After adding dominant pass-rusher Bradley Chubb in the first round of the NFL draft, the primarily bolstered the offensive side of the ball in Friday’s second and third rounds.
The Broncos took sure-handed SMU wide receiver Courtland Sutton with the 40th overall pick, selected Oregon workhorse running back Royce Freeman at 71st and then chose Boston College cornerback Isaac Yiadom at 99th.
“We got better on the offensive side — no question,” general manager John Elway said, “in kind of some areas that we needed some players.”
The first two selections give the Broncos young weapons to surround new starting quarterback while complementing veterans like receivers and .
The Broncos did not add an offensive lineman — a position some prognosticators thought they could hit as early as the first round — and Elway alluded that one of their targets at the position was selected before Denver’s pick. Guards Austin Corbett of Nevada and Will Hernandez of UTEP were the first two selections of Friday’s second round, and Braden Smith of Auburn went off the board three picks after that.
“We actually thought we had (an offensive lineman), and it didn’t work out that way,” Elway said. “Things happened, and so we didn’t get it.”
So the Broncos instead went with Sutton, who earned a first-round grade from Elway and Co. and whose “ceiling is very high.” The 6-foot-4, 220-pound Sutton acknowledges he’s still a bit raw at receiver after arriving at SMU as a safety. But that defensive mentality has translated to the other end in the form of the toughness and body positioning to snag contested balls.
Last season, he caught 68 passes for 1,085 yards and 12 touchdowns.
“I am a guy who is going to come to the field and demand respect wherever I am on the field — whether it is in the slot, whether it is on the outside, on the right or the left,” Sutton said during a conference call. “Wherever I am at on the field, if it is a pass play or run play, defenses have to know where I am at, because they know that I am going to do my job.
“I am going to do it above and beyond with what is inside of me.”
And though Sutton said he had “no idea” he was on the Broncos’ radar, he already has a connection to a new teammate. Sanders also played collegiately at SMU and has spoken occasionally to Sutton about how to reach the NFL from a smaller college football program. Now, Sutton could be expected to immediately compete for Denver’s third receiver spot behind Thomas and Sanders.
“His skill set translates to being a No. 1 guy,” Broncos coach said. “He’s got No. 1 traits as a receiver. Obviously, he’ll come in and compete for the the third spot, but in the future, he could be our No. 1 guy.”
After releasing 1,000-yard rusher last month, Elway expressed confidence last week that his team could snag an impactful ball-carrier in a deep running back class. Freeman, who unleashes a powerful style from his 6-foot, 230-pound frame and can also break away from the secondary, is the all-time leading rusher for an Oregon program that boasts several prolific ball-carriers in recent seasons. He amassed 1,475 yards and 16 touchdowns in 2017, prompting Elway to call him a “big-banger that we haven’t had for a while.”
“I want to be the one to deliver that blow,” Freeman said on a conference call. “I think, as a running back, that is definitely important. … I feel like I have a chance to go in there and compete with other running backs that are there.”
Freeman went off the board after Georgia’s Nick Chubb, USC’s Ronald Jones, Auburn’s Kerryon Johnson and LSU’s Derrius Guice were taken in Friday’s second round.
With the second-to-last pick of the third round, Denver went with Yiadom to help add depth to the secondary after trading last month. Yiadom, whom the Broncos “really liked” at the Senior Bowl, totaled seven pass breakups, two interceptions and 53 tackles last season and fits the cornerback prototype the Broncos like with a long 6-foot-1,190-pound frame. Elway and Joseph said he will contribute immediately on special teams because of his solid tackling skills.
Barring trades, Denver will wrap up its draft with two fourth-round picks and two fifth-round selections Saturday. Positions the Broncos could target include offensive line and quarterback.
But after taking the best defensive player available in the first round, the Broncos gave their offense a boost during the draftap second day.
“That’s what you hope for — that in the first three rounds, you’ve got guys that can come in and help you right away,” Elway said. “Hopefully we’ve got those guys. We’ll see how they adjust when they get here, but we have high expectations for them.”
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