John Elway has to be better on day two of the NFL Draft
2017 NFL Draft: Denver Broncos general manager John Elway has been pretty bad on day two of the draft. He needs to be better, starting now…
A quick look back at the history of John Elway’s draft picks as the lead decision-maker for the Denver Broncos will tell you — clearly — that day two of the NFL Draft is not his strong suit.
That needs to change in the 2017 NFL Draft…
Let’s take a quick look back at prior day two picks in the Elway regime:
2011
Rahim Moore, S, UCLA
Orlando Franklin, OL, Miami (FL)
Nate Irving, LB, North Carolina St.
2012
Derek Wolfe, DL, Cincinnati
Brock Osweiler, QB, Arizona St.
Ronnie Hillman, RB, San Diego St.
2013
Montee Ball, RB, Wisconsin
Kayvon Webster, CB, South Florida
2014
Cody Latimer, WR, Indiana
Michael Schofield, OL, Michigan
2015
Ty Sambrailo, OL, Colorado St.
Jeff Heuerman, TE, Ohio St.
2016
Adam Gotsis, DL, Georgia Tech
Justin Simmons, S, Boston College
I would say the jury is still out on the last two years’ worth of picks, but leading up to 2014, it’s clear that the only great pick Elway had in this group is Derek Wolfe. The other guys were starters for a period, and have moved on or are out of the league.
The draft is a crap shoot, and John Elway has been very good historically with his top picks and later round/undrafted pickups. That’s the reason the Broncos have one of the best rosters in the league, in addition to Elway’s prowess in free agency.
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However, the depth of the Broncos will be tested moving forward and Elway needs to start hitting on some of his top 100 selections. The Broncos have three picks on day two of the 2017 NFL Draft, and are expected to potentially only use two after trades.
Those two or three picks need to be ‘hits’ from Elway, who has gotten cute with some guys who maybe fit a scheme or ‘project’ well. These picks need to be guys that can come in and make instant impact, and guys that aren’t going to require a year’s worth of learning before they can contribute (see: Gotsis, etc.).
Now’s not the time for the Broncos to be getting ‘cute’. They need guys that can ball out, and I think Elway will show his aggressiveness on Friday night.