The 2022 NFL Draft is less than three weeks away.
For the Denver Broncos, the start of the draft won’t take place until deep into day two of the selection process as their first pick will be the No. 64 overall choice, barring any kind of trade that George Paton may come up with.
But there will still be several talented players on the board with that choice and the team could easily be looking at adding another inside linebacker, a player the Broncos have failed to adequately address for many years.
This offseason, the team chose to re-sign Josey Jewell and bring in Alex Singleton through free agency, but both Alexander Johnson and Kenny Young have yet to be re-signed. Depending on what takes place in the draft, they may not be.
The inside linebacker position is one that the Broncos should absolutely be looking into, especially with the idea of moving second-year linebacker Baron Browning to the outside.
The Broncos probably won’t see all of these players still sitting on the board when they go on the clock toward the end of round two, but at least one of them (and probably more) will be and the Broncos should strongly consider one of these guys if they are there.
Broncos prospect: Leo Chenal, Wisconsin
The Broncos would have to consider it a bargain if Leo Chenal were still available at No. 64 as he is definitely one of the top 63 players in this class.
Big, strong, and physical, Chenal is one of those guys who brings it on every play. He can tend to be a bit too aggressive and because he is a bit bigger, is not the fastest linebacker on the field. But he is a punishing tackler who plays with a high football IQ.
He can blitz at an effective rate and can also drop back and help out in pass coverage, an absolute must for Denver at this position.
In 25 games for the Badgers, Chenal made 178 tackles (25.5 for a loss) and had 11 sacks.
He was named to the Big 10 All-Conference Team last season and also won the Butkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year Award, an award that Jewell also won in 2017.
He could easily be gone by the time the Broncos come up but if he is there, it would be difficult to choose someone else.
Broncos prospect: Quay Walker, Georgia
Quay Walker is a linebacker that has a high ceiling but of the linebackers on this list, may be the most likely to still be on the board as a potential choice for the Broncos.
An elite athlete who played for the national champions, Walker was the best tackler on that team, which is saying something. The ball carrier almost never escapes the grasp of Walker and with his elite speed, they often don’t stand a chance of getting away.
Walker can be a disruptive defensive player with his tackling ability and he can be used in pass-rush situations as well. The aspect of his game that will knock him down the board is that he does seem a bit suspect in pass coverage.
Because of that, he may be just a two-down linebacker to begin his career and the No. 64 overall choice may be a bit too rich for that, at least for the Broncos.
Walker could certainly develop into a player that can stay on the field on passing downs but that does appear to be a skill that will need to be coached up quite a bit at the pro level. He has a ton of upside but that is a question mark.
Broncos prospect: Brandon Smith, Penn State
Brandon Smith is a difficult prospect to evaluate but it does seem that his draft stock has begun to tumble since the first time he began to come across the radars of draft analysts. There was once a time when he was seen as a potential first-round pick.
In Smith, you will get the opposite of what you get from Chenal and Walker in both good and bad ways. Unlike Chenal, Smith is not physically aggressive on each snap. But unlike Walker, Smith can be terrific in pass coverage and his sideline-to-sideline speed is also hard to ignore.
Consistency will be the thing that Paton and his staff have to wonder about if they are to consider Smith. Sometimes he makes a play like he is ready to one day be an All-Pro linebacker and on the very next play, he can be completely out of position or fail to wrap up on a tackle.
He is not the most refined tackler and his hands, which he tends to keep a bit low, will be an area he must focus on.
The talent is there. The athleticism is also clearly evident. But to make it at the professional level, he will need to learn to be a bit more physical a bit more often and improve his ability to stop the ball carrier.
Broncos prospect: Chad Muma, Wyoming
Of the names on this list, this is the one most Broncos fans would probably like to see happen.
Not only did Muma play not too far away at Wyoming in college, but he has Colorado ties, having gone to high school in Parker. But Muma coming to Denver would not just be a nice hometown reunion, this kid can really play.
Named a Third-Team AP All-American last year, Muma would be an absolutely perfect fit for the Broncos. Why is that? It goes beyond the fun story of him being from the area.
Looking at the linebackers in this class, you can easily make the case that Muma is the best tackler in the entire field. His 85 solo tackles in 2021 led the entire nation.
Muma is strong against the run but he is also smart on the field and quite adept at diagnosing plays. He gets off blocks well and is rarely out of position.
That leaves the question of pass coverage.
And the answer there is that Muma can handle his own in that aspect of the game as well. Because of this, he appears to be a true three-down linebacker, which are becoming harder and harder to find, it seems.
Muma would be a fantastic pick for the Broncos but there is a really good chance he won’t be on the board at No. 64 for all the reasons mentioned here. Paton should even consider trading up a few slots if he is still there between the 50-55 range.