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View Full Version : Did the Broncos Miss Out On the Deal of The Decade?



Cugel
09-27-2008, 01:44 PM
I thought this was a fascinating article in the post today. In the wake of Detroit GM Matt Millen's firing the Post runs down one of the greatest trades that never was.

I'm not saying that things turned out terribly for the Broncos but it's interesting to speculate about how close the Broncos came to pulling off a coup, taking advantage of poor Matt Millen's low-intellect: http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_10573005


The [2007] Broncos-Lions trade involving [Dre] Bly would have grown into a blockbuster had Millen not changed his mind overnight. After exchanging ideas for weeks, here was the initial, agreed-upon trade proposal: The Broncos would have sent middle linebacker Al Wilson, right tackle George Foster, running back Tatum Bell, their No. 21 overall first-round pick and a third-round pick in exchange for Bly, who would replace Darrent Williams at right cornerback, the Lions' No. 2 overall first-round draft pick and the Lions' second-round pick.

Millen said yes. The Broncos said yes. Denver most likely would have taken receiver Calvin Johnson with that No. 2 overall pick, although the Broncos were also discussing left tackle Joe Thomas.

But both sides wanted to sleep on the deal. The next morning, Millen said no, in large part because he didn't like what he saw from Wilson on film.

This was one time when Millen's instincts did not betray him. Turns out, the Lions were watching Wilson play with a neck injury that essentially ended his career. The deal was pared down. The Lions got Foster, Bell and a fifth-round pick in exchange for Bly and a sixth-round pick.

It's true what they say about how the best deals are often the ones not made. Had the Broncos wound up with Johnson, who was going to team with a healthy and productive Javon Walker, Brandon Marshall might not have developed into "The Beast" he's become.

If Matt Millen hadn't gotten cold feet, the Broncos would have unloaded Al Wilson when he still had trade value, before his neck injury ended his career. That alone would have made the deal a total steal. Then add trading stiffs like George Foster, Tatum Bell and getting something in return would have made it even better.

But, the question is: "would the Broncos have screwed themselves by taking Calvin Johnson with the #2 pick, or would they have done the smart thing and taken LT Joe Thomas?"

If they had taken Johnson, it might have worked out, but they would probably never have drafted Brandon Marshall who is shaping up to become the best WR in the NFL, and only cost the Broncos a 4th round pick, and they might well have taken Marshall anyway to serve as a backup or #2 WR.

It's true that Ryan Clady is performing brilliantly, but T Joe Thomas stepped right in to start at LT for Cleveland, played brilliantly from the word go, and became the rookie of the year last year. Having Joe Thomas starting at LT in his second year for the Broncos this season certainly wouldn't have hurt them at all. He might be even better than Clady in the end, although I think both will be great franchise LTs for a lot of years, barring injury.

But, if they took Joe Thomas, the deal would have enabled the Broncos to use their #1 pick this year on someone other than a LT. Possibly, they would have traded it and moved back, or else they would have tried to trade up and grab a DT ahead of the Saints, who took Sedrick Ellis at #7. That would have filled a gaping need on the Broncos defense.

Or the Broncos could have taken RB Jonathan Stewart who went to the Panthers with the next pick. He might work out to be a good selection, although the Broncos are high on Torain. He's very injury prone however, and might never be the runner they hope he could become if he can't stay healthy.

For one thing, if this deal HAD gone through, the Broncos would NOT have drafted DE Jarvis Moss, which means they would NOT have wasted a 3rd round pick to move up from #21 to #17 to draft him (in fact they would have traded that pick to Detroit). That would have been an extra bonus.

Given that the Broncos wasted that 3rd rounder anyway just to move up 4 places and make sure of getting Moss, using the pick to move up to #2 seems like a much better deal.

Right now Moss is looking like a probable bust. The jury's still out on that but he's stuck behind Dumervil at RT and that doesn't look to change anytime soon.

Can any of you really see him ever becoming a starter on this team? He's not big or strong enough to start at LE and he's not better than Dumervil, and he makes a lot more money. So he's likely languish on the bench a l lot and then be cut or traded when his rookie contract expires.

