Broncos go to wide receiver well again with Tyrie Cleveland in round 7
The Denver Broncos definitely recognized how badly the team needed wide receivers entering the 2020 NFL draft.
After drafting wide receivers with their first two picks in the draft, the Broncos seemed like they had gotten their wide receiver fix. That was until pick No. 252 came up and the team decided to grab another for good measure, selecting Tyrie Cleveland from Florida.
Cleveland has a good combination of size (6-foot-2, 209 pounds) and speed and has the raw ability to become a good contributor down the road, the question is whether the Broncos can get that talent to come out.
He doesn’t have long speed and his route-running will need some serious work, but he has good length, a solid pair of hands and can go up and get the contested jump balls, a trait that any quarterback loves in his receivers.
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Cleveland came to Florida as a top recruit out of Texas, but never had more than 25 receptions or three touchdowns in any season at the school. He was also arrested as a freshman along with another teammate for firing a BB gun in a dorm hallway, an incident that many will likely talk about in regards to this pick.
To Cleveland’s credit, his record has been clean since that and all indications are that he has grown from it.
Cleveland will be a longshot to make the 53-man roster, but he did get on a team that had serious depth issues at wide receiver, so that gives him a shot. He will need to contribute on special teams to earn a spot for sure.
The Broncos made 10 picks in the 2020 draft and three of them were wide receivers. The team also drafted tight end Albert Okwuegbunam, so there is no doubt that the emphasis on this selection process was to give Drew Lock as much to work with as possible in year two of his young career.