Today's questions about the Broncos comes from Brett Braman in Eugene, Ore. Send your questions via e-mail to
jlegwold@denverpost.com.
Q: After selecting Von Miller to shore up the linebacking corps, did the Broncos consider trading back into the middle of the first round when they saw defensive tackle Nick Fairley sliding down the draft board? I know the front office preferred to acquire more picks instead of trading them away, but with a talent like Fairley, wouldn't it have been worth it? That would have been quite a haul on the first day.
A: Brett, both executive vice president of football operations John Elway and coach John Fox said following the draft they certainly had interest in getting back into the first round because the run on quarterbacks was pushing other players down the board.
Fairley was one of those players.
But that plan posed two difficulties for the Broncos. First, the Broncos would have had to get in front of Detroit at No. 13.
The Lions had their eyes on Fairley as well — as soon as he moved out of the top five — because they believed they might have a chance at the Auburn star once quarterbacks started to come off the board. Despite not being a need position, having selected Ndamukong Suh in last year's draft, the Lions saw Fairley as a best player available.
Lions coach Jim Schwartz said Fairley was simply too good to pass up.
Also hindering the Broncos, before they made their trade with the 49ers to acquire picks in the fourth and fifth rounds,
was the fact that Denver didn't have much to trade without dipping into next season's picks.
With all of the roster holes and the amount of time this rebuilding job could take, they didn't want to lose too many of their draft picks moving forward.
Fox deemed it "too expensive" at that point to try to get in position to get Fairley.