2009 AFC West Draft Review

Denver Broncos






New Bronco coach Josh McDaniels rowed through rough waters after
his appointment, but Denver made some bold moves and upgraded the
roster with a dynamic running back, an anchor 3-4 end, and possibly
the best cover corner in the draft. A huge pocket pushing nose tackle,
the key to the 3-4 defense, is still needed. Knowshon Moreno is talented
enough to start on opening day because he is a three down back that has
been durable. He has a chance to be as effective for the Broncos as Matt
Forte, Steve Slaton, and Chris Johnson were for their teams. Robert
Ayers was drafted to anchor the right defensive end position. He has
good quickness and agility. He plays square to the line of scrimmage
and has long enough arms and big hands to keep the blockers off the
linebackers. Alphonso Smith will have every opportunity to win the
nickel corner position. Denver traded a 2010 first round draft choice to
draft him, so he won’t be sitting for long. He has special ball skills and
the innate ability to react to the ball. He is a versatile back that is
confident and poised. Darcel McBath is a free safety candidate that is
aggressive and competitive. He has been a consistent tackler over his
career and has more of a corner type build than a safety. He will compete
with Josh Barrett for a roster spot and a place on special teams. Richard
Quinn was a major reach in the second round. He is a run blocking tight
end that will team up with Daniel Graham in two tight end sets. A
developmental project, he may play early in his career because of Tony
Scheffler’s injury history. David Bruton has experience at both strong
and free safety. He has outstanding athletic ability, is strong and
physical, and has a good nose for the ball in run support. Seth Olsen
fits the McDaniel’s prototype of bigger offensive linemen. He will
compete with Chris Kuper at right guard. A smart and instinctive player,
he locks on his blocking target and runs his feet. Kenny McKinley may
follow in Eddie Royal’s footsteps and give the Broncos another young
ascending receiver. He is quick in and out of his breaks and possesses
foot agility and good field vision. Once the Broncos work their way
through the New England underachievers, McKinley should shine. Tom
Brandstater played in a pro style offense in college and played for
four different offensive coordinators. He’s a ball control passer that
will be given developmental time with Orton and Simms on the roster.
Blake Schlueter is an athletic center that will struggle to make the 53-man
roster with veteran Casey Wiegmann and Kory Lichtensteiger in front of
him. A good practice squad candidate, he has a chance to play in the league.
GRADE: ABOVE AVERAGE.



FREE AGENCY: Aging veteran Brian Dawkins was signed as much for
his leadership ability as he was for his football savvy. Dawkins, Andre
Goodman at corner, and Renaldo Hill at strong safety were all brought
in to team with Champ Bailey to upgrade a shaky secondary. Correll
Buckhalter and LaMont Jordan are journeymen running backs.
Linebacker Andra Davis knows the 3-4 defense. Darrell Reid was a
defensive utility player with the Colts. Ronnie Fields will work into
the defensive line rotation. Jabar Gaffney knows the New England
system at wide receiver. Kyle Orton has never seen so many good
receivers on his side of the field before being traded to Denver.





