Denver Broncos 7-round mock draft: Sifting through latest rumors

I told you in the previous pick that the Denver Broncos could be looking for “upgrades” at the linebacker position and I want to make good on that promise here.

After trading down in the first round of this mock draft to accumulate picks, I jumped up 14 spots here from the 40th pick (2nd round) to the 26th pick with the Cleveland Browns in order to double up on the linebacker position.

The Denver Broncos, along with the rest of the NFL world, just saw what having a ton of speed and athleticism at the second level of defense can do for you against the best of the best, and when you look at the way Vic Fangio’s defense has played against Kansas City you can’t help but wonder if these kinds of assets could be the missing pieces.

Baron Browning is a ridiculous talent at the linebacker position athletically, right up there with Jamin Davis.

When you talk about explosiveness, quickness, range, instincts — this guy’s got it all.

While Jamin Davis is more of your traditional off-ball linebacker, Browning combines his off-ball skills with some excellent pass rush abilities off the edge.

He can set the edge, blitz, cover — he can do it all.

When you put him in combination with a guy like Jamin Davis? You’ve got your linebacker spots figured out for years to come, and you’ve got two guys who really don’t have to come off the field. Having a player like Browning would allow the Broncos to keep him on the field even in their nickel or dime alignment and just move him closer to the line of scrimmage, playing him as a rusher.

Even if the Broncos don’t use multiple first-round picks at linebacker, the possibility of overhauling the position with two elite athletes like this at one of the deepest position groups in this class is very intriguing.