BSN Breakdown: Denver Broncos Have History of Unearthing Late-Round Draft Gems

Lorenzo Doss … Darius Kilgo … Trevor Siemian … Taurean Nixon … Josh Furman.

Will any of these Denver Broncos draft picks prove to diamonds in the late-round rough?

Only time – give ‘em at least three years – will tell of course, but the Broncos have had a history of late-round draft finds:

• Six-time Pro Bowler Karl Mecklenburg was a 12^th-round selection – the 310^th player drafted overall in 1995.
• Five years later, the Orange and Blue used their seventh-round pick on future Hall-of-Famer Shannon Sharpe.
• Then in 1994, five-time Pro Bowler and 188-game starter Tom Nalen was picked in the seventh round.
• A year later, the Broncos’ sixth-round selection brought future league MVP and the franchise’s all-time rushing leader, Terrell Davis, to the Mile High City.

The contingent also includes Tyrone Braxton (12^th round, 1987), Sammy Winder (fifth, ’82), Mark Jackson (sixth, ’86), Keith Bishop (sixth, ’80) and Mike Anderson (sixth, ’00).

More recently, Danny Trevathan (sixth, ’12), Virgil Green (seventh, ’11) and Malik Jackson (fifth, ’12) appear to be on their way to cracking the club, but only time will tell. And all this is to say nothing about the undrafted gold strikes such as Rod Smith and Chris Harris who have made their impressive marks in the Mile High City.

Still, when it comes to recent drafts, it’s been more of a case of quality rather than quantity when it comes to the Broncos unearthing late-round gems.

In the 25 drafts from 1988-2012 – giving the draftees at least three years to establish themselves as solid-or-better NFL players – nine Broncos draft picks selected in the fifth round or later have gone on to start at least 50 NFL games. That ranks in a tie for 15^th among the current 32 teams in the league, but removing the five franchises (Browns, Jaguars, Panthers, Ravens and Texans) who weren’t around for each of those 25 seasons, the Broncos slip back into the NFL’s bottom half.

The Packers lead the way with 19 draftees who have made 50 or more pro starts – an impressive list topped by quarterbacks Matt Hasselbeck and Mark Brunell and receiver Donald Driver – with the Titans (18), Jets (16), Bills (15) and Dolphins (15) and Steelers (15) right behind.

Meanwhile, five late-round Denver selections – Sharpe (7), Nalen (5), Davis (3), center Chris Myers (2) and tight end Byron Chamberlain (1) – have gone on to play in the Pro Bowl in that 25-year time span. Only the Packers (12), Patriots (8), Seahawks (7), Jets (6), Dolphins (6), Titans (6), Vikings (6), 49ers (6) and Redskins (6) have drafted more.

Overall, the Broncos drafted 108 players in the fifth through 12^th rounds from 1988-2012 – the draft was shortened to its current seven-round length in 1994 – but 57 of them didn’t start at least one NFL game. Twenty-six have started at least 10 pro contests.

So the odds are stacked against Doss, Kilgo, Siemian, Nixon and Furman, but you never know when the next T.D., Nalen or Sharpe is going to come out of nowhere and shine.