With the emergence of Garrett Bolles, The Denver Broncos are a quarterback away from contention.
They have very underrated weapons, an improving offensive line, and a top 10 defense, but Drew Lock does not seem to be that guy.
Not only is his play mediocre but his on-field antics do not reflect those of a franchise quarterback.
Long story short, they should trade any of these draft picks I am about to talk about, for Deshaun Watson, but that conversation could be a whole other article in itself so I will just focus on their positions of need in this year’s draft.
Highest-graded tackles of 2020:
1. David Bakhtiari – 90.6
2. Trent Williams – 90.0
3. Garrett Bolles – 89.4 pic.twitter.com/J4zoDwdh8Z— PFF (@PFF) December 1, 2020
1. Cornerback
Unfortunately, for Denver, 25% of their schedule for the next 15 years will feature either Justin Herbert or Patrick Mahomes.
Secondary and pass rush will be a crucial component in stopping both of these quarterbacks.
Just look at how poorly the Chiefs offense played in seven out of their eight quarters in the past two super bowls; both games Mahomes was pressured all day long and had few open receivers.
He and the entire offense looked sluggish for both of those games, except for the 4th quarter in super bowl 54 against San Francisco.
The Broncos have an elite slot corner in Bryce Callahan and an elite safety in Justin Simmons, so a lockdown guy on the outside would make them a scary secondary.
They have the 9th pick in the draft which means only one or zero corners will have been taken off of the board.
Patrick Surtain out of Alabama is a very polished prospect that has a massive body of work against top-level competition; he is 6’2″ and plays with very sound technique.
He has a high floor.
Jaycee Horn (South Carolina) and Caleb Farley (Virginia Tech) are the other two options for the Broncos with this pick and they are a bit higher risk but higher reward than Surtain.
Horn is a physical corner with good ball skills that has improved every year of his college career, he could be a better tackler though, especially given his 205-pound frame.
Caleb Farley has the highest ceiling out of all three, he has a rare blend of speed, size, and ball skills.
He played receiver to begin his college career, but then made the switch to corner; fortunately, he is an ultra-polished prospect considering he has only played corner for the last few years.
His makeup speed cannot be taught and against Tyreek Hill he will need it.
Highest-graded CBs in zone coverage since 2019:
1. Caleb Farley, VA Tech – 91.0
2. Roger McCreary, Auburn – 89.6
3. Patrick Surtain II, Bama – 87.6
4. Zech McPhearson, TTU – 86.2 pic.twitter.com/yvnpzI6MFB— PFF Draft (@PFF_College) February 10, 2021
2. Interior Offensive Line
The Broncos have two quality backs in Melvin Gordon and Phillip Lindsay, but their line struggles to get a push up the middle.
Guys like Wyatt Davis (Ohio State) and Alijah Vera-Tucker (USC) would be a great addition to the Broncos front and could hopefully take some pressure off of Drew Lock
I would go with Wyatt Davis over AVT here because Davis is the better run blocker.
He has been a road grater for outstanding Ohio State run games the past few years, something the Broncos could really benefit from.
3. Quarterback
#Broncos' Legendary Hall-of-Famer Makes Bold Claim on Pursuing QB Deshaun Watsonhttps://t.co/QDDeikmT7l pic.twitter.com/BEZDbducXG
— Denver Broncos On Sports Illustrated (@BroncosOnScout) February 5, 2021
While I think Denver does ultimately decide to give Lock one more year, I hope for their sake that they take one of the top four prospects if they do not trade for Watson.
Lawrence going number one is a done deal, but Lance, Wilson, and Fields are all up for grabs, at least as of now.
The Broncos could trade for the Dolphins or Eagles pick to try to snag one of those three guys.
If they really wanted to, they could keep Lock and make it a competition.
I honestly like that idea because you could even let your first-rounder sit a few games this year and learn from Lock’s mistakes.
NEXT: What Happened To Tim Tebow? (Complete Story)