He's been inactive and invisible when active. So, not having drafted him would be a bonus from the biggest trade that never was.

broncobryce
09-27-2008, 01:49 PM
Maybe I'm biased, but I will take Marshall over Johnson and Clady over Thomas----barely. :beer:

Northman
09-27-2008, 01:55 PM
We have Marshall and Royal. Hindsight is fine but Johnson hasnt made that much of a impact for them yet. In fact, i would say Royal has been more of a factor for us right now than Johnson has been for them.

Requiem / The Dagda
09-27-2008, 01:58 PM
Can't really help the fact that Millen ended up saying no. That'd of been a crazy deal for sure. *shrugs*

MOtorboat
09-27-2008, 01:58 PM
We have Marshall and Royal. Hindsight is fine but Johnson hasnt made that much of a impact for them yet. In fact, i would say Royal has been more of a factor for us right now than Johnson has been for them.

Ask yourself this...what if he takes Thomas, and that frees him up to take Mendenhall/Stewart this year...and we may still have had Marshall.

Cugel
09-27-2008, 01:59 PM
I wouldn't argue against that, but what are your reasons?

One reason would be that Clady as the #11 pick is making a lot less money than Joe Thomas as the #3 pick. But, when Clady's rookie contract expires they'll have to pay him the moon anyway as a franchise LT. Good franchise LTs simply are NEVER let go by their teams. And pro-bowl caliber ones, NEVER, EVER.

They would cost the earth, the moon and Jupiter put together if they ever hit the market anyway.

Best case scenario: Calvin Johnson AND Brandon Marshall in 2007. Clady in 2008.

Now imagine Clady at LT, plus a 3 WR set with Johnson, Marshall and Eddie Royal in the slot! :eek:

That would put the FEAR in some defenses!

Requiem / The Dagda
09-27-2008, 02:01 PM
Don't forget that extra second rounder in the deal too. . . *yanks*

Northman
09-27-2008, 02:04 PM
Ask yourself this...what if he takes Thomas, and that frees him up to take Mendenhall/Stewart this year...and we may still have had Marshall.


We would still be in the hole defensively so at this point its basically a wash.

Northman
09-27-2008, 02:05 PM
That would put the FEAR in some defenses!

We already put fear in them, how much more could you really add to scare them more? Not much at this point.

hamrob
09-27-2008, 02:07 PM
Johnson would have been a beast in Denver with Jay Cutler. I really think the Rice comparisons would have been there...because he would have been 100x better off in a winning organization. Having said that...I'd take Marshall over any WR in the NFL right now. Not only is he a freak today....but his potential is unlimited!

Clady vs. Thomas is virtually a push...however, Clady really is better suited for our offense than is Thomas. I like how things turned out...pretty much...with Moss being the exception. Now...if we would have used that #2 to trade back and get a veteran defensive lineman and a guy like Willis...then hmmm! We would have still taken Marshall, Clady, Royal etc. and gotten great value for the #2....like a pro-bowl DE/DT plus Willis.

It's always nice to dream...but I like what we've done...despite Moss/Crowder!

Requiem / The Dagda
09-27-2008, 02:07 PM
We already put fear in them, how much more could you really add to scare them more? Not much at this point.

I heard Millen would have done the deal if we'd of put in Nate Jackson. The NFL's most feared player. :cool:

dogfish
09-27-2008, 02:09 PM
If they had taken Johnson, it might have worked out, but they would probably never have drafted Brandon Marshall


brandon marshall was drafted in 2006. . . .

studbucket
09-27-2008, 02:20 PM
brandon marshall was drafted in 2006. . . .

Yeah, I was just getting ready to say that. If we picked Johnson, we would have had Megatron and Marshall...wow. I'm not sure how anyone could have been down on this deal, we would have lost essentially nothing, and gotten a whole lot.

Northman
09-27-2008, 02:22 PM
Yeah, I was just getting ready to say that. If we picked Johnson, we would have had Megatron and Marshall...wow. I'm not sure how anyone could have been down on this deal, we would have lost essentially nothing, and gotten a whole lot.

And im already saying we have a whole lot so what difference does it make?

nevcraw
09-27-2008, 02:40 PM
Deal would have voided the minute Wilson took his physical.
Also not sure if the deal would habe netted any better production than we have now, but certainly a much heftier financial investment.

