The Denver Broncos have been on a whirlwind trip since the confetti fell in Santa Clara Feb. 7. The trip has been well documented but Thursday executive vice president of football operations and general manager John Elway strutted to the podium with the confidence that made him a Hall of Fame player and is quickly building his legend as a general manager.
With only one week until the 2016 NFL Draft takes place in Chicago, Illinois, Elway greeted the press and understandably only vaguely outlined his draft plans but he also emphasized the team’s comfort level with their current situation.
“I think we feel pretty good about where we are and where our football team is. Everybody has needs. I think the most important thing is to hit on your draft picks,” Elway said Thursday. “A lot of times when you get in trouble is when you reach. As long as you take what we feel is the best player available at the time—now if it falls into a position of need, then it’s all the better. Our thought process is to make sure that we’re drafting people that are going to have good careers in the NFL.”
The Broncos saw somewhat of an exodus of veteran players from the roster in the offseason highlighted by quarterback Brock Osweiler but in recent weeks they have acquired and resigned talent at some positions of need that has given Elway the confidence and options he needs to stay patient as well as not give opposing teams a hint at his true strategy.
The Broncos hold ten draft picks, including three untradeable compensatory picks and five picks in the first four rounds. The Broncos immediate needs in the weeks following Super Bowl 50 were obvious. The offensive line, quarterback, running back, safety and defensive line needed depth if not starting talent. Since then, the additions of Mark Sanchez, Russell Okung, Donald Stephenson, Brandian Ross, Jared Crick and the re-signing of C.J. Anderson, Ronnie Hillman, and Shiloh Keo have placed the Broncos in a good positon to add the youth that next week’s draft will bring.
“That’s the key—try not to go in with a big need,” Elway emphasized. “We’ve had to shore everything up. [On the] offensive line we were able to do that with the signings that we’ve had as well as Ronnie coming back, C.J. coming back and [Shiloh] Keo at safety. Depth-wise, even though we have lost guys, there is turnover every year. That’s why these drafts are so important because you know you’re going to have turnover. You have to have the young guys and draft well to where they can step up for the guys when they do leave. We feel great.
Elway is entering his sixth season as general manger and certainly has learned along the way and has recently been deemed one of the best at his position across the NFL. Thursday he attributed his growth in the front office to his surrounding environment inside the organization.
“I’ve come a long way. There is no question,” he said “Obviously with experience and working together with the staff that we have with [Director of Player Personnel] Matt Russell and [Director of Pro Personnel] Tom Heckert and our whole scouting staff, getting to know everybody, I think we’re in good shape. I’m excited about it and feel really good about where we are on the personnel side. It’s a good combination.”
Last year Elway and the Broncos proved that trying to read into their strategy pre-draft is often futile as they surprised the NFL and moved up in the first round to grab defensive end Shane Ray, a position of seemingly low need in 2015. In the same fashion, Thursday Elway sarcastically quipped several times that he was there to make the presses job “easier” when speaking about the draft. This year the Broncos first pick will be at the tail-end of the first round once again, a spot Elway stated he does not mind.
“You just have to sit there and be patient. I think that we feel like there are going to be some good players available for us at 31. We’re excited about that,” he said before once again heading into thick vagaries. “We just don’t know who it’s going to be, so we’ll have to be patient with it. There are so many things that come up before the draft and until you get to draft day, you don’t know exactly how it’s all going to fall. That’s kind of the exciting part of draft day.”
As for potential prospects with character flaws, such as Ray and 2014 first-round pick cornerback Bradley Roby, Elway detailed how they evaluate such players pre-draft.
“First of all, we evaluate all of the character concerns and figure out what they are,” he said. “Is it something that is a trait or is it something [where] a young guy makes a mistake and you grow through it? Every situation is different there. I think one of the best things that we do have is our locker room. We have a lot of good guys with the right mentality.”
Two players come to mind when Elway talks about character flaws in top talent in the draft. Many experts have the Broncos taking defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche in the first round and cornerback Rashard Robinson in the later rounds. When asked if Nkemdiche’s flaws were too much to warrant a high draft slot Elway predictable answered quickly saying, “Ask me [April] 30th.” Character flaws or not he laid out the true challenge of this time of year.
“That’s part of the game trying to figure out the potential there and why maybe he hasn’t reached his potential at a certain point in time, the production you see right now and how much upside [he has]. There are so many different things with every position that goes into the equation of where you stack a guy on your board and where you would take him. That’s part of the game. That’s part of hopefully why we’re able to pick the right guys and have guys that we draft that stay here for a long time.”
Elway has had little time to savor the Super Bowl 50 win saying, “one thing I did learn is that it is much better winning a championship as a player than as an executive. You get much more time off as a player to enjoy it. We got right back into it.” Next Thursday, the Broncos and 31 other teams will dive headfirst into another circus hoping to come out with some gems and Elway seems as prepared as ever for this draft and many more.
“We feel great. We have [10] picks. We’re in good shape there. We’re going to have a bunch of picks again next year. We’ll continue with the philosophy of trying to build through the draft and add free agents that we think can help us.”
