TEAM BY TEAM DRAFT NEEDS FOR APRIL'S DRAFT (Denver & Kansas City)
Denver Broncos:
A lot has happened during this off-season for the Denver Broncos. Long time head coach, Mike Shanahan was fired & a new coaching staff led by 32-year old, Josh McDaniel was installed. Disgruntled QB Jay Cutler was traded to the Bears for draft picks & QB Kyle Orton. They cleaned house on the defensive side of the ball which they intend to convert to a 3-4 scheme. Denver released 10 players, 7 of them were defenders. Only one was signed by another team, which speaks to the quality of players they had on defense. The Broncos signed 6 defensive free agents led by former Eagle S, Brian Dawkins. Denver ended the season with 7 running backs on injured reserve, so they signed Correll Buckhalter & J.J. Arrington to bolster the position. QB Chris Simms was brought in to backup Orton & Jabar Gaffney was added to the wide receiver mix. They resigned backup TE, Jeb Putzier & DE Kenny Peterson.
The Broncos really struck gold with a few of their draft picks in 2008. First round selection, LOT Ryan Clady started opening day & only got better as the season progressed. He is a future all-pro. Wide receiver Eddie Royal, tabbed in the 2nd round, was thought to be a reach at the time of the pick, but Royal exceeded even the highest expectations, catching 91 passes for 980 yards & 5 TD's. Kory Lichtensteiger, an interior offensive lineman picked in round 4, showed enough promise to rate more playing time this season. FB Spencer Larsen looked like a player they can count on & RB Peyton Hillis, a 7th rounder, looked very good until he fell victim to injury like so many other Bronco running backs.
Rebuilding this defense is going to take time for new coordinator Mike Nolan. Honestly, cornerback Champ Bailey & linebacker D.J. Williams are about the only starters good enough to retain. The defensive line, now part of a 3-4 defense, is going to need at least 2 starters from this draft. Two or three linebackers & at least one safety would be a good start. Dawkins was one of the best safeties in the league over the last 14 years, but he's near the end & though he's a good stop-gap for now, a replacement is needed sooner rather than later. An effective nose tackle is needed as well & another cornerback to pair with Bailey. Nolan is a fine defensive coach & owner Pat Bowlen has never hesitated to spend the money required to make the team competitive. They'll get there, it's going to take some time.
Kansas City:
Like Denver, the Chiefs have a totally new regime from general manager Scott Pioli on down. The Chiefs will also require some rebuilding on the defense & some help on the offensive line. They're further along than Denver right now, they have their quarterback, 3 quality offensive line starters, a decent secondary and thanks to trades & free agency, they now have 3 of their starting linebackers. Mike Vrabel came along in the Matt Cassel trade & Zach Thomas was signed, giving Kansas City a pair of former Pro Bowl backers. Returning starter Derrick Johnson & former DE Tamba Hali will standup at times at outside linebacker. Ex-Charger Mike Goff moves into the right guard spot & provided LG Brian Waters stays, the Chiefs will have a solid tandem at guard. Veteran Bobby Engram will be the slot receiver, a job he has excelled in for his entire career. But he's near the end of the line as well, 1-2 seasons is about all Todd Haley can expect from Engram. Safeties Jarrad Page & Jon McGraw were resigned, as was C-G Rudy Niswanger plus they announced over the weekend they had resigned WR Jeff Webb for $1.1 million. That last one confused me. Special team standouts, LB Monty Beisel, WR Terrance Copper & LB Darrell Robertson were signed in an effort to upgrade their coverage teams.
Kansas City had 12 picks in the 2008 draft. It was a hit & miss affair. I'd would loved to see Scott Pioli with 12 draft picks, I think the results would have been better than the last Carl Peterson-led draft. The Chiefs selected DT Glenn Dorsey with the 5th overall pick of the 1st round. He had zero impact but I'm going to reserve judgment until he plays in a different scheme. His first year stats were comparable to those of Albert Haynesworth. Is Dorsey another Haynesworth? Certainly not, but I'm not ready to write him off after playing one season on a dreadful defense, with a poor scheme & questionable coaching. Brandon Albert was picked 15th overall & moved from guard to LOT, a position he had played but twice at Virginia. Albert missed nearly all of training camp & the opener but then started the next 15 games & looked like the player they hoped he would be, surrendering only 4 sacks. With the 2nd & 5th picks, cornerbacks Brandon Flowers & Brandon Carr were selected & they played effectively all season. Their performance was especially impressive considering the Chiefs recorded an all-time NFL low for sacks with 10. It's tough covering receivers who can run around forever because your teammates can't get any pressure on the opposing QB. The third round, in which they had 3 picks, didn't go as well as it could have. Jamaal Charles, essentially a 3rd down back, was the first 3rd round pick. Massive TE, Brad Cottam was next & safety DeJuan Morgan was third. A 3rd down back & a safety who is touted as a special teams demon seemed like luxuries at the time. Now that they've all played a full season there's little doubt Kansas City could've done a lot better with players also drafted in round three after they picked Morgan. RB Steve Slaton, league's leading rookie rusher with 1,283 yards, WR's Harry Douglas & Andre Caldwell, both effective receivers & kick returners & Jeremy Zuttah & Chad Rinehart, guards, Zuttah played very effectively for Tampa, even starting the last 5 games. WR Will Franklin, the 4th round pick, was recently released as was TE Michael Merritt for a pot bust. I sincerely doubt sixth round pick, OT Barry Richardson, will ever play for the Chiefs, way too soft & passive. The other 6th rounder, KR Kevin Robinson was hurt for half the season & when he got on the field the last 8 games, he did nothing to excite. The other 7th round pick, DE Brian Johnston, showed some pass rush ability in camp & in preseason games, but succumbed to injury.
When you win 6 games in 2 seasons, it goes without saying the Chiefs need a lot of help on both sides of the ball. Right now, they have but 7 picks & they're without a second rounder, it was used to acquire Mike Vrabel & Matt Cassel. I'm pretty certain Pioli & Haley have decided what the future of Tony Gonzalez, Brian Waters & Larry Johnson will bring. Keeping Tony & Waters would go a long way in helping Matt Cassel get off to a good start as a Chief. If Johnson is released, another RB will have to be drafted as I don't see Charles as a starter & Kolby Smith is coming off knee surgery. A right tackle & center would be nice & personnel who can pass rush & sack the quarterback. A nose tackle would be the other must. This is going to be tough, but this is where Scott Pioli is supposed to shine.
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