NFL

McDaniels, Broncos Have Dismal 1st Day

Posted Apr 25, 2009 9:45PM By Josh Alper (RSS feed)

Filed Under: Broncos, AFC West, NFL Draft

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Just after the first round ended, FanHouse's Will Brinson worked up a list of the five biggest mistakes of the first 32 picks. Number two with a bullet was the Broncos' decision to choose Georgia running back Knowshon Moreno with the 12th overall pick. Moreno is talented, but he went too early and he failed to address the biggest needs on the Bronco team.

So it was a rough start for Brian Xanders and Josh McDaniels, the new G.M. and coach of the Broncos. Unfortunately, the Broncos were just getting warmed up. The first day of the first McDaniels/Xanders draft was full of questionable moves, and could wind up making 2010's draft another day to forget.

They made a better choice with the 18th pick of the first round. Tennessee's Robert Ayers may have had only one good half out of four college seasons, but he's an impressive athlete who looks like a good fit as a defensive end in their new 3-4 defense. Filling out the front seven of that unit was a must for the Broncos if they hope to contend for anything more than the first overall pick next season.

Of course, they'll need the Bears to crash and burn to actually make such a selection. In a move that qualifies as one of the worst day-one decisions of all, the Broncos dealt their 2010 first-round pick to the Seahawks for the chance to select Wake Forest CB Alphonso Smith. For a team with a new quarterback, new defensive scheme and new front office to deal next year's first-round pick it had better be for a difference making player.

NFL Draft FIrst-Round Picks

    1. Detroit Lions: Matthew Stafford, QB, Georgia

    Jason DeCrow, AP

    2. St. Louis Rams: Jason Smith, OT, Baylor

    Paul Jasienski, Getty Images

    3. Kansas City Chiefs: Tyson Jackson, DE, LSU

    Doug Benc, Getty Images

    4. Seattle Seahawks: Aaron Curry, LB, Wake Forest

    Paul Jasienski, Getty Images

    5. New York Jets (From Cleveland): Mark Sanchez, QB, Southern Cal

    Mark J. Terrill, AP

    6. Cincinnati Bengals: Andre Smith, OT, Alabama

    Sportschrome / Getty Images

    7. Oakland Raiders: Darrius Heyward-Bey, WR, Maryland

    Matt Cilley, AP

    8. Jacksonville Jaguars: Eugene Monroe, OT, Virginia

    Paul Jasienski, Getty Images

    9. Green Bay Packers: B.J. Raji, DT, Boston College

    Jim Rogash, WireImage

    10. San Francisco 49ers: Michael Crabtree, WR, Texas Tech

    Tony Gutierrez, AP


Alas, Smith is not such a player. The Broncos showed no conception of the value of a first-round pick shortly after they were roundly praised for lifting two of them from the Bears in exchange for Jay Cutler. A nice corner, whose size may limit him in the NFL, is not worth what is looking more and more like a top-10 pick next year.

The hits kept on coming. The Broncos selected Texas Tech safety Darcel McBath with the 48th overall pick. McBath plays with a ton of heart, but he isn't big enough to play in the box and isn't fast enough to cover receivers. He would have been right at home with the recent Broncos safeties, but the idea of changing coaches and defenses is to avoid making the same mistakes of the past. The secondary needed help, which it got in free agency, but the Broncos have to upgrade the front seven.

Finally, they traded two third-round picks to get into the last spot of the second round and pick tight end Richard Quinn of North Carolina. Quinn's a good blocker, but poor blocking from the tight ends hasn't really been the thing holding Denver back the last few seasons.

If you haven't already gotten the message, the defensive front seven needs help more than any other spot on the team. The Broncos don't appear to be a better team after the draft's first two rounds, which doesn't say much for the McD aniels/Xanders regime.

Tags: Alphonso+Smith, AlphonsoSmith, Brian+Xanders, BrianXanders, Darcel+McBath, DarcelMcbath, Josh+McDaniels, JoshMcdaniels, Knowshon+Moreno, KnowshonMoreno, Robert+Ayers, RobertAyers

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