Arrowhead Pride Community Mock Draft -- Pick #12 by the Denver Broncos

by Chris Thorman on Mar 27, 2008 2:25 PM CDT in 2008 Draft Comment 9 comments

And with the #12 pick in the 2008 Arrowhead Pride Community Mock Draft, the Denver Broncos select:

Vanderbilt OT Chris Williams

styg50 with the pick:

Do I have to? Fine. After deperately trying to trade down in the first, even going so far as to offer a five night luxury stay in Shanahan's new Mega-Mansion I am reduced to this. Alas with no takers I am forced to bite the bullet and make an unsound draft move, reaching approximately 8 spots for Chris Williams.

What I don't like about this pick is that you want your first round OT to start from day one. And I REALLY like Erik Pears, the guy he would need to beat out. I would have loved a DT but the #12 is a no-man's land at that position, so taking the most reliable position on the board is the only way to go.

The upside of the pick is that even being paid as a #12 there is no way we will have overpaid for a starting RT, and you just can't ignore William's skillset. He has the muscular, athletic build that Denver looks for in a lineman, and he has developed a reputation for "finesse" blocking, definitely an asset. He needs to get stronger before he can become the LT of the future, but he has the mean streak and agility that you look for. The rest will come. Add in that he has experience at Guard and Denver is getting an ideal lineman, a pick they should never regret as the years roll on.

Did I mention he played with Cutler at Vandy? That can only help...

1. Miami Dolphins - QB Matt Ryan
2. St. Louis Rams - OT Jake Long
3. Atlanta Falcons - DT Glenn Dorsey
4. Oakland Raiders - DE Chris Long
5. Kansas City Chiefs - DT Sedrick Ellis
6. New York Jets - RB Darren McFadden
7. New England Patriots - DL Vernon Gholston
8. Baltimore Ravens - OT Ryan Clady
9. Cincinnati Bengals - OLB Keith Rivers
10. New Orleans Saints - CB Mike Jenkins
11. Buffalo Bills - CB Leodis McKelvin
12. Denver Broncos - OT Chris Williams

On the clock: Carolina Panthers (Friday AM - stag)

Up tomorrow: stag, kcchief1990 and Chiefs n Chopper

Full list of AP mock draft participants

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Comments

Pretty crazy house

This does seem really high for a tackle.

Styg can probably answer this, but why would the Broncos "reach" in the 1st round for a tackle. I thought their line was a plug-n-play sorta thing where you could just plug someone in and still be successful?

by Joel Thorman on Mar 27, 2008 2:46 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Came out wrong

That does seem really high for a this tackle

by Joel Thorman on Mar 27, 2008 2:47 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

This pick kills me to make it

just because of what you said, we can get a valuable Tackle later in the draft. I won't say Plug-n-Play though, I refer to it as "curdled cottage-cheese incubation tubes". We rarely ask one of our low round linemen to step in before about two years in the system. We have three guys in the incubator now, none of them are our draft choices though. For all I know they might be dead in those tubes.

Between this year and last year, our incubation tube farm system has gotten drastically thinned out. Our backup center/guard Myers went to Houston, we lost our draft choice Eslinger to the faders, Lepsis retired, Hamilton is retuning from post0concussion syndromes, Nalen will be done when his current contract runs out (next year). We had Ryan Harris (LT) and Erik Pears (RT) in teh incubators, but all this shifting around caused us to unplug them early and put them in the lineup. We have yet to see what Harris can do but the coaching staff is high on him. And while I like what Pears is doing, he was a undrafted freee agent who played TE in college, and was meant to be a project. Lepsis' injury in 2006 meant that he HAD to start, and at LT to boot, and he held his own. He held his own at RT last year as well, but there is no doubt he could get better. To me, this is the telling year for Pears: without the benefit of an incubation cycle (which he needed more than most) he has had to learn a complex system under fire, and while he didn't master it, this should be the time when he shows whether he can or not.

Long story short, if Pears doesn't work out at RT, we have NO backups. None. And regardless of how effective late round picks are in our system, there is no doubt that ANY football team can benefit from a first round OT. I would kill to move down for a late first and early third. Otherwise, I am taking the most reliable, conservative pick on the board.

by Jeremy Bolander on Mar 27, 2008 5:06 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Out of curiosity

Why did you take Williams over Clady and Otah which most mock drafts have going higher?

Wondering if your thoughts on those guys is the same as mine.

by DJ on Mar 27, 2008 6:05 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Oops

nevermind, forgot Clady was already picked.

But IF Clady had been available, would you have taken him or Williams?

by DJ on Mar 27, 2008 6:06 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Oh man

I grew up in Idaho and went to college just down the road from Boise State. Not technically my Alma Mater but we didn't have a football team, so weekends at the smurfturf were a must. I would LOVE to have Clady on the team, and in any mock that lets him slip, I'm grabbing him!

That said...

I think Long is the only "for sure" lineman in the draft, and that Otah, Clady and Williams are all pretty close. Otah doesn't really fit the zoneblock, so I would rule him out, and Clady doesn't face the kind of competition that Williams did in the SEC so... Honestly it could be a tossup in terms of potential and talent. Ooh, but Clady has a mean streak in him, and you've got to like that. Of course Williams is the one that scored a 32 on his wonderlic...

Do I have to choose?

by Jeremy Bolander on Mar 27, 2008 11:38 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

RE: thoughts

Getting more specific with my feelings on the three:

Clady: Has the most potential. I love how quick his feet are and how he uses his hands. I used to scoot out on the edge of my seat a little when I would see the gurads pull to his side, because he almost always blows his man up in run blocking. I think he could add another ten puounds easy, maybe more, and gain more power without losing any of his agility. Basically, he hasn't BEGUN to show what he's got, and a good coaching staff can really bring out the best in him. I have absolutely no idea what he was doing in Idaho...

Williams: The most consistent. He has been all world just about from the beginning and I really like how he raises the level of his play as the stakes go up. Good hands good feet, good movement, especially going to the second level. Of the three he looks to me like a true LT and while I would hope he can bulk up a wee bit, I'll take him as is, as a starter at RT from day one. this guy is ready. Not Long ready, but definitely ready.

Otah: Sloppy. He looks like a LT. Acts like a LT. Probably smells like a LT too, but he belongs in a scheme that is predicated on power first and athleticism second. I don't think he has very good feet AT ALL. Unlike the other two who could stand to add a few pounds and some power, he lacks definition and could use to LOSE a few pounds, maybe as much as fifteen. that being said, he is quite powerful, and for a team that doesn't ask him to get to the second level consistently, or work in orchestration with pulling guards, I think he would be a godsend. Big and thick. Not my style, but it must work. He reminds me a bit of George Foster when he was in Denver, which just made me throw up a little...

by Jeremy Bolander on Mar 27, 2008 11:55 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs