The Denver Broncos have signed 15 undrafted free agents since the 2009 drafted ended Sunday. UPDATE – The Broncos have confirmed the signings, and provided bios of each free agent.  See those after the jump!

Kestahn Moore, running back, Florida
David Grimes, wide receiver, Notre Dame
Travis Shelton, wide receiver/safety, Temple
Lucas Taylor, wide receiver, Tennessee
Nate Swift, wide receiver, Nebraska
Marquez Branson, tight end, Central Arkansas
Stanley Bryant, offensive tackle, East Carolina
Marcus Gordon, offensive tackle, Kentucky State
Rulon Davis, defensive end, California
Everette Pedescleaux, defensive end, Northern Iowa
Chris Baker, nose tackle, Hampton
DJ Johnson, cornerback, Jackson State
Tony Carter, cornerback, Florida State
Lee Robinson, inside linebacker, Alcorn State
Britton Colquitt, punter, Tennesssee

Some defensive line depth, which is good… but I’m more surprised by who’s NOT there than who is. Where’s a kicker? Are we really going into camp without anyone pushing Matt Prater? Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Ladies and gentlemen, your Denver Broncos 2009 draft class…

1. Knowshon Moreno Running Back (12)			1. Robert Ayers Defensive End (18)
2. Alphonso Smith Cornerback (37)		2. Darcel McBath Defensive Back (48)		2. Richard Quinn Tight End (64)
4. David Bruton Safety (114)		4. Seth Olsen Guard (132)		5. Kenny McKinley Wide Receiver (141)
6. Tom Brandstater Quarterback (174)			7. Blake Schlueter Center (225)

Kyle’s take: I loved the first two picks. From then on, I would have to say I was very disappointed. I understand the offense had some holes last year as well, but the defense needed to be addressed more, particularly the front seven. And I’m still livid at the trade for Alphonso Smith. I’ll give a grade of C, mostly because the first two picks are so important, and I think we nailed it on them. What are your thoughts? Poll after the jump. Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Jarvis Moss (AP Photo)

Some fans are still wondering why the new regime of Josh McDaniels and Brian Xanders did not make much effort to go after defensive lineman. Specifically defensive tackles, McDaniels stated during his press conference yesterday,

“When the board gets picked clean, you don’t start reaching for players in the first round or the second round that you don’t feel equals the value you’re taking the selection at. I don’t know how many defensive linemen were drafted today, I don’t know how many defensive linemen were drafted to play in the 3-4 system. But we felt like we took players at each spot that are going to come in and help us.“

We talked about him a bit yesterday during the live blog, but Alex Marvez of FoxSports.com reported that the Denver Broncos were shopping defensive end/possible outside linebacker Jarvis Moss for a seventh round draft pick today. Which would have further thinned an already weak front seven.

This along with news from the Philadelphia Inquirer that the Philadelphia Eagles have a standing offer of a third round in 2010 for Broncos tight end Tony Scheffler. It’s certain that the roster moves are not done in Denver. However, when discussing the addition of tight end Richard Quinn, yesterday, McDaniels mentioned Scheffler specifically,

“Tony obviously can be flexed away from the formation a little bit more. We’ll use him a little bit more on the move than Daniel. Richard [Quinn] is more in the middle of both. He can catch the ball, he’s got soft hands, we can move him, he certainly can handle his own on the line as a blocker. But when you’re going to use two and three tight end packages during the course of the season, you’d love to have three guys that you feel good about. To have three guys that can run block, pass block, catch passes in the passing game and make an impact at more than one thing, I think that’s very valuable to us.”

Hopefully, that means that Scheffler won’t go the way of Cutler despite the fact that the Broncos re-signed Jeb Putzier who has a similar upside to Scheffler.

The Broncos have six draft choices on Sunday, all in the 4th round or later.  Here is their selection schedule (obviously, this is very susceptible to change):

• Round 4, Pick 14 (114) – David Bruton, S
• Round 4, Pick 32 (132) – Seth Olsen, G
• Round 5, Pick 5 (141) – Kenny McKinley, WR
• Round 6, Pick 1 (174) – Tom Brandstater, QB
• Round 7, Pick 16 (225) – Blake Schlueter, C

There won’t be a live blog today, but you can use this post as an open forum for Day Two draft discussions.  We’ll be keeping this post on top, and have all of the picks posted for your comment as soon as possible as well.  Thanks, and go Broncos!

