Kansas City Chiefs: Post-free agency, full AFC West mock draft

Denver Broncos

Number of Draft Picks: 10

The Denver Broncos will seriously consider selecting a wide receiver when the team first goes on the clock with the No. 15 pick in the draft. At that time, at least according to how this mock draft plays out, John Elway – the team’s general manager- will mostly have his pick of which wide receiver to grab.

CeeDee Lamb will be off the board, but Jerry Jeudy, Justin Jefferson and others will still be there. Denver has a whopping ten picks in this draft, and the franchise has other needs in addition to wide receiver.

With this draft, where wide receivers are aplenty, the team may be best served with drafting Alabama offensive tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. while grabbing a wide receiver with the team’s next pick.

So which wide receiver will the Broncos draft in the second round? Would Elway pull the trigger on a slot receiver, such as Penn State’s K.J. Hamler? Or take Colorado’s Laviska Shenault Jr., who’s dealt with injuries but has great potential? Or somebody else?

I’m projecting Elway goes with a third option: Michael Pittman Jr., who played for the USC Trojans. He’s 6-foot-4, 223 pounds, and caught 101 passes last season for 1,275 yards with 11 touchdown receptions.

Pittman’s big, can line up in the slot or on the outside, and he can make big plays. He’d be a great addition to Denver’s arsenal.

Denver then has three third-round draft picks at Nos. 77, 83, and 95, and by addressing offensive tackle and wide receiver with their first two picks, the team can now focus on landing new, young defensive players.

With pick No. 77, three cornerbacks will be in play: Virginia’s Bryce Hall, Mississippi State’s Cameron Dantzler, and UCLA’s Darnay Holmes. Dantzler seems like the best of the bunch, though, honestly, there may not be much difference among the trio.

For the Bulldogs, Dantzler started 31 games over the past three seasons, collecting over 100 tackles to go with five interceptions, 20 passes defended, a fumble recovery, and a fumble forced.

Were the Broncos so inclined – when they’re back on the clock just a couple of picks later – the franchise could double-down on adding cornerbacks as both Holmes and Hall are still available. However, I expect the Broncos to diversify a bit, and address the linebacker position by taking Oregon’s Troy Dye, a 6-foot-4, 226-pound ballhawk who collected nearly 400 total tackles in four years with the Ducks.

As far as the final third-round pick, again, the team could take Holmes, but instead will focus on grabbing an EDGE rusher, selecting Florida’s Jabari Zuniga, who had 18.5 sacks and 33 tackles for loss for the Gators over the past four seasons.

The Broncos pick again just 23 spots later. At this point, Denver should consider, among others, safety Alohi Gilman from Notre Dame, Wisconsin’s interior offensive lineman Tyler Biadasz, and Cal linebacker Evan Weaver.

With this pick, and the team’s next, their first of two in the fifth round, I have them addressing depth along the interior lines. Here in the fourth, it’s on offense with Biadasz, a 6-foot-3, 316-pounder who played center for the Badgers. In 2020, he’ll be able to rotate all along the interior for Denver, filling in at center and both guard positions as needed.

With pick No. 178, the Broncos address the defensive line, nabbing Baylor’s Bravvion Roy, a defensive tackle who chalked up 5.5 sacks last season to go along with 61 total tackles with 13.5 of those coming for loss.

Elway picks again just three picks later, and here I’ve got him addressing the safety position after passing on Gilman in the fourth round. Now’s the time to get some more help in the secondary, and that comes in the form of Antoine Brooks Jr. of Maryland.

Brooks is versatile, having started his collegiate career as a linebacker, but the 5-foot-11, 215-pound young man made the move to defensive back before the start of 2018, and has played well there over 24 games and two head coaches. Solid pick this late in the draft.

With the draft winding down, Denver has two of the final two of the final four picks, Nos. 252 and 254. Elways makes it defensive backs with consecutive picks as he selects Oklahoma State Cowboy A.J. Green, a lanky defender who started 13 games in each of the past three seasons in Stillwater.

With the draft’s penultimate selection, Denver goes with a complete wild card: Arizona Wildcat quarterback Khalil Tate. No, Tate won’t challenge Lock, but he could very well challenge for the back-up spot, or at the least, making the team as some sort of Taysum Hill-like player.

As a sophomore, Tate electrified under head coach Rich Rodriguez, but digressed the past two seasons once Kevin Sumlin took over. He may very well go undrafted, but Denver’s got nothing to lose by taking him here.