Denver Broncos: Why offensive tackle is not the top draft priority

The Denver Broncos have plenty of needs heading into the 2020 NFL Draft, but offensive tackle should not be atop their list.

The Denver Broncos have expressed varying levels of interest in just about every top offensive line prospect in the 2020 NFL Draft. That doesn’t mean that offensive tackle will be the team’s top priority when it comes time for the 2020 NFL Draft, nor should it be.

But Garett Bolles is a holding machine! Ja’Wuan James can’t stay healthy! The Broncos can’t count on those guys.

Garett Bolles has certainly had his share of struggles over the course of three seasons in Denver. Ja’Wuan James, a big-money free agent acquisition in 2019, was unfortunately hurt for most of his first year with the Broncos.

But taking an offensive tackle in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft is killing a need with fire, and it would forsake other more pressing areas of need right now.

In particular, the Broncos have much more pressing needs at wide receiver, center, and cornerback.

The Broncos hired Mike Munchak to coach up the offensive line and do what he’s always done, which is put together a stellar unit and make the players he’s coaching better. That doesn’t mean the Broncos will deliberately pass on elite offensive line talent just on the principle that Munchak should make every player better, but in this particular case, the Broncos have to move into the 2020 NFL Draft under the assumption that their starting tackles in 2020 will be Garett Bolles and Ja’Wuan James.

Although the possibility exists that the Broncos will take an offensive tackle with the 15th overall pick, there is no doubt in my mind that this position needs to take a back seat to other needs on draft weekend.

But if Drew Lock doesn’t have time to throw, it’s not going to matter who the receivers are!

This argument pretty consistently comes up, and it’s a fair point — if it had merit.

In five starts at the end of the 2019 season with no Ja’Wuan James, no Ron Leary, and for a brief time no Dalton Risner, Drew Lock was sacked just five times. As a matter of fact, there were two games where Lock wasn’t sacked at all.

Just in case it didn’t register the first time around, it’s worth repeating: In five starts in 2019 with a patchwork offensive line, Drew Lock was sacked five times.

That number is staggering in contrast with Joe Flacco, who was sacked a whopping 26 times in eight starts. In case it wasn’t abundantly clear before, having a mobile quarterback does wonders for an offensive line, especially when you have a mobile quarterback who is also capable of making quicker reads with the football.

The Broncos shouldn’t just ‘settle’ on the offensive line by any means, but to forsake other needs in the first round at this point would be a poor use of assets.

The Broncos made their bed with Ja’Wuan James. Although it’s reasonable to expect him to play up to the level of the huge contract he wanted when he was signed as a free agent, many in Broncos Country have shown an irrational amount of anger and resentment toward a player who was struggling to get back from a significant knee injury, not only physically but mentally.

Denver’s front office has made substantial investments in the offensive line in the past couple of offseasons. Although those investments haven’t paid immediate dividends, it’s important not to be overly impatient and count players as a sunk cost just one year into their free agent contract.

Ja’Wuan James is a primary example of someone you cannot consider a sunk cost, at least not yet. The Broncos are going to count on him for the 2020 season to be their starting right tackle, just like they were in 2019, but this year, they will likely draft someone to provide insurance.

So at what point is it reasonable to draft a sure-fire backup as a rookie who could eventually become a starter? In my opinion, it’s no earlier than the third round.

The Broncos’ top three selections should be focused on players who can start in 2020, which means their top three picks — in some order — should be wide receiver, center/guard, and cornerback.

You don’t draft an insurance policy in the first round — you draft starters. If your roster is otherwise set or just all-around balanced and deep, you might consider a tremendous prospect at a position you already have filled with a veteran if that veteran is heading into the final year of their contract or they are old enough to potentially retire in the near future.

That is what we saw last offseason when the Philadelphia Eagles took Washington State left tackle Andre Dillard in the first round.

On an otherwise stacked roster, the Eagles took Dillard knowing that Jason Peters, in his late 30s, was likely playing his final year with the team. As it turns out, Dillard actually ended up playing some for the Eagles in his rookie season, but he was no insurance policy. He was drafted as an heir apparent.

There’s a big difference.

The Broncos are not in a position to draft an heir apparent at tackle in round one. Nor is it wise for them to kill the need with fire considering they have Garett Bolles for two more seasons at way less than current market value if they want, and James is entering the second year of a four-year deal.

The appropriate time for the Broncos to draft a tackle will be sometime in round three or later depending on the value of the prospect. Unless they can get a player a round later than their board indicates, the need is just not there right now regardless of how badly fans dislike Bolles and James.

Just because the fans are thinking that way doesn’t mean the team is thinking that way. From a front office or general manager perspective, the Broncos have the following on their roster right now:

Left tackle: Athletic former first-round pick who needs to learn discipline at the position.
Left guard: Steady, intelligent second-round pick and likely longtime starter.
Right guard: Big-money free agent pickup.
Right tackle: Big-money free agent pickup with injury concerns.

The major hole is obviously at center right now. The Broncos have invested at all of the other positions either big free agent dollars or a pick in the top two rounds.

But they are dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s regardless. The Broncos have had a pre-draft meeting with Houston Cougars left tackle Josh Jones. They have spent substantial time in the last couple of seasons around the Iowa Hawkeyes’ program and right tackle Tristan Wirfs. They met at the Scouting Combine with Alabama’s Jedrick Wills, USC’s Austin Jackson, and they’ve had multiple meetings with Boise State’s Ezra Cleveland.

The Broncos are clearly in the market for a tackle if the value and fit is right, but by no means should there be a mandate for them to take one with the 15th overall pick and they should actively work to avoid taking a tackle at pick 15 overall if they can get an instant-impact player at wide receiver or cornerback.