As we approach the draft, rumors have increased indicating Denver's desire to trade out of the #2 spot.  If this is true, the value of our pick higes dramatically on Carolina's pick at number 1.  The general conseus is that they will take Cam Newton, but others have said they might opt for Marcell Dareus or AJ Green.  My question is, which scenario (Newton or other) does the most to increase interest in trading up to take our spot, thus raising its value? I've heard varying opinions on this subject, but nothing definitive.

After the jump, I'll describe some of the arguments I've heard in support of both.   

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I was perusing the PFT draft and workout tracker and noticed the the Broncos are taking a very close look at Temple safety Jaiquawn Jarrett by having him in for a privat e workout.  I haven't heard a lot about him, so I did a little research.  Highlights and scouting report after the jump.  I like him as a late round prospect with a ton of upside.  Just a thought for the plethora of mock drafters out there.

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I'll try to post once a week until the draft.  Please note I'm taking these from the following link:

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/03/09/2011-draft-visits-and-workouts-tracker/

* = private workout only; not a visit to team facility.

+ = BOTH private workout and visit to team facility.

Workout and visit dates are in parentheses.

Denver Broncos

*Texas A&M linebacker Von Miller (3/10).

*Portland State tight end Julius Thomas (3/16).

*Baylor guard Danny Watkins (3/17).

*Oklahoma running back DeMarco Murray (3/?).

+LSU cornerback Patrick Peterson (4/?).

We have a new coach in town, and a lot of people are speculating a return to the 4-3 defense.  The question becomes what to do with Elvis Dumervil.  An idea I heard Alfred Williams mention a couple weeks ago sounded like the best I've heard regarding a move to the 4-3, but I wanted to see what other people think.

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Currently I'm in graduate school pursuing a policy degree.  In one of my classes, we have been discussing general policy questions that got me to thinking about the Broncos and Coach McDaniels (though typically I'm zoned out in this 3 hour class thinking about the Broncos anyway).

Today we talked about program implementation and issues associated with it.  We discussed how difficult it can be to institute new programs and complicating factors that can increase implemetation time or foil change efforts.  Anyways, It made me wonder: how long should an NFL coach have to implement his system/philosophy/players before he can be considered ineffective or a failure?

 I firmly believe in what Coach McD is doing and think that we won't have to wait too long before we start seeing consistent results from him, but I wonder how much patience the rest of the Denver fan base and Mr Bowlen will have.

So I pose the question:  How long does McD get to take this team to the playoffs?  I hope he gets us there this year, but if he doesn't this question will become quite prominent.

Apologies if I missed prior discussions about this topic. 

Go Broncos!

Just heard Josh McDaniels interview on the drive with D Mac and Big Al on 104.3 the fan.  Josh talked about why he let Peyton Hillis go (not a good fit), his overall personnel strategy, and, most importantly that his wife gave birth to a baby girl on Tuesday night.  Mother and Baby are doing well and will be returning home tonight.

I'm sure a recording of the interview will be up on the Fan's website shortly.

Go Broncos!

According to Peter King from Sprots Illustrated and Pro Football Talk, the Eagles want to trade up for one of the top two safeties in the draft (Berry or Thomas) using their first round pick (number 24) and one of their other early pucks (numbers 35, 55, and 70) .   PFT thinks that Miami would be a good partner for them with the 12th pick.  The reasoning is that Miami wants to trade down and wants to recoup the second round pick they lost in the Marshall trade. 

I think the Broncos would be ideal partners.  We hold the 11th pick and could be looking to move down as well.  With a trade, we could pick up the 24th overall and still be in the running to pick up Iupati.  We could then add one of their second round picks, which would give us a bevy of second round picks in this very deep draft.

One possible downside, if we assume all the above to be reasonably accurate, is that (according to King) apparently more teams in the middle of the first round are looking at Pouncey.  I would submit that center is a bigger need than guard, so this is something we must consider first.

Thought?

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/04/16/eagles-want-to-trade-up-for-a-safety/

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/peter_king/04/16/five.things/

Hey everyone,

I'm not the most prolific or knowledgeable of posters, but I had a funny idea I thought I might share with you regarding the minor controversy surrounding Earl Thomas.

In the NFL Network "State of the Franchise" segment, Mike Mayock suggested that the Broncos might want to look for a playmaker in the early portions of the draft.  He acknowledged the difficulties we experienced with the interior offensive line but felt there is good value for those positions in the later rounds. The playmaker he thought of was Earl Thomas.

While I believe that we have a lot of good youth and depth at the safety postion, so this initially puzzled me.  However, the post the other day about Joe Haden got me to thinking about the need we currently have at cornerback.  Continuing along this line of thinking, i began wondering about the possibility of drafting Earl Thomas as a corner.  

I lack sufficient knowledge about the physical and mental skills required to play both positions, but i can think of one successful example from a division rival: Nnamdi Asomugha.  He played safety at Cal but made the switch to corner in the NFL.  I don't think anyone would argue that worked out poorly for the Raiders.

Nonetheless, Earl Thomas and Nnamdi Asomugha are two different players and I can't use the success of one to justify taking the other high in the draft, but I think it's an interesting proposition.  What do you think, Bronco fans?

Pretty much expected this....

http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_14679399

A day after trading for quarterback Brady Quinn from Cleveland, the Broncos on Monday cut backup QB Chris Simms.

Simms, who played in parts of two games last season, was set to make $2.54 million next season.

In Week 11, Simms started against the Chargers in Denver. But he was benched after only three series in favor of an injured Kyle Orton. It was just Simms' second start since 2006.

The Broncos now have three quarterbacks on their roster: Orton, Quinn and second-year pro Tom Brandstater.

Orton, who's in Hawaii attending the NFL union meetings, said on Sunday after the Quinn trade: "We've made a lot great moves this offseason and this is another one. (Quinn) is a great player and I'll be happy to work with him."

The other moves Orton referred to were mostly about the Broncos revamping their defensive line with the signings of Jamal Williams, Justin Bannan and Jarvis Green.

Orton said he had to talked to Broncos coach Josh McDaniels before the trade for Quinn was executed.

"I will keep that private but I do have total confidence that I'm the guy there," Orton said. "Just like every year I'm going in to try and earn my starting job. I don't think I have anything to fret."