After the fireworks that was the Broncos’ first day of the NFL draft, Friday’s second day was all quiet on the league’s Western front.
“There were some teams trying to catch us in terms of number of trades,” Broncos coach Josh McDaniels said.
But the Broncos stood pat in the second and third rounds, made no trades and selected three more players — all on offense — for their 2010 draft class.
The Broncos selected Utah offensive lineman Zane Beadles in the second round and Baylor center J.D. Walton and Minnesota wide receiver Eric Decker in the third round. They have yet to take a defensive player among their five picks.
They will conclude their draft efforts today, barring any trades, with one pick in the fifth round and one pick in the sixth round.
“Obviously, it tilted heavily toward the offensive side,” McDaniels said. “That wasn’t necessarily by our design. We knew we needed to add some interior depth offensively, some competition in there.”
Beadles was a four-year starter for the Utes, having started one season at left guard as a freshman and finishing up as a three-year starter at left tackle.
At 6-4, 310 pounds, scouts considered Beadles a little undersized to play at tackle in the NFL, so was expected to get bumped down inside to guard and the Broncos had broached the topic of Beadles learning to play center.
“I think they’re real excited about my versatility and can see me playing multiple positions along the line,” Beadles said. “I haven’t played much center, I’ve done some center-quarterback exchanges in practice.”
Beadles added he believed he could become a good center “some day.”
In his favor is that he is one of the most intelligent players on the board. With a degree in mechanical engineering, Beadles earned a postgraduate scholarship from the NCAA for his classroom performance.
Walton, a first-team All-American at center in his senior season at Baylor, is expected to compete for the starting job with the Broncos. A tough, physical player who started all 36 games he played for the Bears, Walton had entered his senior year as one of the highest-ranked senior centers on teams’ draft board.
Walton had started his career at Arizona State, but transferred following the 2005 season and sat out the ’06 season because of transfer rules. The Broncos had Walton as the second-rated center on their board behind Florida’s Maurkice Pouncey.
“I’m there to bust my butt and earn it,” Walton said. “Nothing is going to be given.”
“We were real fortunate he was there,” McDaniels said. “We’re excited to add him into that competition at center.”
Had it not been for a left foot injury — he had two surgeries to repair a Lisfranc injury to the arch of the foot — Decker likely would have been selected before the third round. He missed five games this past season after topping 1,000 yards in 2008.
Decker could not work out for teams leading up to the draft weekend, but the Broncos said he was committed to his recovery and working hard through his rehab. At just over 6-3 and 217 pounds, Decker is aggressive to the ball and will fight for it in a crowd.
He was also two-sport athlete for the Gophers having been a Milwaukee Brewers’ draft pick after his junior season. Decker also had one of the highest scores on the 50-question Wonderlic test at the combine, having scored a 43.
McDaniels finds Scheffler replacement
Josh McDaniels said Friday night the player most likely to replace Tony Scheffler at the Broncos’ “receiving” tight end position is Marquez Branson. Undrafted last year out of Central Arkansas, the 6-2, 241-pound Branson spent his entire rookie season on the Broncos’ practice squad.
“You didn’t see him last year but we have very high expectations and high hopes for him,” McDaniels said. “”He was Antonio Gates and all those guys last year on the (scout) team. Did a nice job for us in terms of showing our defense what we wanted him to do. Learned a lot.” — Mike Klis
Live updates
The Denver Post had live udpates through the second and third rounds:
Another lineman
Then, with their second pick of the second day, the Broncos stayed on the offensive line.
With the 80th pick overall, the 16th pick of the third round the Broncos again dipped into the offensive line prospects taking Baylor center J.D. Walton. Walton is a power player who scouts said played well against Ndamukong Suh in his career.
The 6-foot-2, 300-pound Walton is listed as a center and guard.
Another receiver
With the 87th pick overall — 23rd in the third round — the Broncos took Minnesota wide receiver Eric Decker. Decker was a highly-productive player with the Gophers, but also took a physical pounding along the way.
He missed five games this past season with a left foot injury and has had two surgeries to try and repair it. He had arthroscopic knee surgery following the 2008 season.
Picks move quick
Indiana tackle Rodger Saffold, who started 41 games for the Hoosiers, was the first pick of the draft’s second day, by the Rams. The Rams had fielded some offers for the selection spot, at least one from Cleveland according to some in the league, but elected to stay put and grab a blocker to protect their Day 1 pick, Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford.
The Vikings followed quickly with Virginia cornerback/safety Chris Cook. The Chiefs, with the fourth pick of the round grabbed Mississippi running back Dexter McCluster, a player the Broncos had taken a close look at in recent weeks.
But overall teams appeared to be drafting for need early rather than the value of the board with Central Florida defensive tackle Torell Troup and Oregon safety T.J. Ward having been selected far earlier than many teams had them slotted.
Houston to Oakland
Doherty graduate, and Texas defensive tackle, Lamarr Houston was the first local player selected. The Oakland Raiders took Houston, who came to the Longhorns as a running back, with the 44th pick overall of the draft.
Big names moving
Some of the big names of the draft, who had to wait a bit longer than expected, started to come off the board in the second round. Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen was selected 48th overall by the Carolina Panthers.
In the weeks leading up to the draft, some personnel executives believed Clausen could even be a top 10 pick if things went well for him. But concerns over a 2009 toe injury and some questions about his leadership abilities pushed him down the board.
USC safety Taylor Mays, who workout was the talk of the scouting combine, went 49th overall to San Francisco and Stanford running back Toby Gerhart, who the Broncos had in for a pre-draft visit, was taken 51st overall by the Minnesota Vikings.
Gerhart can play running back or fullback, catches the ball well, and is a quality athlete who was also a starter for the Stanford baseball team.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
