The Broncos should hope Saturday’s final four rounds of the NFL draft are as productive as previous seasons for general manager .
Since Elway began running the Broncos’ draft effort in 2011, Day 3 has been a boon.
2011: Tight ends (fourth round) and (seventh). Thomas had 24 touchdown catches in 2013-14 and Green played seven years for the Broncos.
2012: Defensive end/tackle (fifth round) and linebacker (sixth). Both were on the 2015 team and signed lucrative contracts with Jacksonville and Chicago, respectively, after leaving Denver.
2014: Center Matt Paradis (sixth round). Paradis became the Broncos’ starting center in 2015 and started all 57 of his games.
2015: Quarterback Trevor Siemian (seventh round). The Week 1 starter in 2016-17, Siemian went 13-11 for the Broncos.
2016: Fullback Andy Janovich (sixth round) and center (fifth). Both players became starters. Janovich was traded to Cleveland and McGovern signed with the last month.
“Total pandemonium.” Throughout the seventh round on Saturday, teams will be plotting their strategy for undrafted free agency.
Earlier this week, Elway estimated the Broncos would add 7-9 undrafted free agents. Prospects will agree to terms this weekend, but won’t sign a contract — all are the standard three-year deals — until they take a team-administered or approved physical.
Undrafted free agency has worked out well for the Broncos, all the way back to cornerback in 2011. The current roster includes running back , right tackle , outside linebacker Malik Reed, safety Trey Marshall and quarterback Brett Rypien.
“On the third day, we’re in the process of going, ‘We would like to get him, him and him,’” Broncos director of player personnel Matt Russell said in a February interview. “There are so many different pieces to the puzzle and itap a collective effort. We’ve got coaches calling (prospects), we’ve got scouts calling and we’re trying to get the whole thing together.
“It is and always has been, for 2-3 hours, total pandemonium for every team.”
Two years ago, the Broncos drafted running backs (third round) and (seventh round) but had interest in signing Lindsay.
“I was on the phone with Phillip and he’s a competitive guy and he was mad he didn’t get drafted and I didn’t blame him,” Russell said. “We didn’t think by any means it was a slam dunk we would get him.”
Lindsay signed and eclipsed 1,000 yards rushing in both of his first two years.
Monster ratings. As expected because there are no other live sports events ongoing, the first round of the NFL draft was a ratings win.
According to the NFL, the round 1 coverage across all over-the-air, cable and digital channels drew an average of 15.6 million viewers, an increase of 37% from last year. The Denver area was the ninth highest-rated local market. The top five were three Ohio cities (Columbus, Cleveland and Cincinnati), Philadelphia and Kansas City.
The audience peaked from 6:45-7 p.m. Denver time with 19.6 million viewers.
