2008 NFL Draft: Denver Broncos

I've always thought it takes a couple of years before determining if a draft was a success or not, however, the idiots experts on Fox, ESPN and everywhere in-between all have to grade each teams performance regardless that no one knows how good or how bad a draft went until a couple of years down the road. While I am not grading the Broncos draft, I am going to break down their draft based on what they needed to do to fill up some holes to become a better team.

"We have a better team, no question about it." This statement from Mike Shannahan as quoted in the Denver Post sums up my feelings about Denver's draft as well. The Denver Broncos didn't make a lot of noise in this years draft or take anybody over-hyped popular in the press these days. What they did however was address some key areas that needed to be filled and got some quality players in the process.

The Denver Post, working with the Sports Forcaster magazine, included bios of each of the players, which I will be quoting from time to time.

Round 1 Pick 12 -- Ryan Clady -- Offensive Tackle -- Boise State

According to the Sports Forcaster and ESPN, Clady is going to be a great tackle and was a great pick-up for the Broncos. While Jake Long was the consensus number 1 tackle in the draft, Clady was a solid number 2. The Broncos had their pick between three out of the four best Tackles in this years draft and felt that Clady was the best one on the board. At 6-6 and 320 pounds, he is a massive tackle but also has great feet, quickness and agility for his size. While I like this pick, I am concerned a little. Denver drafted a huge tackle a few years ago (George Foster) who supposedly had great feet and quickness for his size, but he never developed into the quality starter that Denver wanted and was traded away. So while I am hopeful that this pick fills in a need for the Broncos, I hope it doesn't turn into another disaster.

Round 2 Pick 42 -- Eddie Royal -- WR/Return Specialists -- Virginia Tech