Denver Broncos roundtable: Which players should team draft in 2021?

Steven Kriz’s “guy”: Zaven Collins, LB, Tulsa

The player I want the Broncos to select in the first round is Zaven Collins, however not at number 9.

The ideal situation is that one of the big four quarterbacks, likely Trey Lance or Justin Fields is sitting there at 9 which would increase the trade value of the Broncos pick. This would force a team such as the Bears to give up a far bigger haul to select a QB than if a less valuable position is on the board.

In this scenario, the Broncos would be walking away with at least a first-round pick and some to drop back and pick my favorite linebacker in the draft in Collins.

In Collins, Denver would be getting a huge-bodied linebacker, standing at 6-foot-4 and coming in at 260 pounds. For such a large linebacker you wouldn’t expect his movement to be as fast and fluid as it is, but when he attacks the ball, he looks as if he is shot out of a cannon.

Collins is a versatile player with the ability to play middle linebacker but also with the quickness to line up on the edge during some exotic looks.  On top of fantastic tacking in the run game, he also possesses fantastic ball skills and the ability to really clog passing lanes with his height and length.

Collins should slide right into the starting lineup alongside Alexander Johnson and would make an already stout defense that much better.  The Broncos couldn’t do much better than walking away with multiple future draft picks, including a first-rounder in 2022 and a game-changing linebacker to fill one of the small weaknesses this defense already has.

Also, watching Broncos Country collectively lose their minds on Twitter with a big 4 QB on the board at 9 and the Broncos passing would be worth a very entertaining side story to track.