Sylvester Williams poses for a photo with head coach John Fox (left) and John Elway (right) at Broncos headquarters. (Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports)

With the 2013 NFL Draft in the books, it’s time to grade the Denver Broncos on their overall draft. Let’s quickly go through the team’s picks first.

Round 1 (28): DT Sylvester Williams (North Carolina)

Williams wasn’t supposed to last until No. 28. Williams wasn’t supposed to make it to the NFL. An aspiring basketball star, Williams didn’t start playing football until his senior year in high school. Once he graduated he took a year off to work in a radiator factory before spending two years at a community college. In his first year at North Carolina, he had 54 tackles (seven for a loss), and 2.5 sacks. Last season, Williams had six sacks and 13.5 tackles for a loss in 12 games.

That makes sense to me. This is a kid that can immediately come in and start at defensive tackle. He can stay in the game on sub packages. With what they have inside, I think he’s going to be a rotational guy that will get a lot of production. – Mike Mayock 

Montee Ball (28) during a touchdown run against the Stanford Cardinal during the 2013 Rose Bowl game at the Rose Bowl. (Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports)

Round 2 (58): RB Montee Ball (Wisconsin)

Ball has roughly 17 pounds of bulk on Knowshon Moreno and nine years less of wear and tear on the body than Willis McGahee.

Ball led the country with 1,923 rushing yards and 39 total touchdowns (33 rushing) in 2011, which was also the year that he was a Heisman Trophy finalist. He returned for his senior season and racked up 1,850 yards and 22 touchdowns in 2012.

The Broncos went with Ball over Eddie Lacy for medical reasons, as John Elway described.

Interesting, interesting, interesting. When you play with Peyton Manning, your first priority is pass protection. But he catches the ball better than people think. - Charles Davis

Round 3 (90) : CB Kayvon Webster (South Florida)

Webster was projected as a 6th or 7th round pick, but the Broncos saw something much different.

The 5-10, 195-pound defensive back ran a 4.41 40-yard-dash. In 2011, Webster had 49 tackles (one for a loss), two interceptions, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. Last season he had 82 tackles (four for a loss), two sacks, and three forced fumbles for a very poor USF team. Webster is said to play very aggressively and could be used on corner blitzes because of his quickness.

This is an interesting pick. This is a big, good-looking back with good foot-pedal skills. He opened some eyes at the East-West Game. Obviously, Denver believes in him enough to take him late in the third round. – Mike Mayock

 Round 5 (146 from Dolphins through Packers): DE Quanterus Smith (Western Kentucky) 

The 6-5, 250-pound end led the nation in sacks before he tore his ACL. He was so relentless in the pass rush that despite the injury, he still led the FBS in sacks per game (1.25).

He had 12 sacks in 2012 with three coming against Alabama and five sacks coming against Florida International.

If you have some edge ability and you’re a little raw that’s the kind of guy they want to develop right there. – Mike Mayock

LSU Tigers quarterback Jordan Jefferson (9) runs with the ball in front of Western Kentucky Hilltoppers defensive lineman Quanterus Smith (93) during the first half at Tiger Stadium. (Crystal LoGiudice-USA TODAY Sports)

Round 5 (161): WR Tavarres King (Georgia)

The  6-0, 189-pound wide receiver isn’t the biggest guy, but he brings quickness and the ability to reel the ball in over either shoulder. In his time with the Bulldogs, King averaged 19.1 yards off of 136 receptions. He had 6 catches for 205 yards and one touchdown in the Outback Bowl.

Round 6 (173 from Eagles through Browns, 49ers, and Packers): T Vinston Painter (Virginia Tech)

The 6-4, 306-pound tackle started his collegiate career at defensive tackle during his redshirt season. Then he moved over to offense. This could add some great depth to the Broncos’ practices.

“If put in immediately I’d say right tackle, but I have played both sides so I’m pretty comfortable with each,” Painter said of whether he’s more comfortable at left tackle or right tackle. “This season coming up I’d say right tackle.”

Now it’s time for the overall grade!

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Quanterus Smith (93) rushes against Florida International Golden Panthers offensive tackle Rupert Bryan Jr. (54) in the second half at FIU Stadium. Western Kentucky defeated FIU 14-6. (Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports)

The Denver Broncos were by far most active on day three of the 2013 NFL draft.

To kick things off, the Broncos traded their fourth round pick (125 overall) to the Green Bay Packers for the 146th pick in the fifth round and the 173rd pick in the sixth round.

With their first pick of day three, the team selected defensive end Quanterus Smith out of Western Kentucky. He’s a quarterback hungry 6-5, 250-pound  machine who led the nation in sacks before he tore his ACL in late November. He ended his career with 24 sacks.

“I’ll be ready to go by training camp,” Smith said Saturday afternoon. “I’m going through the rehab process right now. I feel real good on it, confident on it, so I’m excited and I’ll be ready for training camp.”

To further fill the void that Elvis Dumervil left with his departure, the Broncos signed former Chargers sack-man Shaun Phillips, 32, to a one-year deal. Phillips had 9.5 sacks last year with the Bolts. Even though the Broncos were knee-deep in draft activity, Phillips visited with the Broncos on Friday.

Phillips is a 10-year player with 499 tackles, 69.5 sacks, six interceptions, 20 forced fumbles, and 10 fumble recoveries. His first Pro Bowl season game in 2010 when he had 11 sacks for the Chargers.

