Denver Broncos mock draft: Todd McShay predicts another weapon

Todd McShay released his first 2019 NFL mock draft. He thinks the Denver Broncos will take a speedy offensive weapon in round one.

ESPN’s Todd McShay released his first mock draft of the 2019 NFL Draft season (insider required), and he has a very interesting selection for the Denver Broncos.

McShay predicts the Broncos will go after a big-time offensive weapon in Oklahoma’s Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, one of the fastest receivers in all of college football. In this particular Broncos mock draft scenario, Brown is the first wide receiver off the board (18th overall pick).

McShay notes in his prediction that Demaryius Thomas is gone and Emmanuel Sanders “isn’t getting any younger” and says he thinks that Brwon would be a great fit with Denver’s young duo of 2018 NFL Draft picks, Courtland Sutton and DaeSean Hamilton.

If the Broncos were to make Brown their first-round selection, it would be very out of character for John Elway. He has never taken a skill player at a position like receiver in the first round of any of his draft classes.

Here are the Broncos’ top picks in Elway’s history of making the calls:

2011: Von Miller, EDGE
2012: Derek Wolfe, DL
2013: Sylvester Williams, DT
2014: Bradley Roby, CB
2015: Shane Ray, EDGE
2016: Paxton Lynch, QB
2017: Garett Bolles, OT
2018: Bradley Chubb, EDGE

With such a deep class at the wide receiver position, it seems like Elway could go for a premium position in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft and get a receiver who complements his current group well later on.

With that said, how would we react if Brown were Denver’s pick?

Ecstatic.

The former JUCO transfer has been stellar in his two seasons with the Sooners, racking up over 1,000 yards in each of those seasons helping two different quarterbacks win Heisman trophy awards.

He took a leap forward this year, setting career marks in receptions, yards, and touchdowns, and is a big play threat waiting to happen. Brown’s deep speed, short-area quickness, and burst make him very difficult to defend out in space. He is consistently finding ways to get behind defensive backs or simply run by guys with the ball in his hands.

The Broncos may need to look at adding a player with this kind of speed and quickness at the position if they choose to move on from Emmanuel Sanders in the offseason. Given Sanders’ injury, that seems like a foregone conclusion but time will tell.

Adding Brown would certainly give this team a plethora of talent at the skill positions going forward.