Kansas City Chiefs






Rushing the quarterback was the Chiefs’ number one team weakness in
2008 and the draft or free agency did not bring them any closer to
solving the problem. Tyson Jackson, as are most 3-4 ends, is a run
player not a pass rusher. Tamba Hali showed some pass rush ability as
a rookie, but that was from the down position. Defensive coordinator
Clancy Pendergast has his work cut out for him on the back end with
his secondary if he has no pass rush up front. With the exception of
Jackson and end Alex Magee, the draft did little to upgrade the roster
for the future. Tyson Jackson was the top 3-4 end in the draft and will
help anchor the Chiefs’ front. Glenn Dorsey, a natural 4-3 tackle, will
move to right end opposite Jackson. Jackson has run stuffing ability
and can hold his ground against double teams. He has the size, strength,
athletic ability, and arm length to be an effective two gap player. Alex
Magee is another versatile defensive lineman that projects to an end in
the 3-4. He has innate hand and foot quickness and is a good run player.
He has the strength to stack the run and keep blockers off the linebackers.
Donald Washington is an outstanding athlete with good ball skills and
leaping ability. Not a fundamentally sound player, he is undisciplined
in his overall play. He has the ability to be a cover corner despite hip
tightness in his turns. Colin Brown started two years at Missouri and
is considered a developmental project. Tall and rangy, he is a better pass
protector than a run blocker at this point. A fringe athlete, he has the
frame to carry more weight. He did not attend the Combine. Quinten
Lawrence is a speed wide receiver that missed seven games his senior
year and caught only twelve passes for 209 yards. He ran track at
McNeese where he had a best of 10.49 in the 100-meters. A
developmental prospect, he has a slender build. Due to ankle injuries he
did not work out at the Combine. Javarris Williams is a productive
back with more than 849 carries in college. An average athlete, he is
more of a power runner with good bulk than an elusive back. Jake
O’Connell is a developmental tight end that the Chiefs thought enough
of to trade their 2010 seventh round pick to draft him. Athletic with
good hands, he projects as an H-back, fullback, and tight end combination.
He has good hands but needs to get stronger as an inline blocker. Ryan
Succop has experience as a kicker, punter, and kickoff specialist. He
fell off the radar after straining an abdominal muscle in mid-October
through early November. He has good leg strength and has a career long
field goal of 55 yards. He has good accuracy on his field goal attempts,
hitting on 48 of 67 kicks. From the 40-yard line on in he has a 94
percent accuracy rate. He connected on 103 of 105 PATs. GRADE:
BELOW AVERAGE.



FREE AGENCY: Matt Cassel was Scott Pioli’s big ticket free agent
coming over from New England in a trade for a second round pick. Mike
Vrabel, an aging veteran, was brought in to bring leadership to a
rudderless defense ship. Mike Goff brings toughness and durability to
the right guard position. Zach Thomas and Corey Mays will rotate at
one inside linebacker spot and Monty Beisel will back up Derrick
Johnson. Pro Bowler Tony Gonzalez is a major loss. He was traded to
Atlanta for a second round draft pick.





Oakland Raiders






Verbal salvos have been fired at Al Davis for several years because of his
height, weight, and speed draft choices. This year was no different with
the drafting of Darrius Heyward-Bey and second round pick Michael
Mitchell. There is no question that both picks could have been drafted
later, but this draft was a potpourri of teams selecting height, weight,
and speed workout guys with little on the field production. Heyward-
Bey and Mitchell had some on the field credentials. Two of the Raiders’
top four draft choices addressed their biggest need which was wide
receiver. Only time will tell if the critics’ suspicions are confirmed.
Darrius Heyward-Bey is a vertical rare speed type receiver with
outstanding athletic ability. Not a natural hand catcher, but he has big
play ability and explosive speed to run away from defenders once he
catches the ball. He lacks elusiveness and moves in the open field. He is
a typical Raider draft choice. Michael Mitchell is an athletic height,
weight, and speed player that the Raiders consistently covet. He has
made several highlight film type hits. He has fringe instincts. Mitchell
makes the plays in front but struggles on deep plays. A developmental
project, he has raw skills. Matt Shaughnessy projects to a 4-3 defensive
end after playing a rush linebacker for four years. A productive high
motor player, he plays hard from snap to whistle. He has an injury
history and has never really improved his game from his sophomore
year forward. What you see may be what you get. Louis Murphy was
put in the Raiders’ crosshairs when he ran a 4.35 forty. This long
striding vertical receiver, like Heyward-Bey, is not a natural hand catcher.
A very good athlete, he lacks upper and lower body strength. He will
need developmental time but is a good sized target. Slade Norris started
his career as a safety, but after a stint at linebacker he became a pass
rushing defensive end. With his speed and athleticism, the Raiders will
move him back to linebacker and use him on pass rushing downs. Stryker
Sulak is an active edge pass rusher. He is athletic despite his hip
stiffness. He has been productive over his career with 115 tackles, 26 ½
tackles for loss, and 16 ½ sacks. He also forced 10 fumbles. Sulak has a
sudden first step when coming from the right edge. (Sulak has since been released by the Raiders.) Brandon Myers is a
consistent hand catcher and a good edge zone blocker. He must contribute
on special teams to make the roster. GRADE: BELOW AVERAGE.



