Denver Broncos: Analyzing Dane Brugler’s mock draft picks
The Denver Broncos have needs at wide receiver and cornerback, and Dane Brugler addressed those in his latest two-round 2020 mock draft.
There’s no doubt about the fact that the Denver Broncos have to upgrade at the wide receiver position in the 2020 offseason, and with Chris Harris Jr. hitting free agency, there are also questions at the cornerback position.
If you missed my list of needs over the weekend, I would love for you to check it out.
The Broncos can certainly address their wide receiver and cornerback needs in the 2020 NFL Draft, but we also have free agency to look forward to in between.
If the team enters the 2020 NFL Draft with needs at those two positions still, then Dane Brugler’s latest two-round mock draft could be a great scenario for the Broncos.
You have to subscribe to The Athletic to read Brugler’s work, but he’s one of the best analysts out there and is connected with plenty of scouts and NFL executives, so his mock drafts are both a combination of film work on players and a strong understanding of team needs and philosophies.
Brugler has the Broncos selecting Alabama wide receiver Henry Ruggs III in the first round of his mock draft as well as Utah cornerback Jaylon Johnson in the second round.
Most Broncos fans know all about Ruggs at this point.
He’s quite possibly the fastest player in the 2020 NFL Draft class and he may run the fastest 40-yard dash any of us has ever seen at the 2020 Scouting Combine.
The Alabama junior is a big play waiting to happen and would do so much to stretch the field vertically for the Broncos as well as give the team a dynamic threat after the catch on screens and slants. He’s a solid route runner already and would have a huge impact on all of the other players in Denver’s offense.
We’ve talked about Ruggs here plenty, and I think he would be a great pick for the Broncos in the first round. It’s one thing to be fast but Ruggs is not some Olympics sprinter who can’t catch. He’s a dynamic wide receiver who happens to be other-worldly in the speed department.
I would not be surprised at all if some team puts him up at WR1 or WR2 on their overall board and takes him before 15.
In the second round, Brugler sends the Broncos two-time All-Pac 12 selection Jaylon Johnson, a cornerback whose ball skills and physical style of play resulted in an All-American recognition in 2019.
He picked off seven passes in three seasons for the Utes, and helped his team have one of the top defenses in college football.
Although Vic Fangio has stated if you can cover, you can fit his defense, I think Johnson is a nice ‘type’ for this defense as a long, physical defender who can obviously play physical in coverage but also come up and tackle as well.
Others who have scouted Johnson more than I have at this point say that “His nose for the football in zone coverage is terrific,” and doesn’t that sound like a perfect fit for Fangio’s defense?
Next. Why the Broncos moved on from Rich Scangarello. dark
If the Broncos are not going to address cornerback in free agency and they want to add another young player to the mix, Johnson would be a nice fit. I happen to think they are going to look at this position in free agency with a number of solid young players already on the roster, even if some of them are question marks at this point.