MOtorboat
09-27-2008, 02:41 PM
Deal would have voided the minute Wilson took his physical.
Also not sure if the deal would habe netted any better production than we have now, but certainly a much heftier financial investment.

It was Millen. We were hoping he'd forget about the physical.

DenBronx
09-27-2008, 03:14 PM
wilson failed like 3 physicals for 3 teams then retired. dont think this deal would have happened.

i think we would have taken joe thomas though. i would have loved to see stewart as a bronco. then we still have the extra 3rd (that we gave away for moss) and a 2nd. could have been really interesting. one things for sure....i love the chemistry of this team right now. i think its more suited for clady anyway. this topic should be brought up around week 14 so we can evaluate royal, torain, clady compared to stewart, thomas and johnson.

studbucket
09-27-2008, 03:17 PM
And im already saying we have a whole lot so what difference does it make?

We would have gotten what we already got + some more. How is that a bad thing? Nobody is mourning over missing out on this deal, because it was outside of our control, but I fail to see how the deal would have been a bad thing aside from possible salary cap concerns.

Poet
09-27-2008, 03:48 PM
Ask yourself this...what if he takes Thomas, and that frees him up to take Mendenhall/Stewart this year...and we may still have had Marshall.

Then you end up with maybe the best offense in the league (when comparing it to teams who are healthy.)

Gamechanger
09-27-2008, 04:03 PM
if it woulda gone down.......hmmmm, alot of people would say in unison when playin ya'll:

"this is some horse shit"

Simple Jaded
09-27-2008, 04:03 PM
Jarvis Moss was "Allegedly" Jim Bates fault, so if he wouldn't have been "Allegedly" given Moss, who's to say he wouldn't have "Allegedly" screwed up with his second choice.

But then again, maybe Shanahan is the one to blame for drafting Moss and Bates is the one being used to wipe peoples anus.

As far as Moss ever becoming a starter, considering the starters they have now, I don't see why he and Crowder couldn't challenge for a spot in the future.

Engelberger is just a solid backup at best and Dumervil isn't exactly Simon Fletcher these days either, if the coaches had any sense the starting both DE's jobs would have more of an open competition......

honz
09-27-2008, 04:29 PM
Unfortunately, not even Millen is that dumb.

Traveler
09-27-2008, 07:17 PM
Yeah, I was just getting ready to say that. If we picked Johnson, we would have had Megatron and Marshall...wow. I'm not sure how anyone could have been down on this deal, we would have lost essentially nothing, and gotten a whole lot.

Walker was here too. Might have made for some nice trade bait.

SmilinAssasSin27
09-27-2008, 10:37 PM
Could that #2 have been Posluszny???

sneakers
09-28-2008, 02:05 AM
Yes, and John Elway could have been a raider too.

OMorange&blue
09-28-2008, 08:24 AM
I wouldn't argue against that, but what are your reasons?

One reason would be that Clady as the #11 pick is making a lot less money than Joe Thomas as the #3 pick. But, when Clady's rookie contract expires they'll have to pay him the moon anyway as a franchise LT. Good franchise LTs simply are NEVER let go by their teams. And pro-bowl caliber ones, NEVER, EVER.

They would cost the earth, the moon and Jupiter put together if they ever hit the market anyway.

Best case scenario: Calvin Johnson AND Brandon Marshall in 2007. Clady in 2008.

Now imagine Clady at LT, plus a 3 WR set with Johnson, Marshall and Eddie Royal in the slot! :eek:

That would put the FEAR in some defenses!

Marshall was drafted in 06 w Cutler.

anton...
09-28-2008, 09:11 AM
hindsight is always 20-20...

but im glad we are where we are...

Retired_Member_001
09-28-2008, 10:26 AM
brandon marshall was drafted in 2006. . . .

Exactly.

CJ and BMarsh would be the best receiving duo in the league. I don't care what anybody says, they would need to develop first of course, but they would eventually become legendary. To be honest, I don't think it would be anyone but CJ at #2.

Broncolingus
09-28-2008, 11:26 AM
brandon marshall was drafted in 2006. . . .

The 2006 draft has been VERY good for Denver...