FREE AGENCY: The Raiders’ two major free agent signings were already
in the house. Nnamdi Asomugha is now the highest paid defensive back
in NFL history. The Pro Bowl corner is big, smart, and athletic. Not to
be outdone at his position, Shane Lechler signed the highest contract
ever for a punter with nine-million dollars guaranteed. Cooper Carlisle
signed a contract to remain at right guard. Khalif Barnes gets new life at left
tackle, but has always struggled with injuries. Erik Pears will back up at
right tackle. Justin Miller has never lived up to his athletic ability to play
corner, but is special as a kickoff return specialist. Jeff Garcia is a winner
that has contributed to every team over his ten-year career.





San Diego Chargers






The Chargers added two offensive linemen to provide depth to an
inconsistent position in 2008. A.J. Smith drafted Larry English in the
first round to give the team some insurance if Shawne Merriman or
Shaun Phillips is out for any length of time. Last year the secondary
play fell off with no pass rush after the Merriman surgery. Jamal Williams
has had an outstanding but sometimes underrated career and long shot
rookie Vaughn Martin may get a look at nose tackle in the future. Larry
English will line up at the left outside linebacker spot behind Shaun
Phillips. Productive over his four year career, English had 57 tackles for
loss and 31 ½ sacks. He beat the college competition with first step
quickness. To be an elite pass rusher in the NFL he will need to develop
a variety of pass rush moves. A fast twitch athlete, he plays with his
motor wide open and has a passion for the game. Louis Vasquez is a
huge wide bodied guard that majors in pass protection. He is an aggressive
pass protector and run blocker that will compete for playing time at left
guard, the position he played at Tech. He has talent, but has unique
scheme requirements to overcome. Vaughn Martin played his college
ball in Canada and is green as a gourd. He played in the defensive front,
but needs technique work in every phase of his game. A size/speed
project, he has inconsistent skills and production. Martin will start out
at right end. Tyronne Green is a physical offensive lineman with raw
skills. He is shorter than ideal, but he has long arms and big hands to
control the defender. He needs developmental time to refine his game.
The Chargers are going to start him out at center where he can quick
position a defender and run his feet on contact. He will be the sleeper of
the San Diego draft. Gartrell Johnson is a power back with good
lower body strength. He is a two, three, and four yard back that lacks
breakaway speed. He has good hands to catch check down routes and is
always going forward. He has good body lean. Johnson had a breakout
game against Fresno State rushing for 285 yards. Brandon Hughes is a
zone type press man corner with good speed and athletic ability. He
gets a good jump on the ball and closes quickly. He may have a tough
time making the Charger roster, but has skills to play in the league.
Kevin Ellison will compete at strong safety behind Clinton Hart. An
intelligent player, he has good instincts and awareness. He is physical
in run support. Ellison is a big downhill safety that can ward off blockers,
keep contain, and force the action. He is active and motivated in his
play. He lacks straight line speed, but makes up for it with smarts and
anticipation. Demetrius Byrd was injured in a one-car accident April
19th when he lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a pole. He was
treated for head injuries and minor cuts and bruises. He is expected to
make a full recovery. Unable to attend mini camps and organized team
activities, Byrd will be behind and may be headed to PUP or the practice
squad. A good athlete, he is a vertical receiver and has unrealized potential.
He is a boom or bust type athlete. GRADE: AVERAGE.



FREE AGENCY: The Chargers have a talented and deep roster that has
very little wiggle room for a free agent to make the team. Only one free
agent was signed and that was Kevin Burnett, a special team’s warrior
for the Cowboys that rarely saw the field from the first to the third
downs. Burnett was signed to compete with Tim Dobbins and Matt
Wilhelm at one of the inside linebacker spots. The losses were minimal
with long time starting right guard Mike Goff signing with the Chiefs.