The Perfect Draft: Denver Broncos

With the draft approaching, we ignore projections and identify the dream scenario for each team in a series we call The Perfect Draft.

From Mike Shanahan's firing to the Jay Cutler trade, the Broncos are almost unrecognizable from the team that finished last season. After three playoff-less seasons, that may not be a bad thing.

The upheaval does make it difficult to predict where they'll look on draft day, however. A new coach and general manager running their first draft don't have a track record to use as a guide, which should make the Broncos a team to watch on April 25.

The Ideal Pick

With two first-round picks and six of the first 114 picks overall, the Broncos have serious leverage to go up and get almost any player that strikes their fancy. Post-Cutler, most of that focus lands on quarterback Mark Sanchez, but that doesn't seem like the move Josh McDaniels wants to make. McDaniels seems like a guy who thinks he can win with Kyle Orton, Chris Simms or a middle-round draft pick, so long as they buy into what he's trying to do. Because of that, and because the Broncos defensive front seven remains dreadful, Tyson Jackson of LSU becomes the guy.

Jackson would shore up an incredibly thin defensive end position and he's big enough to shift inside on passing downs to make room for another pass rusher up front. A pass rusher like USC's Brian Cushing, perhaps. Cushing can play inside or outside in the 3-4, which helps flesh out a front seven that's in serious flux. Both players have the kind of versatility that McDaniels and defensive coordinator Mike Nolan need to patch the holes in their defense and both would represent tremendous value if the Broncos hold on to both first-round picks.

Other Needs

Here's where we get back to quarterback, because the Broncos will take at least one over the final six rounds of the draft. Given his work with Matt Cassel and preference of Orton to Jason Campbell, you'd expect McDaniels to target quarterbacks whose accuracy trumps their arm strength. Brian Hoyer of Michigan State could fit the bill or McDaniels could opt for the athletic Stephen McGee from Texas A&M.

Otherwise, defensive needs will carry the day. Champ Bailey won't be able to play forever, neither will Brian Dawkins, so the secondary will need to be addressed at some point. Safeties like Patrick Chung and Chip Vaughn could learn a lot playing behind Dawkins, while Asher Allen could be groomed to one day replace fellow Georgia product Bailey on the outside. Throw in a nose tackle and another pass-rushing prospect while you're at it, and you've got a lot of pieces to put in play on a defense that's building for the future.