The Denver Broncos entered day two of the 2021 NFL Draft with two selections — 40 and 71 overall. George Paton moved around the board and wound up with picks 35, 98, and 105.
If two picks is good, three is better.
Since Paton was hired as the Denver Broncos’ general manager, he has been talking about his desire to add “darts” to throw, meaning he wants more picks. He has, so far, increased his total of picks from 9 to 10, and he may have “won” day two of the NFL Draft.
After their surprising selection of Pat Surtain II in the first round of the draft, George Paton and the Denver Broncos’ front office set out to really make an impact on day two and that’s exactly what they did.
Paton traded up from the 40th pick to 35th with the Atlanta Falcons, giving up a fourth-round pick (114th) but also recouping a sixth-round pick (219th) in the process.
After that trade up the board, Paton traded down not once but twice in the third round, first from 71st to 76th (with the Giants), getting a fifth-round selection (164th) back. Then, Paton traded pick number 76 overall to the New Orleans Saints for picks 98 and 105, which is where he wound up staying in round three.
With his three selections on day two, George Paton showed his aggressiveness, he showed he’s no punk when it comes to making trades and getting value, and he got some really good players.
Javonte Williams, RB, North Carolina
We’ve been talking about the Denver Broncos needing to invest a high draft choice in the running back position for quite some time here on Predominantly Orange.
Melvin Gordon is in a contract year. It’s a 17-game season. Phillip Lindsay is gone. The Denver Broncos needed another back who could “carry the load” and Williams is exactly that.
The former North Carolina star is an absolute bruiser who delivers punishing blows to any defender that dares get in his path. A high-school linebacker, Williams’ aggressive style of play has led to him being one of the best tackle-breakers in all of college football.
#Broncos #GM George Paton had 4-5 players on board with first-round grades. That inspired him to trade up for Javonte Williams. From @ESPNStatsInfo: Williams recorded 723 yards after first contact last season, the 2nd-most among FBS rushers. His 51 broken tackles led the nation
— Ed Werder (@WerderEdESPN) April 30, 2021
Because of his ability to break tackles, Williams has drawn some comparisons to Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb, who is one of the NFL’s best at doing just that and maybe the best back in the league right now overall.
Williams gives the Denver Broncos’ young offensive core yet another weapon with star power. How exciting is that?
The Broncos’ offense needed a boost in the backfield, and while Williams is not a burner in terms of speed, he’s elusive and very difficult to bring down on first contact. He’s explosive with burst to the second level and he is an absolute load in the open field.
The Denver Broncos now have two guys who can close out games in Williams and Gordon who can also contribute on all three downs. These two will keep each other fresh, give the Broncos options, and they should rack up a lot of touchdowns.
2. Quinn Meinerz, OL, Wisconsin-Whitewater
Meinerz made himself a lot of fans at the 2021 Senior Bowl when he brought out his big gut and let his personality shine.
As big as this guy’s personality is, his game is even bigger.
Meinerz was projected to land in the second round on day two of the 2021 NFL Draft, but for whatever reason, the centers were not coming off the board as quickly as many expected. Creed Humphrey, the three-year starter at center for the Oklahoma Sooners and one-time projected first-round pick, ended up going in the late second to the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Denver Broncos got themselves a similar value in Meinerz at the bottom of the third round, a small-school player (Wisconsin-Whitewater) whose 2020 season was canceled, but Meinerz’s work was not finished.
He put enough on tape at Wisconsin-Whitewater and the 2021 Senior Bowl where he was dominant against some of the best competition in the country to get the call from the Denver Broncos.
This guy tested above the 90th percentile in just about every athletic metric, he has long arms and big hands for an interior lineman, and he’s as much refined as he is nasty.
Just one year after the Broncos used a third-round pick on Lloyd Cushenberry, you can’t help but wonder if Meinerz is going to get a look for this team as a potential future replacement for Graham Glasgow at the right guard position.
Even then, Netane Muti is another exciting prospect who played well for the Broncos when he got a shot last year.
If the Broncos want to go entirely home-grown, maybe Dalton Risner will move out to right tackle someday and Meinerz, Cushenberry, and Muti will man the interior line.
This selection was awesome for the Denver Broncos, especially at pick 98 overall.
3. Baron Browning, LB, Ohio State
Back in January, doing some scouting for the 2021 NFL Draft, I was watching Ohio State’s Baron Browning and wondering to myself — if Denver Broncos fans like the possibility of Micah Parsons in the first round, why would they not love the possibility of Baron Browning later on at a discounted price?
Just like Parsons in 2018, Browning was the top-ranked linebacker prospect in the country in 2017 coming out of the high school ranks. 247 Sports had Browning as the 11th-best prospect in the country overall, and you saw him utilized in some similar ways at Ohio State as Parsons was at Penn State.
Browning didn’t have the same type of production statistically as Parsons at Penn State, but he certainly has the potential to be as good (or better) in the pros given what we know about Parsons’ off-field question marks.
At 6-foot-3, 240 pounds, Browning looks a lot like Von Miller physically. Frankly, as a pass rusher, Browning might be one of the more naturally talented guys in the 2021 NFL Draft class.
He got the opportunity to showcase that some at Ohio State, but with the Denver Broncos, he’s going to continue to play a versatile role.
Not only will Browning play special teams (though I don’t think he’ll get a shot at kicker, which he said he would play), but he can be an inside linebacker, matchup player in space, he can drop into zone coverage, he can blitz from the inside, and he can rush the passer off the edge.
This guy is a weapon the Denver Broncos can use even if Alexander Johnson and Josey Jewell remain in the starting lineup through 2021.
Just like the other selections in this class, Browning seems to have been drafted at least a round too late. There were some who projected him as a high third-round player, but there was plenty of second-round hype for Browning and because of his athletic upside, there was a time when I thought he’d go in the first round.
The value the Denver Broncos got at every turn on day two was outstanding.
Javonte Williams was a first-round pick in my final mock draft. Quinn Meinerz was a second-round pick to the Rams in my final mock draft. Baron Browning was a second-round pick as well.
Denver Broncos steal Quinn Meinerz, The Gut, in 3rd round
The Denver Broncos traded back twice in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft before stealing Quinn Meinerz out of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
To get all of those guys with picks 35, 98, and 105 while also collecting six picks for day three of the draft? Hat’s off to George Paton in his first draft as GM.