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Denver Broncos: Power ranking which positions to target in first round if not WR

By Travis Wakeman

STARKVILLE, MS - OCTOBER 19: Kristian Fulton #1 of the LSU Tigers celebrates after intercepting a pass during a game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Davis Wade Stadium on October 19, 2019 in Starkville, Mississippi. The Tigers defeated the Bulldogs 36-13. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
STARKVILLE, MS - OCTOBER 19: Kristian Fulton #1 of the LSU Tigers celebrates after intercepting a pass during a game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Davis Wade Stadium on October 19, 2019 in Starkville, Mississippi. The Tigers defeated the Bulldogs 36-13. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /
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Kenneth Murray, Denver Broncos
DALLAS, TEXAS – OCTOBER 12: Kenneth Murray #9 of the Oklahoma Sooners during the 2019 AT&T Red River Showdown at Cotton Bowl on October 12, 2019, in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

No. 3: Inside linebacker

In this mock draft, I had the Broncos trade back in the first round and select Kenneth Murray out of Oklahoma. To me, that is a great pick.

Todd Davis and Josey Jewell are the other inside linebackers on the roster aside from Alexander Johnson, who clearly earned a starting job with his play last year. But a guy like Murray would be a massive upgrade over Davis or Jewell.

The Broncos need an athletic, three-down linebacker that can hold up in pass coverage against teams like the Kansas City Chiefs, who can beat you in so many ways. If Patrick Mahomes see a matchup such as Travis Kelce or one of his running backs on Davis, it’s going to go for a big play. It just is.

Davis is a good tackler and is strong against the run, so he certainly has a place in Vic Fangio’s defense, but he’s not a three-down guy and Jewell might not even make this year’s 53-man roster.

An inside linebacker such as the one described here has been an overall team need for far too long and the position may even appear higher on the list if there were more options that the team could conceivably take in the first round.

Murray and LSU’s Patrick Queen would both be great options and if the Broncos were to take one of them, specifically if they traded back and still made it happen, there wouldn’t be much to complain about.

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