Mile High Monday: There were hits and misses in the Broncos draft

The 2022 NFL Draft has come and gone. The Denver Broncos took me – and Broncos Country – on an emotional roller coaster over the last few days as they navigated through the draft. It was a great time, and I have both positive and negative reactions to what the Broncos have done.

I like when the draft has wrapped up. It’s a whirlwind few days for me, and I do get a bit sad when it’s over, but I like how we all can look back at what teams did and get excited about what’s to come.

I also like contemplating life and sports when driving around with the top down on my old Jeep TJ! The following is a result of those trips during the week.

Buckle up, let’s take a ride through my thoughts.

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Report Card Time

I love the “you can’t grade a draft!” crowd who insists nobody can grade a draft for years. While it’s true, we won’t know how good these players are until they play for a few seasons, you most certainly can grade a draft now. The next time someone says “you can’t grade a draft,” just tell them to take seventh-round picks in the first round and see how that turns out because, you know, you can’t grade a draft.

The grades for the Broncos are coming in over the weekend, and I believe most everyone is grading them positively. I can see why, especially since they got edge Nik Bonitto and tight end Greg Dulcich with their first two picks – when they didn’t have a first-round pick and didn’t select until the final pick of the second round. Those two players could easily have been in the first-round conversation had it not been for the “super seniors” in this draft class from the extra year of eligibility due to COVID.

I really like both players, but the rest of the draft was full of question marks – which surprised me for a guy like general manager George Paton. The Broncos GM is known as a thorough scout who knows how to find talent, but I think some of his players in the fifth round (safety Delarrin Turner-Yell and wide receiver Montrell Washington) could have been picked much later – and might have been there as priority free agents after the draft.

Turner-Yell flies around the field and is known as a “tone setter” on defense, but he struggles with tackling and staying healthy – which is kind of a problem. Washington tore up the FCS (Division II basically) as a return man, but offers little as a receiver at the pro level. Unless other teams were hot and heavy after these two, I’m not sure the Broncos selected these guys at the right time while other/better talent was on the board.

you can MOST CERTAINLY grade a draft right after it's over..
not a FINAL GRADE (of course), but you can look at value added, projections of what players will do, etc.

However, my grade for the #Broncos in the #NFLDraft will not be a B+

stay tuned @1043TheFan https://t.co/EuOEm4pE7l

— Cecil Lammey (@CecilLammey) May 1, 2022

The Broncos dropped the ball on day three of the draft. While they took players with question marks like Turner-Yell and Washington, players like Matt Waletzko (offensive tackle, North Dakota) and Tariq Woolen (cornerback, UTSA) were still on the board. The lower grade for me isn’t from the actual talent added – all late-round picks are long shots with talent – but it’s from value and team need at offensive tackle and cornerback which I think should be further addressed.

While my friends at PFF had the Broncos with a B+, I will give them a more realistic grade of C+. I love the Bonitto and Dulcich picks (more on that later) and if you added Russell Wilson here because he was their first two picks, then this would be an easy A+. Let’s all pump the brakes before we say Paton crushed the draft like he did last season.

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Got Em

Selecting at the end of the second round, there were two players I was hoping the Broncos would get – and they ended up with both. Bonitto and Dulcich are great players at their respective positions, and I thought the Broncos would be lucky if either one of them was available by the time they got to pick. In fact, I thought the Broncos might have to move up for Bonitto in the second round. If he was gone, then I thought Dulcich would be a fine consolation prize.

Instead, both top-tier players end up with the Broncos. It was a great edge class, and Bonitto was a top-10 player for me at his position but in the final position at 10. That’s no knock on his game as I had six edge players graded as top-20 prospects. I would not have been surprised at all if Bonitto was taken at the end of the first round. With the run on wide receivers and cornerbacks, the talent like Bonitto was pushed back to the Broncos range at the end of the second.

Dulcich was the No. 1 tight end in this draft class for some out there. For me, he was No. 2 in the class, only behind Trey McBride from Colorado State. He’s a great “F” tight end who can be a seam ripper at the pro level.

