Denver Broncos: Let’s draft Orlando Brown
By Bruce Matson
Let’s take a look at Orlando Brown, offensive tackle from Oklahoma, to see how he could potentially make an impact for the Denver Broncos’offense.
One of the main goals for NFL teams heading into the draft is to fill as many holes on the roster as possible. Position of need can prevent teams from taking the best player available. Sometimes drafting a player to fill a need workouts and sometimes teams miss out on some of the top talents in the draft.
So far, in our “Let’s Draft Series” we have covered multiple players that will fill a need for the Denver Broncos. Most of these players are believed to help the team by providing an upgrade in talent at their position. By drafting a position of need also means the team could potentially be missing out on players that are more talented at other positions. Sometimes you have to do what is best for the team and whether that means plugging a hole on the roster or stockpiling talent at a certain position.
Just in case you missed it, here are the players that were previously covered in the “Let’s Draft Series”:
Orlando Brown Jr., offensive tackle from Oklahoma, is one of the best tackles in this year’s draft. Brown is the son of Orlando Brown Sr. who spent nine years in the NFL playing offensive tackle for the Cleveland Browns and the Baltimore Ravens. His career had an abrupt ending, when a referee threw a penalty flag into his eye, causing him to loose his eye sight.
Brown was a three-star recruit out of high school and was ranked the 36th best offensive tackle in his recruiting class by 247Sports. He was heavily recruited by Tennessee, Alabama and Arkansas before signing his letter of intent with the Oklahoma Sooners.
He was redshirted during the entire 2014 season and didn’t play a down until the following year. As a freshman in 2015, Brown received Freshman All-American honors from the Sporting News and ESPN named him All-Big12 Second Team. He started all 13 games during his freshman season for the Sooners.
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2016 was another successful year for Brown. He was named Second-Team All-American by the Associated Press and he was the first sophomore to earn Big12 Offensive Linemen of the Year honors. He surrendered just one sack in 659 snaps.
The accolades and honors continued to rack up for Brown during his 2017 season. He was unanimously rated First Team All-American, Big 12 Offensive Linemen of the Year and was a finalist for the Outland Trophy. Brown has started 40 games in the last three years for the Sooners.
Brown is a force at all aspects of the game. At 6-foot-8 and 345-pounds, he has the size to match up against anyone at the NFL level. He can play both left and right tackle which is a plus for the Broncos, because they already have Garett Bolles on the roster who they drafted last year. Brown is solid at both pass and run blocking, and his versatility makes him a can’t miss pick. He has the strength to easily out muscle blitzing defenders. Brown has a high motor and plays with ruthless aggression while making his blocks.
Right tackle is one of the Broncos’ biggest needs and Brown will definitely solve a lot of problems for Denver’s offensive line. He would start for the team immediately and has the potential to be a key piece for the offense for a very long time. Adding talent to the offensive line will help the run game and give the quarterbacks extra time in the pocket to make their throws. A stud right tackle is something the Broncos needed in 2017 and Brown could help the team fill that need. His versatility also helps the team, because he could slide to left tackle when needed.
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Right now, from viewing multiple mock drafts, he appears to be valued as a mid-first round pick. The fifth pick in the draft might be a little bit early to pull the trigger on Brown, but the Broncos could easily trade back a few picks and select him at a later draft slot. Drafting him with the fifth pick would be a reach, but it wouldn’t be a bad pick, because he has the potential to be a productive asset for the Broncos for a very long time.