Christian McCaffrey may not be the Broncos best option
If the Denver Broncos stay at the 20th overall selection, Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey may not be their best option. Who is?
When the Denver Broncos put together their final plans for the 2017 NFL Draft, will Christian McCaffrey be the player they target?
There’s no question, the Broncos are high on McCaffrey. There’s also no question that he would be a great fit for this team, but the question the Broncos have to answer at this point is whether or not they can afford to sacrifice a potential starting left tackle to take him.
Perhaps someone taking McCaffrey before the Broncos are on the clock at pick no. 20 would be somewhat of a blessing in disguise. You hate to even say that, but what are the Broncos going to do at the left tackle position if they don’t use their first round pick on one?
We’ve explored a number of options, and of course with the draft, you always want to take the best player on your board. But if McCaffrey is ranked one spot lower than a tackle, how do you make that call?
Would John Elway be willing to risk getting burned and pass on McCaffrey entirely to take an offensive tackle? I don’t necessarily think it’s likely, but it might be the right thing to do. The value of McCaffrey is obvious. He’s a dynamic threat at running back, receiver, and as a return specialist.
But again, the Broncos don’t have a left tackle.
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Unless something really surprising happens, I don’t expect any of Garett Bolles, Ryan Ramczyk, Cam Robinson, or Forrest Lamp to be available in the second round. The Broncos have taken a liking to Bucknell’s Julién Davenport, but is he ready to be a starting left tackle in the NFL?
Are any of the players in this year’s draft?
If the Broncos determine that any of those linemen are day one starters at left tackle for them, that might need to be the route they take, regardless if Christian McCaffrey is on the board.
That would be an extremely tough call to make, but the value at running back in this draft is just simply so much better than the value at offensive tackle. You don’t like to have to reach for need, but the Broncos probably rank these tackles higher than a lot of pundits.
If McCaffrey is off the board at 20, of course the decision becomes a bit easier for the Broncos. If he’s still on the board and all of the tackles are on the board, the decision becomes significantly more difficult.
As many of you long-time readers know, I absolutely love Christian McCaffrey. It would pain me to see him in any colors other than orange and blue this coming season, but it wouldn’t surprise me if the Broncos decided they had to take a tackle first and address the running back position later.