Broncos' draft, all there
By Woody Paige
The Denver Post
Article Last Updated: 02/18/2008 01:12:52 AM MST
If I'm in charge of the Broncos, I offer the Cincinnati Bengals Travis Henry, Javon Walker and my first-round draft choice for Chad Johnson.
If I'm in charge of the Bengals, I tell that fool in charge of the Broncos to seek psychiatric counseling.
OK, so that idea doesn't work. I've got a million more, some somewhat compos mentis.
In regard to the NFL draft, I possess the 12th and 42nd picks for the Broncos. I trade down in the first round and up in the second round.
I use my late first-round selection for 280-pound Clemson defensive end Phillip Merling and my early second-round selection for athletic Oklahoma inside linebacker Curtis Lofton. Each is an early junior opt-out. Both will play in their first season and become serious players by their second season.
Now I have kids Jarvis Moss, Tim Crowder, Marcus Thomas and Merling on my defensive line with third-year Pro Bowl type Elvis Dumervil and assorted veterans, and my linebacking corps has D.J. Williams and Nate Webster (Ian Gold will be gone), bolstered by Lofton. And I've already got in my secondary all-world Champ Bailey, Dre Bly, Domonique Foxworth, Karl Paymah, Hamza Abdullah and (most likely) John Lynch.
I haven't broken the bank on defense with the youngsters.
I feel like Ron Popeil, the infomercial king. I'm not finished.
I draft in the fourth round Colorado linebacker Jordon Dizon. I'll never regret the decision.
I sign as free agents Corey Williams, the interior pass rusher, late of the Packers, linebacker Boss Bailey (younger brother of Champ) of the Lions and — get ready for this — Lance Briggs of the Bears. Even if I can lure only two of the three to Denver, I'm ecstatic.
I've got myself and the Broncos a defense — young enough, mean enough, talented enough, with enough leaders. They'll deny you; I defy you.
On offense, I don't need a quarterback or a tight end. I've got Jay Cutler and the Daniel Graham/Tony Scheffler combination. I can relax there.
First, I bring in Henry and tell him he owes me big time for everything that happened in the past season. He already has admitted such publicly. I can't get rid of him, and he's a salary-cap albatross, so I go with him and Selvin Young, who is, unfortunately, "injury prone," and use a fifth pick on an injured running back who will, as others, develop in this runner-friendly system.
Second, I bring in Walker and tell him I know he wants out of here, but he's going nowhere until 2009, so he should just embrace the situation as the No. 2 receiver (behind Brandon Marshall and ahead of Brandon Stokley) and catch as catch can. And I remind him of how much money he makes.
Third, I draft an offensive lineman third. I didn't have a third-round pick until the deals trading up and down in the first two rounds. I pick center Steve Justice of Wake Forest, who will back up and eventually replace Tom Nalen.
Fourth, I sign free-agent wide receiver Justin Gage of the Titans, who had an impressive game (six receptions, 66 yards) in Denver on "Monday Night Football," or Bryant Johnson, who hasn't gotten his due, time or cash with the Cardinals.
Fifth, and most important on offense, I put the hard rush on Steelers free-agent linemen Alan Faneca and Max Starks. Faneca is a seven-time Pro Bowler (think Hall of Famer Gary Zimmerman as a guard), and Starks is a — get this — 6-foot-8, 337-pound tackle. He's coming off a knee injury, but Starks is only 26, and he would be the future replacement for the retiring Matt Lepsis. Try to get past The Great Wall of Starks.
Add to the equation that my defensive and offensive coordinators — no great shakes either — are out, and I face a relatively easy schedule: probably without a game in Europe, few on Sunday, Monday or Thursday nights and only five against playoff teams — with home games against Buffalo, Miami, New Orleans, Tampa Bay and Jacksonville and the usual suspects from the AFC West, and road games at Kansas City, Oakland and San Diego, and Atlanta, New York (Jets, not Giants), Cleveland, Carolina and, alas, New England.
If I'm in charge of the Broncos and I can do all that, I'm feeling pretty good on Feb. 18, 2008, even without a trade with Cincinnati for Johnson.
Call me crazy.
Wwwd?
Originally Posted by Buff
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