Your Denver Broncos wrapped up the NFL Draft on Saturday with five picks, giving the defending Super Bowl champs eight new players total from the three-day selection process.
The Orange & Blue began by taking Utah running back Devontae Booker in the fourth round, and followed up by nabbing Missouri guard Connor McGovern in the fifth and Nebraska fullback Andy Janovich with the first pick the sixth. Arizona safety Will Parks went to the Broncos later in the sixth round, and the somewhat-surprising selection of Syracuse punter Riley Dixon closed things out for the team in Round 7.
We’ve already broken down and profiled the Broncos’ first three picks – first-round QB Paxton Lynch, second-round DT Adam Gotsis and third-round S Justin Simmons – so here are 10 need-to-know nuggets about the team’s five Day 3 selections:
1. Booker, who had his senior season cut short at 10 games due to a torn meniscus, still rushed for the seventh-most yards (2,773) among Power-5 conference players over the last two seasons. A former Washington State signee and junior-college transfer, Booker is one of three Utah backs to notch two or more 1,000-yard rushing seasons in the program’s history.
2. At 5-11 and 218 pounds, Booker is noted for his tackle-breaking, physical running style. And according to ESPN Stats & Information, the Utah back trailed only Ohio State’s Ezekiel Elliott – selected fourth overall Thursday by the Cowboys – with 1,340 rushing yards after contact among Power-5 running backs.
3. Overall, Booker averaged a Utah-record 120.6 rushing yards per game and caught 80 passes in his 23 contests at the school, but there are concerns about his lack of break-away speed and his football security after fumbling nine times in his two seasons in Salt Lake City.
4. Missouri’s McGovern, the 2010 North Dakota Gatorade High School Player of the Year, is a three-year starter, who showed versatility, playing center, right guard and both tackle positions during his tenure with the Tigers. He primarily manned the left-tackle spot as a senior last fall, but guard is his projected position as a pro.
5. The 6-4, 305-pound McGovern is most renowned for his weight-room feats, setting the Missouri record with a 690-pound squat and benching 225 pounds 40 times.
6. McGovern and Missouri center Evan Boehm, a fourth-round pick of the Cardinals, are the third and fourth offensive-line starters to be drafted from the Tigers’ prolific offense in 2013, which averaged a single-season record 490.7 total yards per outing.
7. Gary Kubiak got his fullback in the 6-1, 238-pound Janovich, a two-time prep state-wrestling champion and an all-state selection at running back and linebacker who was moved to fullback almost immediately after walking on at Nebraska. He is the first Nebraska fullback to be drafted since 1999 fourth-round selection Joel Makovicka.
8. Janovich finished his four seasons with the Cornhuskers with only 45 rushes for 271 yards – 42 for 265 as a senior – and three TDs and five receptions for 87 yards, but he also was Nebraska’s top special-teams tackler, recording 13 last fall, including 11 solo stops.
9. The 6-1, 195-pound Parks, who played in 53 games with 31 starts in four seasons at Arizona, was a senior team captain and finished his career with four interceptions, 20 passes defensed and 197 total tackles. As a sophomore in 2013, he was named the AdvoCare V100 Bowl Defensive MVP after his 69-yard interception return for a TD helped seal a 42-19 victory over Boston College.
10. Dixon, a Ray Guy Award semifinalist, ranked only 29th in the FBS last season with a 43.7-yard average per punt, but is renowned for his hang time, resulting in 88 opponent fair catches over the last three seasons. In 2014, as a junior, 40.8 percent of his punts resulted in fair catches, and this past season, Dixon upped that percentage to 42.4.
