Huh? The Broncos 2009 Draft

Oh, what to say about the Denver Broncos draft, other than it defied conventional wisdom.  Any fan of the Denver Broncos could tell you that the front seven on defense was the team's biggest weakness.  Special teams, the secondary, and running back were also areas of concern.  New coach Josh McDaniels and new GM Brian Xanders spent part of the offseason shoring up the secondary and running back positions, signing one cornerback, two safeties, and three running backs to free agent contracts.  The Broncos are also in the process of switching to a 3-4 defense, and thus, they are in need of players who fit this defensive scheme.  So what did the Broncos do in the draft?  They drafted a running back (Knowshon Moreno) with their first pick, drafted two safeties (Darcel McBath, David Burton), a cornerback (Alphonso Smith), and only drafted one defensive lineman (Robert Ayers).  Of their ten picks, only four were for defense. 

 

I love the selection of Knowshon Moreno, but just not for the Broncos at this time.  Granted, consistency in the running game last year likely would have helped them to win at least one more game, saving Mike Shanahan's job.   Still, I think that the defensive line was so weak that the Broncos really needed to focus on it.  The Broncos ended up trading away one of their first round picks for 2010 for a cornerback in the second round, and I wonder why (maybe they tried) they didn't package it with the number 12 pick to move up in the first round to select BJ Raji, who went 10th to the Packers.  The 3-4 defense is anchored by the nose tackle position, and Raji was the best prospect for that position.  The Packers, who are also switching to a 3-4, realized this and grabbed Raji.

 

Alternately, the Broncos could have taken highly touted defensive end Brian Orakpo with the 12th pick and then selected either Ayers or Moreno with the 18th pick, as either player would have likely still been available at the 18th spot.  The way the Broncos draft unfolded in the second round makes me wonder if they realized they were too timid in the first round and thus overcompensated in the second with some confounding moves.
 

In the second round, the Broncos traded one of their first round picks for 2010 to move up to the 37th spot to draft CB Alphonso Smith, even though he possibly would have been available at the 48th spot.  The move also doesn't make much sense, when USC linebacker Ray Maualuga, who slipped from the first round, was still available.  The Bengals selected Maualuga with the next pick.  The other odd move by the Broncos was to trade their two third round picks (79 and 84) to Pittsburgh for their second round pick (64) and a fourth rounder (132) to select tight end Richard Quinn, a projected fourth rounder.  When you already have one of the best blocking TEs in Daniel Graham and a solid catching TE in Tony Scheffler, why reach for a player who was not considered by anyone else to be a second round choice.

I do think that the Broncos got some quality players, who could have an impact in the next few years.  Still, they are in desperate need of players who can stop the run and rush the passer.  Former Coach Mike Shanahan stated in his final press conference for the Broncos that the "new coach would have to be crazy not to keep the people who made the offense happen".  As a Broncos fan, I can only hope that Coach McDaniels is crazy like a fox and not crazy like Al Davis.