My Draft is a Dream Come True
By jhawk
Throughout the internet there are many mock drafts being put together by those of us who wish to call ourselves sports analysts. Some of which are highly liked while owning slim chances of possibility. Then there are others that seem very possible and very safe, drafting for need and meeting those needs with doubtless talent. Still others who come up with bizarre situations that, yes, would be a dream come true, but alas is just that, a dream. Well, I am a dreaming fan and I wish to proclaim to the world that, “I have a dream!”
Now, my dream is not similar to that of Martin Luther King J’sr. Nor is it at all related to that of Joseph’s from the book of Genesis. No, my dream is of perfection. And no, I don’t mean my body, it’s already perfect…a perfect couch potato. I am speaking of the perfect draft scenario for the Broncos. The Broncos have needs in many places, but my dream fills those needs in the first two rounds. Let us now travel into the dream world. Let us now envision the perfect draft.
Before we dive into who the Broncos draft and so forth, let’s go over real quick what it is the Broncos need and what it is we have to bargain with.
1) The Broncos are hurting on defense. This past season was absolutely painful to watch as week in and week out the Broncos’ Orange Crush was made to look like nothing more than the oranges we all enjoy eating at half time. The front line got pushed around, there was no pass rush, and the secondary got burned on a regular basis. Traditional defenses will build as follows: 1) Big and Strong D Line to control trenches; 2) Elite Pass Rusher to put pressure on opposing QB’s; 3) Athletic CB’s to take away balls; 4) Big and Fast LineBackers to support everyone everywhere; 5) Smart and Intelligent Safeties who can diagnose plays quickly in order to react appropriately. Not all defenses follow this order exactly mainly because on defense, everyone complements everyone. The secondary gives time to the pass rush while the pass rush gives poorly thrown footballs to the secondary. The D-line engulfs blocks so that LB’s can cushion tackling stats that way the D-line can get off sooner. Safeties ghost QB’s thus forcing them into the hands of D-linemen. It’s a never ending circle of everyone helping everyone on defense. But regardless of order and how you slice it, the Broncos’ defense needs help.
2) We have the second overall pick in the draft this year as well as two second rounders. These picks could easily accumulate into more picks overall depending on which teams fall in love with which QB’s. I have come up with what I feel to be a relatively realistic draft as well as the best draft of all the drafts out there. This draft might not fill all needs, but the Broncos’ needs will be filled. (Doesn’t make sense I know…)
Real quick, here’s something I wish to add in order to make this draft legitimate.
NEWS HEADLINE: NEW CBA SIGNED JUST BEFORE THE DRAFT!
And now on to my mock draft.
1) We don’t know who the Panthers are going to take and frankly I don’t care. There is no absolute number 1 pick in this draft and I am ok with that because I know that none of the guys we truly want are going number 1 overall.
2) The Broncos trade their pick to Cincinnati who will take Cam Newton before the Bills can. In exchange, the Broncos get Cincinnati’s number 1 and number 2. Cincinnati gets the Broncos’ number one and the Broncos’ third rounder.
3) The Bills will take either Nick Fairley or Da’Quan Bowers. Basically whoever of the two the Panthers didn’t take. They missed out on Cam Newton and will now take the best player they have on their board.
4) The Broncos will now draft Patrick Peterson. Drafting Patrick Peterson at number 2 overall is just too high. No CB has gone that high in history. But regardless, the Broncos now have Champ Bailey and Patrick Peterson and are now the best secondary in the NFL to complement Elvis Dumervil when he returns.
5) Arizona has many needs, most notable at QB. Here is a great place to draft QB Blaine Gabbert who has shot up many draft boards and has a really strong arm. There are just too many teams with QB needs to not take this player now.
6) The Browns released their star DT Shaun Rogers and need an immediate starter at this position. Marcell Dareus is on the board and has been dubbed by many as the best player in the draft. The Browns will not hesitate and will take this player immediately filling a need.
7) The 49ers are in a tricky position. The top 2 QB prospects have been taken and they can easily wait for someone like Jake Locker to come around. They don’t have any dying needs on defense and could easily use some help on their offense. They’ve already drafted a WR in Crabtree and could potentially look to Ingram to upgrade their RB position. But with glaring holes everywhere, they will trade back to Dallas who will select CB Prince Amukamara.
8) Having missed out on Prince, the Titans will look to their offense. Clearly they don’t need a RB, but they could use some help at WR. The Titans will take either A.J. Green or Julio Jones. My dream said A.J. Green, but I’m flexible. This pick makes sense. Randy Moss will not be a Titan much longer and Kenny Britt is a problem waiting to happen. The Titans would like get their hands more offensive weapons seeing as how they couldn’t produce much offensively this year.
9) The 49ers still look at the draft board and their team and don’t see any immediate needs that can be filled with the number 9 overall pick. But the Broncos do. The Broncos trade Kyle Orton, their second rounder, and Miami’s second rounder to San Francisco for the number 9 overall draft pick in order to acquire, LB Von Miller. With the new 4-3 system, the best linebacker in the draft will be a nice complement to John Fox‘s system adding pass coverage and pass rushing ability. This guy will immediately upgrade the defense along with the help of Patrick Peterson.
10) With the exiting of Clinton Portis you would think Washington would draft Mark Ingram. However, we all know that isn’t Shanny’s style and he’d much rather draft an offensive linemen. But, there are no elite O-linemen to be had here, so Shanny will need to find a replacement for fat Albert. The Redskins will draft DT Corey Liuget.
This is as far as I wish to go for the first round. There is just too much predicting and besides, this is my dream draft. In my dream draft, this picks are suddenly skipped and we go straight to the Broncos’ next pick which happens to be Cincinnati’s second rounder.
Round 2)
3) With the third overall pick of the second round, the Broncos will select DT Stephen Paea. Somehow with luck, this guy made it to this selection. Apparently teams had DE and OL needs that they decided not to draft the strongest player in the draft. He recently broke the record for bench presses at the combine with an amazing 49. He’s a beast and will rotate very nicely.
Unfortunately the Broncos traded away picks and their next pick isn’t until the sixth round with the 24th selection. Now this one is a long shot but everyone is dreaming this pick and so am I. For whatever reason, Casey Matthews finds a way to fall this far and the Broncos will take him. Perhaps in order for this to make more sense, lets say the Broncos package their 7th round and 6th round picks to acquire a 5th round pick where most Casey Matthews will be drafted. Either way, my dream, my rules and in my dream, he’s as big of beast as his brother.
Summary:
Patrick Peterson CB LSU
Von Miller OLB Texas A&M
Stephen Paea DT Oregon State
Casey Matthews Oregon
Yes, I see that it’s only four picks. But the way I see it, only 4 players from each draft seem to make the team anyways. Why not make it then four players we want and know will immediately contribute. Granted, the team has needs on the O-Line. But if I’ve learned anything, O-Line needs can filled via free agency. Also, the pool of FA TEs is rather large this year. The defense needs fresh TALENT and we will fill that via the draft. The offense we can fill via FA.
GO BRONCOS!