All but one of the Denver Broncos‘ day two draft picks have been on the offensive side of the ball. That didn’t change even as the draft drew to a close, as the Broncos added TCU center Blake Schlueter with the 225th overall selection in the 2009 NFL Draft. Barring another trade, it’s the Broncos final draft choice this year.

Shlueter is an agile lineman who wowed people at his TCU Pro Day. Nice depth move on the o-line.

Josh McDaniels has a quarterback project. His name is Tom Bra–

Wait. Not Brady. The Denver Broncos Head Coach drafted Tom Brandstater out of Fresno State with the first pick of the sixth round of the 2009 NFL Draft. The Broncos traded a 2010 fifth round pick to select Brandstater.

Brandstater (6’5″, 220 lbs.) has a good set of physical and mental tools to play quarterback at the pro level. Brandstater has decent arm strength, but struggles to deliver the deep ball accurately. He has good height and a decent frame (he could stand to add a few pounds), but he also has good mobility for his size. He’s got a good head on his shoulders, finishing his bachelor’s degree before his junior year (he’s currently finishing his master’s work).

We came into the draft with two quarterbacks, so drafting a third was inevitable. Brandstater will take some work to refine his mechanics and help his decision-makng, but we could be looking at the future of the franchise.

The Denver Broncos continue to show they aren’t afraid to move around the draft board to get the players they want, trading their sixth round draft pick to move up eight spots and select wide receiver Kenny McKinley in the 5th round (141st overall) of the 2009 NFL Draft.

McKinley (6’0″, 189 lbs.) is a senior from South Carolina who has his name in both school and SEC record books. He set school career records for receptions and receiving yards, while also closing out his career second on the school’s all-time touchdown catches list. His 207 receptions seat him third in conference annals, and he is just the fifth SEC player to amass more than 200 catches in a career. He also became the 12th player in league history to record more than 2,700 receiving yards (2,781). Head Coach Steve Spurrier called McKinley the best wide receiver he had ever coached.

McKinley is scouted as a slot receiver and may need to bulk up to make an impact at the NFL level. I’m happy with our depth at wide receiver, so I’m not particularly fond of this move. Why is it that whenever we do a trade, it’s for a position which I wouldn’t necessarily even add a player in the first place?… The Broncos have two selections remaining, both in the seventh round.

Seth Olsen, a 6’5″ 305 lbs. senior offensive guard from Iowa, was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the 4th round (132nd overall) of the 2009 NFL Draft.

Olsen contributed to the Hawkeyes through four seasons while starting all of his last two, seeing time primarily at right guard but also playing at left and right tackle. His frame, quickness off the snap and nastiness in the trenches have garnered him the label “underrated,” although he doesn’t have the prolonged quickness or flexibility to feasibly play tackle at the pro level.

I expected to see a move or two like this on draft day. The Broncos offensive line was one of the top units in the league last year, but Josh McDaniels is going to want to bring in guys of his mold. Olsen is a road grader who doesn’t have the quickness and flexibility the Broncos have in someone like Ben Hamilton, but his different set of skills will make for an interesting camp competition. His smarts and versatility don’t hurt either, and let’s face it – the Broncos could use a decent backup guard. For the record, Olsen also played NT in high school. The guy’s tough as nails. I like this pick.

The Denver Broncos drafted a defensive back for the third time in the 2009 NFL Draft, selecting Notre Dame free safety David Bruton with the 114th overall pick (4th round).

Bruton had two very productive seasons as a starter for Notre Dame, including his senior season in 2008 where he served as team captain.  The 6’2″, 219 lbs. Ohio native tallied 176 tackles and seven interceptions in those two seasons.  Bruton was also a special teams ace for the Irish and will make an immediate impact for the Broncos in this area.  Knocks on Bruton include his closing speed and occasional lack of physicality in run support.

My bafflement is turning into frustration.  At some point the Broncos need to address the front seven on defense… don’t they?  While I like Robert Ayers, forgive me for not thinking that was quite enough to settle this, you know, “entire defense” problem.

The Denver Broncos traded into the second round for the second time Saturday, selecting tight end Richard Quinn out of North Carolina 64th overall. The 6’4″, 264 lb. senior is the fifth pick the Broncos made on Saturday and concludes the team’s first day of the draft. Quinn has only caught twelve passes in his career, making him the definition of your “blocking tight end.”

Rrrreeeeeaaaaaaaaacccchhh. Traded two third round picks to get a player projected as a late rounder. I’m actually okay-to-happy with the draft thus far overall, but this definitely ended Saturday on a sour note. Quotes from Quinn after the jump. Click here to read the rest of this entry »