Dulcich is a weapon in the passing game who is an immediate mismatch when he steps on the field. He’s way too fast for linebackers to cover him, and he’s too big for most safeties to handle. It shouldn’t take Wilson long to develop strong chemistry with Dulcich, and the Broncos should be designing plays to get him involved early and as often as possible on this stacked offense.

Got our guys. 🔥@nikkkkbonitto x @Greg_Dulcich

📸's » https://t.co/AvZk8Zdb7y pic.twitter.com/VIh8ipl9nC

— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) May 1, 2022

As aforementioned, I was over the moon when these two picks were made. Bonitto is a future starter at least. The Broncos have Randy Gregory and Bradley Chubb as their top two edge players this year, with Bonitto behind them as a rotational pass rusher. If (more likely when) the Broncos move on from Chubb next offseason, Bonitto can step in and start – and star – in his second season.

Dulcich joins a tight end room with Albert Okwuegbunam, and those two will compete for the starting job in training camp. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Dulcich win the starting job at some point as a rookie if not Week 1 of the regular season.

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Chiefs Crushed It

I have no doubt the Broncos biggest rival in the division is the Kansas City Chiefs. They are Super Bowl contenders each year with superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes leading the way. The Chiefs have lost some key free agents, but in this year’s draft, I think they crushed it. In fact, there are players the Broncos should have had interest in that the Chiefs scooped up either before or after the Broncos picked.

It’s absolutely unfair to see what they put together early in the draft on defense. I knew, and reported on “Nick and Cecil” over the last couple of weeks, that they wanted to move up in the first round and that they wanted a premiere edge defender in this class. The Chiefs did both things on day one of the draft, moving up for cornerback Trent McDuffie (Washington) and then selecting edge George Karlaftis (Purdue). I had both players highly graded, and the Chiefs defense will be much better with these two on the field.

I almost cried when they picked up stud receiver Skyy Moore (Western Michigan) in the second round. Moore was arguably the most-underrated receiver in this class, and he can make defenders look silly in the open field. On this wide-open Chiefs offense, Moore is just another dangerous weapon for Mahomes to use to attack and humiliate defenders. He’s going to work from the outside as a rookie, and it won’t take long for defenses to realize he’s a threat to take it to the house anytime he touches the ball.

⁦@CecilLammey⁩ why does it seem like the Chiefs had an ideal Broncos draft? pic.twitter.com/0CTvZbiUPs

— Nick Eaton (@EatenJk) May 1, 2022

Chiefs GM Brett Veach did a great job in this draft – and I think he did better than Paton. The Chiefs already have a head start on the Broncos when it comes to talent, and they’ve restocked with more top-tier players to try and stay at the top of the mountain in the division. The Broncos work is cut out for them in the AFC West.

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A Legend Lost

One of the greatest artists of all-time, Neal Adams, passed away last week at the age of 80. He was a titan in the comic book industry, and Adams has drawn some of the most iconic artwork in comic book history. Most, even non-comic book fans, will recognize the artwork he did over the decades for Batman. When you talk about legendary comic book artists, Adams is easily on the “Mount Rushmore” in the category.

Anyone who knows me knows that I love Batman more than any other superhero. Adams artwork is instantly recognizable and influenced the look of the character for every artist who worked on the title behind him. While his work with the Batman was huge, Adams was part of the creative duo (with writer Dennis O’Neil) that revitalized the Joker. Instead of being the campy villain from “The Batman” TV show from the 60s, they turned him back into the homicidal maniac most know him as in the iconic Batman No. 251.

Not only was Adams an inspiration for generations of artists after him, but he was also a huge advocate for creator’s rights. When DC comics did not want to properly compensate Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster it was Adams who fought diligently in the 70s for the creative team to finally get the credit they deserved. It’s people like Adams who opened the doors for artists in the future, like the Image artists in the 90s, to own the creative rights for the characters they create instead of the studios they work for.

Lost one of our comicbook GIANTS today. NEAL ADAMS literally changed the looks of superheroes in the 1960's and inspired hundreds of young upcoming artists, including myself. We will miss this guy.

#rip #inspiration #comiclegend #nealadams pic.twitter.com/Xg2tP7VN12

— Todd McFarlane (@Todd_McFarlane) April 29, 2022

Are you a fan of Neal Adams? Hit me up on social media and let me know!

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