Denver Broncos Day Two Mock Draft: Rounds Two And Three
By Steven Kriz
With the 82nd pick in the NFL Draft, the Denver Broncos select…
Adam Shaheen, nicknamed “Baby Gronk” is the pick, and the Broncos get their “Y” tight end that John Elway talked about earlier in the week.
“When we classify a tight end, the fact is you have ‘Y’ and an ‘F.’” Elway said. ” It’s a deep ‘F’ class. Guys that are good routers and can move, not necessarily the strength of being an in-line tight end. There are a couple of good in-line tight ends, but for the most part they are ‘Fs.”
What Elway is referring to is where the tight end is actually lining up. An “F” tight end is essentially a large wide receiver–think Julius Thomas. These players are going to be primarily pass-catchers, but won’t really get it done in the passing game. A “Y” is more of that inside blocking tight end, that you hope can also get out and catch passes as well. Well, that is exactly what you get with Adam Shaheen.
O.J. Howard was the cream of the crop because he could block as well as anyone, and was an incredible athlete in the passing game as well. As far as tight ends that can do both, Shaheen is the next best thing in this draft. Evan Engram and David Njoku were both selected in the first round Thursday night, but both of them are more oversized wide receivers, or “F’s.”
Adam Shaheen has a basketball background, originally playing college hoops for Pittsburgh-Johnstown before transferring to Ashland to play football. Shaheen is a very good blocker, but is still a matchup nightmare in the passing game. Shaheen ran a 4.79 40-yard dash, and added a 32.5″ vertical leap to go with his 6’6, 278 lb frame. Talk about a beast. Shaheen likely won’t be O.J. Howard, but he very well may be the second best all-around tight end in this class.
With the Broncos already having Demaryius Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders, and Joe Mixon, Shaheen would be an incredible fourth option. The best thing the Broncos can do is surround Paxton Lynch with weapons and a light’s out defense, and this pick would fall right in line with that.
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