Which players should the Broncos keep their eyes on at the Shrine Bowl?

DENVER — You won’t find any first-round picks at the East-West Shrine Bowl, an all-star game that will see its practices begin Monday at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla. The days of the Shrine Bowl being on par with the Senior Bowl for talent are long gone.

But a quick look at the Broncos’ roster shows that you can find helpful players. Versatile TE/FB Andrew Beck and LB Justin Hollins played for the West team last year. Two-time 1,000-yard RB Phillip Lindsay was one of the stars of the 2018 contest, then known as the Shrine Game. So was WR DaeSean Hamilton, who did so well that week he got the last-minute call-up to the Senior Bowl one week later. CB Devontae Harris and safety Trey Marshall were there in 2018, too. And two years before that, Justin Simmons wore jersey No. 8 for the East team, taking a key step on the way to being the Broncos’ third-round pick in 2016.

There’s talent to be had.

Here are five players — well, six, but two are lumped together — to monitor next week:

Edge rusher Alex Highsmith, Charlotte (East)

You can’t have too many pass rushers, and even though Malik Reed and Jerry Attaochu had some flashes of brilliance when forced into action as a result of Bradley Chubb’s season-ending torn ACL, it would be no surprise to see the Broncos use a mid-round selection on an edge rusher.

Highsmith could fit that bill. Although he needs to add a few more moves, he showed potential, particularly at dipping to get low and work his way under the arms of opposing tackles, a move that led to a slew of pressures last year.

Highsmith is not in the draft class of other recent Conference USA pass rushers who were early-round choices, specifically the Saints’ Marcus Davenport (Texas-San Antonio, Round 1, 2018) and the Giants’ Oshane Ximines (Old Dominion, Round 2, 2019).

Highsmith must also fight the perception of being a one-year wonder, as 14 of his 20 career sacks came as a senior, including 4.5 against Old Dominion in the 49ers’ regular-season finale. However, he also had 17.5 tackles for loss as a junior, and three of his 14 sacks in 2019 came against the two best opponents on Charlotte’s schedule — Clemson (1) and Appalachian State (2).

Two players from Charlotte have been selected in Day 2 of the last three drafts — NT Larry Ogunjobi (Cleveland, Round 3, 2017) and guard Nate Davis (Tennessee, Round 3, 2019). Highsmith could make it three out of four with a strong week.

Wide receiver Johnathan Johnson, Missouri (West)

Injuries hindered him in his senior season, but the graduation of Drew Lock also had an impact as his production plummeted. When Johnson played extensively in 2017 and 2018 with Lock at the helm, he averaged 56.6 yards per game and 14.7 yards per catch. In 2019, those paces fell to 36.8 yards per game and 10.1 yards per catch, and he finished without a touchdown for the first time.

At 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds and with speed that should be in the 4.45-to-4.5 range, Johnson has return capability, but he projects as a slot receiver — the kind of contributor who provides good value on Day 3 of the draft.

Inside linebacker Dante Olson, Montana (West)

Olson jumped off the film when the Grizzlies faced Oregon last September, notching 14 tackles. His timed speed isn’t eye-popping; he’s been clocked as fast as 4.62 seconds, but typically has 4.7 speed, and at times he appears to lumber in space. But he displayed good anticipation and always seemed to be around the ball. Olson could at least be a solid special-teams contributor at the next level, but if his instincts translate to playing at a higher speed he could be more. This week should provide an indication as to whether he can make the leap.

Wide receiver Malcolm Perry, Navy (East)

The most unfortunate aspect of Minnesota’s 26-20 overtime win over the Saints last week is not that the extra period was decided without the Saints offense or Vikings defense having any impact on breaking the deadlock. It’s that we were denied at least one more week of the Saints’ uber-versatile Taysom Hill, who completed one pass for 50 yards, ran four times for another 50 yards and caught two passes for 25 yards — including a touchdown — last week.

The NFL being a copy-cat league ensures that most teams are searching for a Hill of their own. Some will look at Perry, a three-year starter for the Midshipmen and 2019 All-AAC first-team choice, as a potential player in Hill’s mold.

Perry’s versatility is his hallmark, but he will be evaluated as a wide receiver.

Although most of Perry’s college production came as a runner — he averaged 6.8 yards a carry while racking up 2,017 rushing yards and 21 rushing touchdowns last season — he also caught 22 passes for 470 yards and three scores in the past three years. He has been timed at 4.38 seconds in the 40-yard dash. If he shows promise as a route-runner and does well in speed and timing work over the next few months, he will get a look.

New rules passed by the Department of Defense regarding service-academy graduates pursuing careers in professional sports allow Perry to be eligible for the NFL immediately, deferring their post-graduate service commitment. This rule had been in place in 2016, allowing fellow Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds to try and make the Baltimore Ravens after being selected in the sixth round. The option to defer service was rescinded in 2017.

Broncos offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello showed a penchant for trickery and creative play design last year. These attempts didn’t always work, but if Perry shows that his speed can translate, he could be a useful weapon.

The punters

Bucknell’s Alex Pechin and Florida’s Tommy Townsend will punt for the West and East teams, respectively. Given that incumbent punter Colby Wadman finished in the bottom half of the league in nearly every metric, the Broncos would be wise to give the punters in this year’s draft class a long look.

Pechin is widely considered to be the best punter outside of FBS in this year’s draft. He’s a blaster, with a gross average of 47.3 yards in 2019 — a figure that would have placed him third in FBS, behind only Kentucky’s Max Duffy, South Carolina’s Joseph Charlton and N.C. State’s Trenton Gill. But what could earn him a look is his improvement in placement punting; as a senior, his touchback rate, fair-catch percentage and inside-the-20 percentage all improved. He dropped 47.7 percent of his punts inside the 20.

Townsend had a lower gross punt average than Pechin last season — 44.0 yards — but with four touchbacks and just 9 yards of returns against him, finished with a net average of 41.9 yards. His placement punting, along with the Gators’ coverage, allowed Florida to rank second in FBS in punt-return yards allowed.

And don’t forget …

… the offensive linemen. The Broncos’ search for line reinforcements should extend throughout the entire draft, and one name to monitor is Charlotte’s Cameron Clark, a left tackle whose quickness and frame (6-foot-5, 295 pounds) will not fit every team, but could be ideal for the Broncos ‘offense. Clark was a three-year starter for the 49ers and could provide nice value in the first half of Day 3.