer Rattler, who showed his arm talent and accuracy with ease. He drove the football well, hit his receivers with good timing and ball placement, and had a solid day overall. Rattler's stock seems to be climbing lately, and some people think he could be an incredible steal on Day 2.

Tulane's Michael Pratt struggled, as did Western Kentucky's Austin Reed. Neither showed plus-level arm talent, and both struggled with accuracy issues throughout their throwing sessions. Notre Dame's Sam Hartman proved his arm talent is too inconsistent to be a reliable option as a starter.

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Incredibly Athletic OT Class

If you need a quality tackle prospect this year, you happen to be in luck. This year’s class features more than a handful of offensive tackles that could be taken in the top-20, including a bunch of smooth-moving, freak-of-nature style athletes at the position.

None were more impressive than Georgia's Amarius Mims, who ran a 5.07-second 40-yard dash after measuring in at 6-foot-8 and 340 pounds. For context, Notre Dame tackle Blake Fisher ran the exact same time as Mims, only he did it 30 pounds lighter than Mims. Mims didn’t participate in the on-field portion of the drills, but several people in attendance raved about how impressive it was to see a man with his stature move the way he did.

In terms of the on-field drills, Denver native Roger Rosengarten proved his technique over and over on Sunday. He was smooth and accurate with his feet and hands and was arguably the top performer for the tackles.

BYU's Kingsley Suamataia, a cousin of Penei Sewell, showed a quick kick slide and improved footwork in his pass sets. His performance went much better than expected and his technique looked very clean.

Two Centers Steal the Show

The Broncos are in a bind of sorts when it comes to the center position because Lloyd Cushenberry III is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent when the new league year opens up next week. More on that later. That said, a couple of players truly stood out that could be in range for the Broncos on day two.

West Virginia’s Zach Frazier stunned scouts with his on-field performance, especially because he broke his leg back in November. He was efficient, technical, and smooth in his movement drills and showed exactly why he is one of the top prospects at the position.

Not to be outdone, Wisconsin’s Tanor Bortolini was arguably the top performer of all of the center prospects. He killed the movement drills, showing outstanding footwork, a great level of bend and fluidity, and great lateral quickness.

Bortolini also tested incredibly well, running the second-fastest 40-yard dash time among the group and jumping out of the building (32.5-inch vertical, 9-foot-4-inch broad) for a man over 300 pounds.

Several CBs Stand Out

Denver has a huge need to upgrade its cornerback room, especially opposite of Patrick Surtain II. Whether it’s a first-round pick, adding a developmental player, or both, several options revealed themselves in Indy.

Toledo's Quinyon Mitchell continues his mission to be the top-ranked player at the position, blazing a 4.33-second 40 time as well as showing incredibly smooth hips and quality technique in his on-field drills.

Florida State boasted a pair of top performers in Jarrian Jones and Renaldo Green, both of whom showed great technique and balance in their drills. While Jones outran Green, they both displayed great fluidity, body control, and footwork.

The biggest surprise of the bunch came from South Dakota’s Myles Harden. A relatively unknown player going into the Combine, Harden was consistently one of the smoother performers both in the on-field drills and in the athletic testing. He could be a great sleeper option as a developmental player on the backend.

Rumor Mill

Back to Cushenberry, there is a growing sense that he's on his way out of Denver, as he's rumored to be seeking more than $10 million per year on a new deal. While he showed tremendous growth this last year, the Broncos will be on a tight budget in 2024.
It appears that the Broncos will be set on targeting an offensive player in the first round, whether that is a quarterback, lineman, or offensive weapon has yet to be determined. While it’s still to early in the process and we don’t know how the board will fall, it sounds like the defensive approach to the draft will come from the later rounds.
There is also a growing sense that the Broncos could trade down in the first round. With offensive talent littered throughout the top available prospects, combined with a lack of draft capital, the prospect of the Broncos not picking at No. 12 overall seems to be gathering more and more momentum.
Denver has more than enough problems when it comes to navigating the salary cap, but there does appear to be momentum on a potential Justin Simmons extension to lower his cap hit and keep him in Denver for the long term.
Aside from Simmons, players like left tackle Garett Bolles, wideouts Courtland Sutton, Jerry Jeudy, and Tim Patrick should all have their fates with the franchise revealed in the next week or so.

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