I said on Thursday night that I couldn’t wait to see Denver Broncos first round pick Shane Ray in orange and blue. Apparently I didn’t have to wait that long, as Madden 15 was cranking out screenshots of rookies in their new uniforms.
The @Broncos believe in @X_RAYted56, trading up to get him. #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/KIZ4mLH3We
— Madden NFL 23 (@EAMaddenNFL) May 1, 2015
So there you have it. Shane Ray, in orange, and he looks good.
And I expect that to continue. Shane Ray, despite what people say about him, is a hard-working football player. He was a consensus first-team All-American in his first year as a full time starter. Missouri has been putting big time college talent to the NFL in the last couple of years, and last year at this time we were talking about Kony Ealy and Michael Sam.
Ray is not like either of those guys at all as a pass rusher, possessing top level speed and quickness off the edge with the ability to bend, change direction, and violently hit guys behind the line.
Ray plays with a ferocity that was unmatched in my evaluation of edge rushers this offseason. This was a phenomenal pick for the Broncos, one that was first brought to light on Monday when Ray fell in a mock draft done on ESPN’s NFL Nation. In that scenario, Ray dropped all the way to the 28th overall pick but the Broncos weren’t risking him falling that far in the actual draft.
When Ray was still on the board with the 23rd pick, the Broncos jumped ahead of a few teams to get the SEC defensive player of the year and significantly upgrade their pass rush. Wade Phillips is going to have a blast finding personnel groupings that include Von Miller, DeMarcus Ware, and Shane Ray.