AZ54

Best edge rusher in the draft is probably still correct. I still don't think that puts him in the top 10 overall, or in our case the best fit for our needs at #11.

The problem or concern I had with Lee is that he is almost always lined up outside. OSU used him to counter the spread offenses and he's good in coverage. I'm just not sure how his game will translate to playing inside. Yes, Fangio needs ILB who can cover but they still have to be physical and able to move through the trash around the LOS. Considering the 11th overall pick I'd like to feel more confident in who we choose. I think the pundits on TV have it right when they say his best fit is at WLB and Lee might be great in Brigg's old-role. Who impressed me in the LB drills was the slimmed down Ragland. We all focus on the forty time, I think he ran a 4.7, but when watching him in drills his lateral movement was very quick. He'll have some limitations in coverage because he can't turn and run like Lee, but he's going to give you the negative plays that a defense needs in order to get off the field and our run defense immediately goes up a couple notches. Among the 1st Rd LB I still prefer Myles Jack overall but if it were a choice between Lee's speed or Ragland I think I'd take Ragland. IIRC, Chris Borland played well in his single season under Fangio and he was slower than Ragland, definitely more quick than fast. Pair Ragland up with Trevathan and we'd be much better in the middle.

Had to get out the search party to find much about him. He looked good against Ohio State on some plays but I'm at a loss as to why his coaches had him playing DE in 3-4 alignment. Must have been a case of getting their best players on the field. He's not built to battle inside against OG/OTs but all things considered (like his 235lbs) he held up well. When he gets lined up outside and can use his speed he's tougher to block. Seems like a good prospect for day 3 in the draft.

Spence didn't impress me today. What he did at the combine matched what I saw on his tape, he's just not that explosive off the line.

There are your targets in FA. I don't mind signing two of those preferably Howard and Williams. Then add an early draft pick to the mix. The rest of the group Ferguson, Sutton, Unrein/Jenkins (if we bring either back), and Cornelius Washington compete for a job.

I was just thinking Fairley would compete to be part of the rotation. I couldn't guarantee him a starting job, nor starting money.

I don't know what his market will be in FA but Bruce Irvin might be an interesting player to add at OLB. I think he's too one dimensional and I'm not interested in over-paying him.

Some good words on Doughty... http://www.si.com/nfl/2016/02/27/NFL-combi...ghty-Jared-Goff

Vitale impressed me with his performance at the combine. He has a lot more short area quickness than I expected and that vertical leap for a big FB is impressive. The 4.6 forty doesn't hurt either. Adding him into the mix with Langford and Carey would make a nice versatile group of RBs. The opposite end of the spectrum is a guy like Tyler Ervin who can also return kicks. Do we want to add speed or power?

I was able to watch some of the early group of QBs. I agree with your observations on Hackenberg and Adams. Combine stuff for QBs is a small piece of the puzzle so I don't put much stock into. As a late round QB Adams intrigues me. He'd be ranked much higher if he were taller but other than that he can do it all. The only caveat for me about his size is that he's not particularly fast or evasive. You'd like to have that in a QB who might have to get out of the pocket to find a passing lane. I'm just not a fan of Connor Cook. Briskett is just slow at everything he did, running, throwing, walking. Cardale Jones arm strength and accuracy are good but more and more it seems he can't handle the mental aspects of the QB position. When we narrow it down to day 3 prospects there was one other QB who caught my eye and that was Jeff Driskel. He's fast, very good athlete overall. I thought he threw the ball well. Reading up on him shows he's had some struggles but it would be interesting to know if those were maturity based (i.e. not putting in the time/effort) or just limits on what he can read on the field. http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players...45/jeff-driskel

Buckner, Washington, Butler, and of course Jones I think would be immediate help on the Dline. Kaufusi doesn't appear to be strong enough to hold up inside and isn't quick enough on the outside. At least on the outside he's not offering anything we don't already have in our current crop of OLB. He's a good versatile player and has the size to add more bulk for 3-4 DE I just think that'll take a year or two see on field. But why is he so slow off the snap? He wants to stand up right away instead of moving forward with good body lean. A coach should be able to help with that but if not, in the NFL OG's will just move him backwards off the line. I'm not big on A'Shawn Robinson in the first round but if he were there with our 2nd pick that'd be a good pick. I like his teammate better, Jaran Reed who hustles all over the field. If we get Robinson in the 2nd Rd, even if he's not providing much pass rush he's got the talent to eat up blocks and get some push up the middle. The tools are there for him to be more productive so maybe Fangio and Co. can help him reach his potential. Oakman is a paper tiger. I want nothing to do with him. Carl Nassib gets pushed around too much for my liking. Dodd is a good football player, I like him, but, much like Kaufusi, with the Dline talent in this draft why grab someone that isn't a perfect fit for what we need (3-4 DE) when there are better options available in the first couple rounds?

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/nfl-dra...-multiple-teams

He's not fast, but he has a bit of a burst or quickness to his first step. I still think Chris Jones fits the scheme: http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/footb...0227-story.html "Finding linemen who fit the scheme is challenging, Pace said, because many college defenses prioritize shooting gaps and penetrating, an approach generally more suited to a 4-3 front." "When we're looking at these 3-4 defensive linemen, we're looking at guys who can take on blocks with their hands," Pace said. "And they have length to separate and shed, and they're stout."

