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LEGWOLD: Quality looms down the line

By Jeff Legwold, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published March 20, 2008 at 8:35 p.m.

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Virginia's Branden Albert is at the top of the guard class after entering the draft early.

Photo by Pete Emerson / University of Virginia

Virginia's Branden Albert is at the top of the guard class after entering the draft early.

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There always seems to be a skewed sort of harmony in the NFL draft. When one position is stronger than it has been in recent years, there always seems to be one on the other end of things, weaker on a historical level and trailing the pack.

And with the Broncos facing plenty of question marks in their offensive line entering the meaty part of the draft season, they, like everyone else in the league, find themselves staring at a remember-when group of tackle prospects, offset by a thin crop of centers and guards.

So much so that when he was asked about this year's collection of tackles, Pittsburgh Steelers director of football operations Kevin Colbert called it "the best group I've seen in 24 years collectively."

Several teams believe a potential starter at the position can be found well into this draft, perhaps even deep into the second day.

If the Broncos, who drafted Ryan Harris in the third round last April, are still shopping in reaction to Matt Lepsis' retirement, the top of the board will include:

Jake Long, Michigan. But the Broncos can forget about getting this guy anywhere close to the 12th pick in the opening round. They'd have to go up to get him and be willing to pay the steep price to do it. And all you need to know here is Long was selected the Big Ten's offensive lineman of the year in both 2006 and '07 - and in '06, he outpointed Joe Thomas and Levi Brown for the trophy, and both were top five picks in last year's draft.

Ryan Clady, Boise State. Athletic, but some scouts say that, because he spent so much time in a spread offense, what he can do in the run game will be a question mark until proven otherwise.

Chris Williams, Vanderbilt. Some don't believe he has the nasty streak they're looking for, but he's an athletic player who faced plenty of speed rushers in the Southeastern Conference.

Jeffrey Otah, Pittsburgh. The scouts who like him really like him because of the upside - he played only one year of high school football - but some believe his practice habits are sketchy and that he needs far more work in an NFL weight room.

Sam Baker, Southern California. Can't really take him at 12, but several teams project him as a capable player in a zone scheme like the Broncos'. Had plenty of injury troubles this past season, though, and some teams believe he isn't strong enough at the point of attack right now.

Gosder Cherilus, Boston College. Dominated three seasons (37 starts) at right tackle but struggled some when moved to the left side this past season. Plays fierce but has had to explain his side of some off-field troubles to teams.

"The majority of them can play on the left side or play both sides," Colbert said. "It's unusual to have that many guys that big and that athletic and that productive. . . . I think you can get a tackle in (the first) three rounds."

And then there is Colorado's Tyler Polumbus, a Cherry Creek High grad, who showed good quickness in his on-campus workout Wednesday, running the 40-yard dash in 5.13 seconds at 6-feet-71/2, 305, which was 7 pounds lighter than he was at the combine. Only five tackles ran in the 5.1s at the combine this year.

Moving down the Denver line, with Ben Hamilton coming back from post-concussion symptoms and Chris Myers having been traded, if the Broncos went early for a guard - and guards are rare first-round picks in the salary-cap era - there is really only one name on the list at this point:

Branden Albert, Virginia. It's rare for a guard to declare early for the draft. But Albert did and went to the top of a thin class. A team captain in '07, he gets to the corner smoothly and plays with power.

And later there is Chilo Rachal, USC. He also came out early, citing his family's needs. A mauler who needs some rough edges smoothed.

Center, too, is not a position often addressed in the first round by any team in this day and age. In fact, the Broncos have not taken a center in the first two rounds of the draft.

Dan Neil, who played both guard and center at Texas, was a third-round pick in 1997, the year the Broncos took only three players in their entire draft class.

But almost any team's shortlist of centers in this draft, beyond the first round, will include:

Kory Lichtensteiger, Bowling Green. Smart guy in the classroom who plays with passion. Always looking for somebody else to block after taking care of his first responsibility. Moves well and started two seasons at guard, two at center. Worked out of the shotgun almost exclusively, so will have to adjust to the conventional snap.

John Sullivan, Notre Dame. Played with Harris and was a four-year starter for the Irish. Got people's attention at the Senior Bowl when he was just about the only lineman to even slow down USC defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis in his week of on-field carnage in Mobile, Ala.

NUMBERS GAME

25 times former University of Colorado running back Hugh Charles, below, benched 225 pounds at the school's pro day this week. That would have tied the 191-pounder for third best among the running backs invited to the combine this year.

CANDY MAN

Ex-CU cornerback Terrence Wheatley was a little surprised to discover just how closely NFL teams looked at the results of his physical at the scouting combine.

"I love candy. Candy, candy, candy," Wheatley said. "But teams were like, 'You know your (blood) sugar level is kind of high.' They are all the way in your business down to how much candy you've been eating."

CHUCK IT

Taylor Tharp, a Boulder native who just finished his career as a Boise State quarterback, knows what he needs to do to get somebody's attention.

"I've been thinking the whole time that the numbers aren't as important as how you throw the deep out," he said. "And I'm not a guy that knocks them off their feet with what I do physically, so I have to show them I know the game and can get the ball where it needs to go."

HE SAID IT

"They can call me short, undersized or whatever, but I will show them I can play. I can run and tackle, and that should be enough."

