ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Back in February, Vic Fangio said something that has stuck with us ever since.
“We need to add to that group,” the Denver Broncos’ head coach said at the NFL Scouting combine, speaking of the inside-linebacker corps. “I like some of the players we do have available there in Todd Davis, Josey Jewell and other players that have played in backup roles, but I’d like to see us add a player or two there to be competitive.”
It’s those last few words that are so hard to forget, “I’d like to see us add a player or two there to be competitive.”
That is the opposite of a ringing endorsement.
“The inside linebacker position has changed,” Fangio said that day. “There are three wide receivers on the field more than there used to be. The game’s played out in space much more than it used to be… You need to find guys that can run and play athletically in the open field, cover some backs and tight ends and cover ground. The ILB position has become a much more demanding position where the talent level has gone up.”
Clear as crystal.
Fast forward two months, with free agency having come and gone, and the Broncos have added a total of zero linebackers to their group. That all could change in one week, though, when the NFL Draft begins.
On Thursday, Broncos’ defensive coordinator and Vic Fangio’s right-hand man, Ed Donatell, met with the media for the first time since he was introduced back in January, and Donatell’s comments on the upcoming draft are very interesting when paired with that ever-ringing Fangio statement from Indianapolis.
Asked if he has certain players that he might advocate for, Donatell said the following:
“Yeah, everywhere. Our scouting staff, we do it as a team. John [Elway] has a great vision of how he wants to do this. And Vic, and [the staff] explained kind of what we’re looking and what the criteria is for [a player] to operate and be successful. Then we go out and put our knowledge together.”
Following up, a reporter asked, “So you guys gave them sort of a mold of, ‘This is what we need for this position?'”
“Absolutely,” Donatell responded. “We have parameters, and we spell out the job description, and we go out and find those players together.”
If you’re doing the math here, the comments from both Fangio and Donatell, combined with what we know about the linebackers that Fangio has had so much success with, add up to this—the Broncos absolutely have to address the linebacker position in the draft. It’s non-negotiable.
When it comes to the aforementioned “job description” of the inside linebacker position in the Fangio/Donatell defense, Todd Davis and Josey Jewell—while solid players in their own right—just aren’t a fit.
Both Davis and Jewell are strong run stoppers with plus instincts and great tackling ability, but it’s no secret that the Broncos’ linebackers have struggled mightily in coverage of backs and tight ends over the past couple of seasons.
For this defense to reach its peak, Denver is going to need a pair of rangy, three-down, cover linebackers. Right now they have zero of those.
Does this mean they are going to take a linebacker with the No. 10 overall pick? Not necessarily, but it does mean that Denver is going to have to address the position in the draft, and it would likely suggest that the team needs to spend at least one pick in the first two days on an inside linebacker.
The coaches have been telling us for months now, let’s make sure we listen.