Been thinking about Fairley as a decent 2nd option (i.e. sign 2 FAs) for the Dline. I'd like to see Pace explore this option in the 2nd wave of FA. Fairley's upside is better than Jenkins, or Unrein (I still like Unrein). His floor might be tougher to predict but I think he'd be more productive than Will Sutton.

Nerve damage....that's horrible news for Smith. Early reports were that there was no nerve damage. I'm guessing his camp released that information indicating that there should be no lasting nerve damage. For me it takes him off the board completely right now simply due to the questions about how severe the nerve injury was. Not to mention the lack of depth on this team. I'm not sure how well an exam can decipher the extent of the nerve damage so there are big questions here. However, I'd visit him again closer to the draft to see how he's progressing. From what little I've read today, nerves heel slowly, about 1-2mm per day but I'd have to see some good signs of progress to put him back on the board. It seems most likely that he should regain full use of that leg but there's a good chance it will never function the same again. No doubt he has the best medical care he can get and treatments improve quickly these days. http://ravallirepublic.com/lifestyles/heal...1a4bcf887a.html However many weeks/months it will take the nerves to heal will just delay the rehab he has to do for the ligament injuries, either in part or entirely. So you're not just writing off this season, you don't know what you'll have next season either. If he's getting better in 6 weeks perhaps 5th or 6th Rd? We just have too many needs to invest anything higher than that IMO. Even a player like Tyler Ervin in 4th/5th Rd could likely contribute.

I still like Tyler Ervin as PR/KR and 3rd down RB, slot WR.

I thought I should pull Ian Williams situational stats since I did this for Malik Jackson. Where Jackson faded significantly in the 4th quarter Williams improves. Tot Tackles 1st Q: 14 2nd Q: 10 3rd Q: 20 4th Q: 21 He only has 1 sack so he isn't going to contribute there but he will be solid throughout the game right up to the end where he's needed most.

3rd ranked but that was achieved with elite talent around him. I can't recall seeing him make any type of plays where he looked like a dominant player among the several Broncos games I watched. Against Chicago his stat line was an impressive 0-0-0. His situational stats indicate a player who tires out easily, or gets taken out of the game. There's a big drop from 1st quarter performance to 2nd quarter. Then again 3rd quarter to an almost non-existant stat line in the 4th quarter. That's not what I'm looking for when you pay what I consider game-changer type of money. http://www.nfl.com/player/malikjackson/253...ituationalstats

http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_29553...t-malik-jackson There is no way I want to pay this guy $10mil/yr for 5 years. 45 tackles combined and just 5 sacks considering the outstanding outside pressure he had forcing QBs to step up in the pocket. Especially not when the DT talent in this draft is so good throughout the first two rounds. If that's the Bronco's offer then we'd have to go well above that to get him to sign since his preference is to stay in Denver. Elway knows keeping that defense together is the only way they'll get back. But still that's getting crazy IMO and he's probably got to pay Von Miller $17-20mil/yr.

Ranked 37 overall... http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300000063...-2016-nfl-draft I think the upside with him is pretty good but we'd likely need to let the veterans handle more reps early in the season much like we tried to do with Goldman. Even when his technique is poor he's still so strong he can hold his ground.

I wouldn't be happy at all if they took a projected 2nd Rd pick at #11 overall. Better to grab a guy like Ragland who is at least mid-late first. There are a bunch of players rated higher that would make better choices. Just give me Jaran Reed at #11 and I'd feel much better.

I agree with that assessment and when watching film of those games he doesn't jump out at all, not even physically as in elite speed/quickness among the players. Caveat emptor!

Myles Jack is likely to have a 100% healthy knee, or nearly so. He might not be in full conditioning shape but that's a different subject not much different from White's injury late in the season where it was healed but he still didn't have full strength in his leg. If the MRI shows the meniscus tear has fully healed then there should be little worry. Jaylon Smith is a completely different story and who knows, maybe he drops to the 2nd Rd.

I'm ok with that as I proposed just that a week ago. I like Snacks better but Williams might come a bit cheaper and there is that Fangio connection. While we're at it, I just watched some film of Chris Jones and I'd like to add his name to the mix for 2nd RD DTs. This kid is young but he's strong at the point of attack, often holding up against double teams. At times he'll just rag-doll the blocker and make the tackle, which you can see against LSU where he makes a couple plays like that stopping Fournette at the LOS. He's got some pass rush to him as well. I see him looking fatigued on some plays but then again, holding up against a lot of double teams can do that. Put him out there with a nose like Ian Williams and Goldman on the other side and we'll be tough to run on. I think with a bit of seasoning he'll help make that Dline very good. http://draftbreakdown.com/video/chris-jones-vs-lsu-2015/

If the QB remaining is Wentz take him. I'll stick with BPA and on my board he's the next up but that's only because you said we had to pick here. However, with two QBs remaining they will be trade bait for New Orleans, Philly, Rams, Buffalo, and especially Houston. Someone will bite. With our top 4 targets off the board by #11, I don't see much drop off in talent between 11 and 22. With so many needs I'd go all the way back to Houston's 22nd pick if they gave us good value in return.