Jordon Dizon, former CU linebacker, who measured in at 6 feet, 225 pounds at pro day.

First and foremost

Offensive linemen taken in the first round of the 2007 draft:

Player Pos. Pick Team

Joe Thomas T 3 Browns

Levi Brown T 5 Cardinals

Joe Staley T 28 49ers

Ben Grubbs G 29 Ravens

Comments

  • March 20, 2008

    9:53 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    firstfan writes:

    With the addition of Wiegmann our O line is strong enough and deep enough to allow us to pick the best athlete available with the exception of Corner and Quarterback. That goes for all nine picks and I don't advocate trading any.

  • March 21, 2008

    1:10 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    myshkin writes:

    Word: Rashard Mendenhall

  • March 21, 2008

    6:26 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Brent writes:

    Couldn't agree more on Mendenhall. The Broncos need a full time feature back that can be a threat. Henry can't be depended on (injuries and off field issues), the other backs on the roster are role players. Can't pick a wide receiver this high...maybe trade down to 20 or so, pick up a late 2nd or 3rd round pick and select Jonathan Stewart? The Broncos CAN be dominant on offense if they give Cutler some more weapons...the defense can at best be competent - I don't see that it is possible to upgrade the defense to dominant in the timeframe that they need to to use all of Cutler's skills.

  • March 21, 2008

    7:31 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    jkoswan writes:

    The Broncos still need interior defensive line help. Fortunately the draft is fairly deep there. They also need help at receiver. I agree they should stay put with their draft choices and go for the best available athlete. Rookies won't turn this franchise around their first year and the Broncos need to invest for a year or 2 down the line. That is why the quick fix of signing free agents do not make teams successful, the core has to be built in the draft. Just compare the Charger/Pats/Cowboys/Giants successes to the failures of teams that sign alot of free agents like Denver and Washington.

  • March 21, 2008

    8:09 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    millertime3852 writes:

    Jkoswan: Just some advice, take it or leave it, but in the future, when citing teams that don't rely on 'quick fix' sigings in free-agency to make them successful, list the Chargers and the Colts...then end your list. Almost 50% of the Giants, Pats and Cowboys players on their roster were not drafted by that team. They had a total breakdown of the Pats and Giants rosters before the SB and the Giants had a few more players that they had drafted, but both had nearly half of their roster in players brought in from other teams.

    Just a little factual info for you.

  • March 21, 2008

    8:17 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    millertime3852 writes:

    And I agree with the Mendenhall pick as well. I've posted my draft through the first 4 rounds and have 4 offensive players and one defensive Tackle. And this is assuming we end up losing either Foxy or Paymah as a restricted free-agent and acquire a 3rd rounder.

    1. Mendenhall
    2. Either Sam Baker/Gosder Cherilus(OT's) or Dre Moore/Red Bryant(DT's)
    3. Jordy Nelson
    4. Best wr/returner or cb/returner on the board
    4. Dizon (LB)

    That would be 3 new starters on offense in Mendenhall, Baker and Nelson, a starting kick returner and a stud special teamer and hopefully starting strong safety or WILL LB for years to come in Dizon.

  • March 21, 2008

    8:24 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    millertime3852 writes:

    I meant one LB with the potential of a defensive tackle in round 2.

  • March 21, 2008

    8:58 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Brent writes:

    Dizon would be great, but I'd be surprised if he is still there in Round 4. Nelson is intriguing - he seemed to tear up CU.

  • March 21, 2008

    9:46 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Pigskin writes:

    Banking on Nalen, Hamilton and Wiegmann is ridiculous. Age and/or the potential for more major injuries are the biggest things they have going for them.
    A team that goes into the season looking at Pears (again) as the potential starting RT is asking for trouble. Who knows what we have in Harris? What if he can't handle the LT spot? Who plays the most important position in pass protection then?
    If Cutler is to flourish and develop as a passer and the running game is to get back to dominance, Denver needs to go O-line early and often. Period. Otherwise, get used to more stalled drives or settling for field goal attempts when you should have broken the plane.
    They ought to look at DT as the next biggest priority.
    Bolster the lines with quality players and the rest of the squad will look a lot better.

  • March 21, 2008

    10:45 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    southpaw writes:

    Let's not draft based on who's ripped up CU's secondary. Who hasn't?

    Let's pick up a good offensive lineman, like Clady, and then add James Hardy. With him opposite Brandon Marshall, the opposing secondary will have their hands full, literally. Defense needs to improve, but getting players to know their assignments will help, and not having a linebacker that missed a dozen tackles a game (Ian?) is a good start. Having the Bailey boys on the same squad will help more than people think.

    ...and Shanny, could our special teams please NOT SUCK??

  • March 22, 2008

    1:23 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Brain writes:

    Our interior lineman are fine; we have Nalen, Hamilton, Holland backed-up or competing for starting jobs is Wiegman, Kuper also Mark Fenton has possibilities at center.

    We have NO OT after Harris and Pears so we must draft a OT that can compete for a starting spot at LT; that means the 1st round needs to go OT (Clady or Chris Williams). The Broncos might be able to trade down if Clady is gone and still get Williams and add a 4th or maybe a 3rd? Will have to make due with Pears for at least another year (he is better than average for a 3rd year player). A Pat Sims, Red Bryant, Kentwan Balmer or Dre Moore would all be decent picks in the 2nd.