NFL Draft 2019 Denver Broncos Day 2 Picks
The second day of the 2019 NFL Draft saw the Denver Broncos take an offensive lineman and make a trade for a quarterback. They also added some DT depth.
Following on the somewhat curious pick of Noah Fant in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft, the Denver Broncos made some moves and felt good about their day two endeavors.
Coming in, the Broncos needs were many, both lines had issues, inside linebacker needed depth, cornerbacks and tight ends were big question marks.
Honestly, the only places the Denver Broncos seemed to be set with talent were at running back, wide receiver and outside linebacker. Even the outside ‘backer stable could use some depth beyond Von Miller and Bradley Chubb, particularly with the departure of Shaquil Barrett and Shane Ray (technically, Ray is an UFA but Denver is not going to sign the third-year player).
Further, Bradley Roby is gone and Chris Harris has drawn a line in the sand regarding his contract status.
The Broncos did address tight end with their first round selection of Noah Fant, a superior athlete with size and speed but still the second-best at his position at Iowa and maybe a bit of a reach for John Elway and the Broncos front-office staff.
The QB reins have been handed to journeyman Joe Flacco, a player John Elway claims is entering his prime at age 34 but a quick analysis shows that Flacco has a lifetime QBR of 84.1 while the man he is replacing, Case Keenum has a lifetime mark of 84.5. In the AFC West, Derek Carr sports a 88.8 rating, Philip Rivers 95.6 and Patrick Mahomes 111.7.
The NFL Big Boys like Tom Brady (97.6), Aaron Rodgers (103.1), Ben Roethlisberger (94.2) and Russell Wilson (100.3) all dwarf the accomplishments of Flacco. In fact, Joe’s biggest accolade, the 2012 Super Bowl MVP can be directly attributed to a busted play by the Denver Broncos’ Rahim Moore.
In the end, the status of both lines is what will drive the success/failure of this year’s Broncos, if the offensive line can’t improve the quarterback matters little. Denver spent their first pick of the second round on an offensive lineman that could have an immediate impact: