Denver Broncos mock draft, 4th & 5th picks
For the longest time, the Broncos had one of the most fearsome pass rushers in the NFL in Von Miller. Every season Miller has been in the NFL, he has either been the best edge rusher in the NFL or was in the top 3 of all edge rushers in the NFL.
This past season, Miller played his first season away from Mile High as he was traded to the LA Rams. During the offseason, when Miller was a free agent, Miller made it fairly clear that he wanted to return to Denver, but things ultimately didn’t materialize as he signed a multi-year deal with the Buffalo Bills.
While Denver didn’t bring back the Broncos legend that was Miller, they did bring in a free-agent edge rusher in Randy Gregory. It seemed as though Gregory was going to re-sign with the team that drafted him in the Dallas Cowboys, but when all seemed signed, sealed, and delivered, but then it was announced that Gregory signed with the Broncos.
Now that Gregory has signed with the Broncos, he will likely be a starting edge rusher opposite of Bradley Chubb. In terms of Chubb, he was highly regarded coming out of NC State, but since coming out of NC State, he hasn’t quite lived up to expectations as he has dealt with injuries, and when he has been on the field, he hasn’t been the best.
The Broncos have some okay-ish backups in Jonathon Cooper and Malik Reed, but they could still use some help.
While at Texas A&M, Clemons was a solid edge rusher. Clemons showed a wide variety of moves and at times some good power when bull-rushing offensive lineman. Clemons showed some quickness as well. Despite these positives, Clemons was just a solid edge rusher, nothing super special.
Clemons won’t start over Chubb or Gregory, but he will provide some needed competition for Malik Reed and Jonathon Cooper.
Other Players Considered: Neil Farrell Jr, Dominique Robinson, Romeo Doubs
The Denver Broncos’ 2020 defensive line compared to the Broncos’ 2021 is almost a night-and-day difference. 2020 was very good for the Bronco’s defensive line as Shelby Harris had a career year While other guys like Dre’Mont Jones and DeShawn Williams also had some quality seasons.
2021 was the complete opposite as pretty much every defensive lineman took a step backward. On top of taking a step backward, the Broncos also traded away Shelby Harris to the Seahawks in the Russell Wilson trade.
The Broncos could desperately use a player like Farrell. While at LSU, Farrell liked to shoot the gaps between offensive linemen and was nimble enough on his feet to make some moves as well. It also helped his case with the fact that he had some thunderous hands.
While there were some concerns around Farrell at LSU, the combine has drawn some eyes for all the wrong reasons. Compared to other interior defensive linemen, Farrell had the 2nd worst 40-yard dash, the worst 10-yard split, and the worst vertical jump. While the combine is certainly not the end all be all, there are some athletic concerns.
Despite the question marks on his athleticism, the Denver Broncos should still be interested in a player like Farrell, especially with how weak their defensive line was this past season.
Other Players Considered: Romeo Doubs, Bo Melton, Cam Taylor-Britt