Nate Irving drafted 67th overall by Denver Broncos

hes a solid weakside backer

OK cool… I think Martez on the inside would have been a better pick. We shall see :-).

I hope he does blitz well… He will be sharing those duties with Mr. Vonn.

Watch this guy his whole career at NC State. Trust me, this kid is special. He will also become a leader in the locker room. Other than the sophomore lb at Boston College, this guy was the best defensive player in the acc.

Sounds like Elway wants to use him as MLB, which is great, cause we know DJ excels at OLB…so we just need to know who is going to be the DT…over there on the left opposite Vickerson: SO far we have:

Ayers ??????? Vickerson Dumervil

Von Miller Nate Irving D.J. Williams

Champ Rahim Moore Dawkins Goodman

Who will the DT be? Ryan Harris? Is there anyone left in the draft?

There are some excellent defensive tackles available via free agency (if we ever get there). Plus I think they will resign Bannan.

We got a freak LB, the best safety on the board, another OLman and another LB. Last 2 picks are a bit worrisome. Why do we have this urge to take players coming off injury thinking they are going to be a steal. Shanny did it, McClown did it and now Foxy is doing it.

I hope they are right for a change.

Hoping we get Mathews in R4.

I don't know who's available at DT in free-agency. Can someone chime in because I'll be waiting days before the “Denver Post” does. Who knows? Maybe Denver sets record for 12-straight years of 34-year-old-or-more veteran DT's for rent with this year's addition…… Kris Jenkins.

As long as his knees are solid. Maybe he just had bad luck in last two abbreviated seasons? Maybe Lions want to deal Corey Williams? Maybe Justin Bannan's agent was on speed-dial when the Jets removed 340 lb. Hampton DT Kenrick Ellis from round-four consideration.

It hurt to lose out on Marvin Austin when he fell to 52nd overall (for some reason). But its nice to hear such positives on Nate Irving. And, yes, I think the stunned silence on him was when we heard about the car crash he recovered from, his projected usage on special-teams and, finally, the initial similarity to dread-locked, barrel-chested and short-armed Nate Webster.

Under 6'2 is no problem in the middle though (look at London Fletcher, Al Wilson and many others utilizing leverage). RB's and ILB's are always said to need height, but its actually a disadvantage. They even said that Ray Lewis was too short when he came out, right?

Irving may lack coverage-skills, but his blitzing abilities may mean we can run some sick zone-blitzes with Von and him (and Vickerson, Ayers and DT to be named later dropping off into vacated LB zones).

Only weakness with that is a Sproles, McFadden or Charles being sent right down the middle-seam too fast to catch from behind.

Which is why I think the Bills upended Denver's calculations with Aaron Williams (who could have manned up on RB's or slot men with equal aplomb). Perhaps they would have traded with the Niners anyhow, but I think Fox wanted more size than Rahim Moore.

If Rahim plays free-safety, we'd like to trade Darcel McBath after this season (if he can finish it healthy and can establish some value with his speed and headiness).

Orlando Franklin is a needed versatile O. line mauler to mitigate our overall mushiness up front. But on the first pick I still would have preferred Patrick Peterson instead of Von Miller (whom could have been tutored by Champ the way B-Dawk will for Rahim Moore). Maybe Von can play the run and add enough weight to be an all-around LB.

But Peterson was a safer pick and we weren't challenging for a Super Bowl this year anyhow. Yes, it would have looked weird with him at 3rd CB, as Andre Goodman– despite some premature snipers here– still played well considering our missing pass-rush. And, yes, the second-overall may have seemed too high unless he turns out to be another Rod Woodson when some of you look back in 2021.

But I'll concede that pass-rush size is the main concern. Irving has some muscle, but he'll be telegraphing blitz on passing-downs with his presence (unless they shift DJ to the middle). And if they move D.J. to the middle to improve coverage, how are we going to maximize value from Irving's supposed pass-rushing acumen if he sits on the bench?

Maybe they will move him to the opposite side of Von Miller on 3rd down (and keep Haggan and Hunter on the bench with Mays)?

But maybe Vickerson, Ayers, Dumervil, Miller and Irving/Haggan could be the football equivalent of going small when the opponent is in obvious passing situations? If so, I wonder whom the two Guards will leave their stances to block if we rush this unbalanced 3-4 on 3rd-and-long?

Lets just hope that Von Miller can handle more of his duties besides pass-rushing. Ayers was asked to do more coverage, but Von will have to do more than show-up against the run, right?

Broncos got a steal here let me tell you.
Nate is a little small for his position but he has the heart & drive of a champion. The way he bounced back from his car accident says everything. He was better in college than another undersized LB out of NC State – Stephen Tulloch (who was something like 2nd in the NFL last year in tackles). YouTube Nate Irving and marvel at some of his big hits over the years .. I like the powerslam one against Wake Forest last year, when Nate had 8 Tackles for Loss in 1 game!

http://www.footballsfuture.com…

So will it be bitter sweet when Nate Irving renders Philip Rivers unrecognizable?

Just kidding. Sort of.

State fan here I have watched this kid more than any person living in Denver. The kid is one hell of a linebacker and a steal in the 3rd round (I don't give a damn what the “experts” say). Before his accident, as a sophomore, he was arguably just as good as Aaron Curry. He started the season at 80% and was the best linebacker in the ACC this past year.

He's way more athletic than Hertz the BC guy and will be a better pro. He's undersized for the middle I would not play him there, but he has the talent to play any spot. He's a man-child he eats babies for breakfast so hide your kids hide your wife. When we hungry we eat.

Go Nate and go Denver (except when you play the man with the Golden Arm, i.e. P Riv).

I watched Nate as he played for W-RH high school football, and followed him throughout his days at NC State. His car wreck stopped the hearts of us all back at home. Everyone pulled together to pray for His recovery and God healed Him. His strenght, will-power and endurance is what carried Him through. He struggled for a comeback and look what He has accomplished so far. He has always been a great student and a great football player. He will do the job that you send Him in there to do and take no prisoners. Denver believe me as a football fan and as a fellow mom you have made a GREAT choice! GO BRONCOS!!!WAY TO GO NATE!!!