Analyst does a 2021 re-draft and it doesn't go well for Broncos
When you talk about some of the better first-round picks for the Denver Broncos over the last five years or so, the 2021 NFL Draft has to be at the top of the list. Why? Well, they ended up getting a guy who is viewed as a top-three cornerback today. Patrick Surtain II is considered […]
When you talk about some of the better first-round picks for the Denver Broncos over the last five years or so, the 2021 NFL Draft has to be at the top of the list. Why? Well, they ended up getting a guy who is viewed as a top-three cornerback today.
Patrick Surtain II is considered one of the best, and some would say the best cornerback in the league. His ability to lockdown opponents by playing zone coverage, man-to-man, and even press is elite.
The Broncos got him with the ninth overall pick, and he ended up being a top-three player from his draft class. So, it's safe to say, knowing what we know now, if there was a re-draft, the Broncos likely wouldn't be able to get Surtain.
In fact, one NFL analyst did a 2021 re-draft, and the Broncos got the short end of the stick, and actually ended up coming up short of getting him again. Instead, they got Trey Lance. Here is what Adam Rank of NFL.com had to say:
This is a tough one. We haven't really seen enough of Lance to say he should be a top-10 pick — but then, he did nothing to disqualify himself during his brief appearance in 2022 before going down with that ankle injury. What I did see enough of Russell Wilson as quarterback of the Denver Broncos. Even if Lance were to fail in Denver, selecting him here would cost the Broncos just this first-round pick, not all that stuff they gave up for Russ when they traded for him last offseason.
Trey Lance is okay, I guess. We don't really know. Either way, this re-draft didn't go well for Denver because their guy ended up getting taken a pick before by the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers originally took cornerback Jaycee Horn, who is great, but he isn't Surtain.
The San Francisco 49ers took Micah Parsons instead of Trey Lance. The Broncos would have been stuck with an injury-riddled quarterback in Lance, and a guy who isn't the most accurate in the world. But, then again, they have a guy that's the cornerstone of the team and didn't have to trade for Wilson later on.
Either way, the Broncos didn't get the better part of this draft.
