Emerging from the Dove Valley draft room Saturday night with a smile on his face, Broncos coach Josh McDaniels said the franchise “had a good first day.”
The Broncos made trades to add two more second-round picks. Along with two first-round choices and another in the second round, Denver set a franchise record for selections made in the opening two rounds.
Joining the team will be Georgia running back Knowshon Moreno, Tennessee defensive end Robert Ayers from the first round and cornerback Alphonso Smith of Wake Forest, safety Darcel McBath of Texas Tech and tight end Richard Quinn of North Carolina from the second round. Smith and Quinn were obtained in trades. Quinn, in fact, was the final selection of the draft’s opening day, No. 64 overall.
“We’re happy with the players we picked,” McDaniels said of his first draft as a head coach. “The proof is in the pudding. When we get them on the field we’ll know how well these picks panned out.”
Surprisingly, only one of the five picks addressed Denver’s need to fortify its front seven (three linemen, four linebackers) in a new 3-4 alignment. McDaniels said it was a matter of choosing players that had an appropriate value for that particular spot in the draft.
“Our draft board was starting to get picked clean,” McDaniels said. “When the board gets picked clean, you don’t want to start reaching. I don’t know how many defensive ends were picked.”
The Broncos might have raised eyebrows by giving up a 2010 first-round pick to get Smith in the second round this year, at No. 37. McDaniels said the Broncos considered Smith to have first-round value on this year’s board.
“Next year’s value is not the same as this year’s value,” McDaniels said. “Alphonso and Darcel are guys that can play on third down. That was one of our goals.”
Denver dealt its two third-round picks in this year’s draft to get Quinn and the Steelers’ fourth-round pick today.
“We’re going to have a lighter morning,” McDaniels said of not getting a pick today until the fourth round.
The Broncos will have six more selections – barring trades.
Tom Kensler: 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com
