No team has me scratching my head over their draft picks than the Denver Broncos. Denver started out the 2009 season like a house on fire, winning their first 6 games, but falling back in the second half of the season to finish 8-8.
Then the offseason started. Denver went out and traded their best wide receiver in Brandon Marshall and their tight end in Tony Scheffler. They traded for Brady Quinn a year after trading Jay Cutler for Kyle Orton. What was once a high octane offense had been reduced to a sub-compact.
Denver was active in trading, and when Rolando McClain went to Oakland at #8 they traded down in the first round, then traded back up. The Broncos had a chance to draft both Dez Bryant and Jimmy Clausen, and did not make the moves.
Instead, the Broncos selected Demaryius Thomas and Tim Tebow. Thomas is still recovering from a broken foot, and everyone has seen Tebow as a development project. Considering the players they had at those positions, and the ones they could have drafted, these picks don't make a lot of sense.
The Broncos did address their offensive line with Zane Beadles and J.D. Walton, and added depth at the receiver position with Eric Decker. The area they did not address was the defensive front 7. Denver gave up almost 26 points per game in the last 10 games of 2009, and unless their free agent additions can fill the gaps on defense the Broncos could be in for a long season.
A sleeper pick for Denver looks to be Perrish Cox, and talented cornerback from Oklahoma State. But he has had plenty of off-field problems, which makes you wonder why they passed on Dez Bryant if they didn't draft him for similar reasons.
Draft Grade: D
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