Predominantly Orange
FanSided

How do the Denver Broncos’ drafts compare to the AFC West?

By Andrew Wade

PHILADELPHIA, PA - APRIL 27: (L-R) Garett Bolles of Utah and his son Kingston pose with Commissioner of the National Football League Roger Goodell after being picked
PHILADELPHIA, PA - APRIL 27: (L-R) Garett Bolles of Utah and his son Kingston pose with Commissioner of the National Football League Roger Goodell after being picked /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 5
Next

Evaluating the success of a draft class can be difficult. So, what exactly constitutes a successful draft class? And can the John Elway and the Denver Broncos be considered successful?

Garett Bolles
PHILADELPHIA, PA – APRIL 27: Garett Bolles of Utah visits the SiriusXM NFL Radio talkshow after being picked /

Is it a player making a pro-bowl? What about a player outperforming expectations of their draft position? Or is it the number of years that player started?

No matter which way you slice the numbers, there will always be disagreement on either side. When it comes to Elway’s success in the draft as a general manager, however, many critics would say his performance has been below average regardless of what metric is being used.

I am going to slice the numbers differently. We won’t be relying solely on seasons as a full-time starter or times the player has made the pro bowl. Simply put, these just aren’t very good measurements.

A player could be starting because there is not enough talent on the team or a player could make the pro bowl because six others dropped out. Besides, with fans voting, the Pro Bowl can be more a popularity contest than a thoughtful analysis of who was the best that year.

Player Categories

So what truly matters when evaluating the success of a draft class? Here is what I decided to break it down by:

  • Elite Starter: These are your players that can be regarded as one of the top 10 at their positions. All-pro selections, the visual test, and Pro Football Focus grades were taken into account to determine the elite starters. 
  • Starter: These guys have been solid and consistent starters for at least a few years. They aren’t going to command $15M per year contracts, but they are needed for the success of your team.
  • Round 1-3 Bust: These are guys drafted in rounds one through three who just couldn’t cut it. Some are 1st rounders who may be starting but aren’t very good (such as DJ Fluker). Others are 3rd rounders who were cut after a season.
  • Round 4-7 Impact: These are guys that have made a positive impact on a team and have what it takes to stick around the league. Guys in this group may also be considered a starter or elite starter in my grading.

The categories above reflect what I believe are the four most important criteria when evaluating a GM. How many elite level players and starters did they pick? How many early round players did they miss on or how many diamonds in the rough did they find?

One thing to note before we get started is that I only accounted for 2017 draft picks if they played well last year. One year is not enough time to write off a player’s career.

After going through each of John Elway’s seven draft classes and comparing these to the last seven draft classes of our AFC West rivals, here is what I found.

Home/Broncos Draft