Kansas City Chiefs: How Did Rest of AFC West Fare in 2017 NFL Draft

DENVER BRONCOS

Best Pick: DeMarcus Walker, DE (Florida State)

The Denver Broncos were kings of the AFC West until this past season when the KC Chiefs finally stole the crown from them. While the Broncos still had a winning record last season, a large part of that was their 4-0 start on the year.

After that nice start, the real 2016 Broncos started to surface. That team was a lackluster offense and a defense that was still pretty good, but not on their 2015 level. That led to them finishing the year at 9-7 (though had Derek Carr not been injured, I’m sure the Raiders would have won that final game and Denver would have been 8-8).

I hate to say it, but Denver had a good draft.

This draft saw the Broncos address their offensive line woes in the first round, taking a chance on Utah guard Garett Boles. Boles was expelled from five different schools, but seemed grateful for the opportunity to play in the NFL, raising his infant son into the air like Simba in The Lion King.

My favorite picks that the Broncos made were DeMarcus Walker in the second round, Carlos Henderson in the third round, Jake Butt in the fifth round, and Chad Kelly with the final pick in the draft.

Walker will add to that terrifying defense, Henderson offers wide receiver depth as well as an ability to be a return specialist, Butt was injured near the end of the 2016 season, but was a steal in round five, and Kelly honestly could be the starter for this team before too long. I was one of the few out there who actually liked Kelly and thought he was worth taking a chance on.

I hate to say it, but Denver had a good draft. They did draft some guys with character issues, so it’ll be interesting to see how that plays out. For the most part though, they done good.