AFC West
Denver Broncos Draft Report
By Joseph W. Everett
Jun 10, 2007, 14:09

The Broncos entered the 2007 draft with many needs and gaining some semblance of a pass-rush was indeed one of those. In an effort to infuse the defensive line with speed and athleticism, Denver took three defensive lineman during the first four rounds and did a little wheeling n’ dealing in the process.

Jarviss Moss adds some much needed game-changing speed to the defense

The Broncos acquired the 17th pick from the Jacksonville Jaguars in a trade that sent the No. 21 overall selection, as well as the 86th (third round) and 198th (sixth round) picks to the Jaguars. Denver moved up four slots to select Jarvis Moss, DE from the National Championship Florida Gators. Moss is a bona-fied 1st round grade with a great frame, phenomenal speed, and terrific understanding of the game. He’s a unique kid, in the fact that, he had a staph-infection from a cortisone shot in his hip that caused him to drop down to as low as 218 lbs early in his career. He was constantly battling his own chronic hip problem, as bacteria penetrated his pelvic bone and festered. Once the infection was finally diagnosed and treated properly in 2005, Moss was able to gain more weight and really fine-tune his skills on the field. He should prove to be a model edge rusher and has plenty of room to grow into with his lanky 6-6 frame. Moss has tenacious speed, a high motor, and he anticipates the snap-count on almost every play. He will prove to be an asset this season.

The 56th pick in the draft saw the Broncos take defensive end Tim Crowder from Texas. Crowder had 47 consecutive starts while at Texas and is considered a pass–rushing specialist. Many teams had raised eye-lids after a senior season in which he posted a college career-high 10.5 sacks but a very so-so combine showing resulted in him falling to late in the 2nd. Tim, the brother of Dolphins OLB Channing, is extremely athletic and doubly quick off of the ball. He has a solid body and many feel that he was a very nice low-risk pick for Denver. It is to be hoped that he will seamlessly transition to the pros and continue his winning ways from college.

Tackle Ryan Harris being selected in the 3rd is in aid of trying to make the line a little younger. The Golden-Domer is a player that slid down draft boards after a poor senior season, a disappointing showing at the Senior Bowl, and a lack-luster combine performance. He has been a starting tackle for the Irish since day his freshman year but the youngster needs to get serious and get some bulk on that frame to make a mark in the league. He does have surprisingly good foot-work though, so he should make a relatively smooth transition into the pro-game.

Probably the most troublesome pick the Broncos made was the selection of former Florida Gator DT, Marcus Thomas. Thomas was big piece of that championship defense before he was suspended for five games early in the 2006 season for a substance abuse violation, returned and was subsequently dismissed permanently from the squad that went on to win the national title. The biggest concern about Thomas is the manner in which he was picked. The Broncos also traded up to take him, dealing 2007’s 6th round, 7th round, and a 2008 3rd-rounder for a VERY questionable player to say the least.

"It's not over-spending if you have a guy graded as a 1st rounder" -Mike Shannahan

This entire draft will be judged by how well Moss excels in the league but we all well know by now that Mike Shanahan is certainly not afraid to roll the dice and trade up for the player he wants. The only other areas that this writer wishes they would have addressed would be the aging safety unit and some more LB depth. The defense will once again field John Lynch (36) & Nick Ferguson (33) as it’s starters at safety this year. They are both solid players but are showing their age and seem to be getting slower by the day. There were a lot of quality players out there in the 3rd and 4th rounds at that position but this is why we leave things up to the experts.

The LB position will also have a hole in it the size of Al Wilson, which is going to be more of a loss then most realize but I do believe that DJ Williams will fill in the Mike position just fine. I’m more concerned for future depth and would like to see some better options than Warrick Holdman and DD Lewis to start along-side Ian Gold and DJ Williams. All in all, there was a lot of talent to be had out there and the Broncos did a good job of filling holes and addressing needs.

Final grade: B+

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