Constantly a headache for the Broncos, it will be good to have him on our side, creating havoc and headaches for Philip Rivers.

Shaun Phillips (95) runs out of the smoke during pregame introduction before a game against the Carolina Panthers at Qualcomm Stadium. (Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports)

Getting back to the day three moves, the Broncos took wide receiver Tavarres King out of Georgia with the 161st pick overall. King doesn’t have Thomas or Decker-like size, but his quickness off the line does make him a good vertical threat. His weakness is said to be dropped passes. Surely working with Peyton Manning and against Champ Bailey every day in practice, this is a guy that can really benefit from that kind of leadership. In his time with the Bulldogs, King averaged 19.1 yards off of 136 receptions.

For their sixth-round pick, the Broncos signed their backup tackle in 6-4, 306-pound Vinston Painter. Painter hails from Virgina Tech. When asked where he feels more comfortable on the line, Painter had this to say:

“I see myself being more of a tackle (vs. guard) in the NFL. I feel more comfortable out there in space. I feel like that’s a more natural position…If put in immediately I’d say right tackle, but I have played both sides so I’m pretty comfortable with each. This season coming up I’d say right tackle.”

To round out the 2013 NFL draft, the Broncos picked quarterback Zac Dysert out of Miami of Ohio with the 234th pick. John Elway has to believe that Dysert will be more than just a third stringer eventually. Dysert was the 10th QB to hear his name called in the 2013 draft.

Dysert threw for 3,483 yards (62.9 completion percentage), 25 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions in his senior season. Since his first year when he threw 12 touchdowns and 16 interceptions, he’s come quite a long way.

Check out Dysert’s highlight reel.

Alright, now it’s time to grade the Broncos for their day three draft moves. Feel free to include the Phillips acquisition in your grade.

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Wisconsin running back Montee Ball speaks at a press conference during the 2013 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. (Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports)

The Denver Broncos had a great report card after day one at the NFL draft. Of those PO readers who responded, 32% gave the team an ‘A’ for selecting North Carolina defensive tackle Sylvester Williams. Twenty-five percent gave them an ‘A-’ for the pick.

With that pick more than a day old, let’s grade the Broncos for their day No. 2 selections.

In the second round, the Broncos added some great size and youth to their backfield by picking running back Montee Ball out of Wisconsin. Ball has roughly 17 pounds of bulk on Knowshon Moreno and nine years less of wear and tear on the body than Willis McGahee.

Ball led the country with 1,923 rushing yards and 39 total touchdowns (33 rushing) in 2011, which was also the year that he was a Heisman Trophy finalist. He returned for his senior season and racked up 1,850 yards and 22 touchdowns in 2012.

Eddie Lacy was still on the board when the Broncos selected Ball, and John Elway said they picked Ball over Lacy because they felt better about him medically.

“The bottom line was that we looked at the medical,” Elway said. “It really came down to the medical side and that’s what tilted the scales to Montee…When we looked at the medical and going through our medical staff, we just felt that Montee was a better choice for us at that spot.”

Ball won’t just be looked upon to run the ball of course. With Peyton Manning running the show, his pass blocking skills will have to be top-notch as well. It sounds like he’s better at that than Ronnie Hillman was coming into the league, according to what the draft scouts are saying.

“Effective cut blocker in the hole and willing to stand up to blitzers when protecting the quarterback,” is what NFL.com lists as his strengths. They also say that he is ”willing to run into compressed spaces and doesn’t worry about contact. Hard runner. Stays patient behind pulling guards and fullbacks, has enough quickness to break off a run if the space is available to him. Lowers his pads on contact, keeps his legs moving to gain extra yards against glancing blows.”

“Montee is a productive player with excellent feet and vision,” head coach John Fox said. “We view him as a three-down back that will be a great fit for our team. He has top-flight character and we’re pleased to add him to the Broncos.”

South Florida Bulls cornerback Kayvon Webster (6) tackles Syracuse Orange wide receiver Jarrod West (88) during the first half at the Carrier Dome. (Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports)

Ball compares himself to former Broncos backfield great, Terrell Davis.

“I’ve watched Terrell Davis—all of his interviews; all of his highlights; everything. I grew up watching him a little bit. It’s really crazy right now. I’m so excited. I’m very, very excited.”

The Broncos weren’t done after they picked up Ball. In the third round of the draft (90th overall), the team selected South Florida cornerback Kayvon Webster. Webster was projected as a 6th or 7th round pick, but the Broncos saw something much different.

The 5-10, 195-pound defensive back ran a 4.41 40-yard-dash. In 2011, Webster had 49 tackles (one for a loss), two interceptions, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. Last season he had 82 tackles (four for a loss), two sacks, and three forced fumbles for a very poor USF team. Webster is said to play very aggressively and could be used on corner blitzes because of his quickness.

“Corner was a position we wanted to address,” Fox said. “Of course we staged that through the whole draft. We were happy he got to us…He’s 5’10” and-a-half, 195 [pounds], he’s got great short quickness. Probably one of the fastest corners in the draft—he ran a sub 4.4. We felt good about his upside and what evidence he put on tape.”

With speed like that, it’s possible that the Broncos could use him in the return game as well (As much as we would like to see Trindon Holliday field all the kickoffs and punts, it’s good to have some depth there).

Webster said that growing up, Elway and the Broncos got him into football.

“Broncos were my first team I grew up watching, when John Elway was in the Super Bowl in ‘98 and that got my eye wanting to play football,” Webster said.

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