The Denver Broncos sent their final card to the podium at the 2008 NFL Draft knowing that they were addressing one of the most underappreciated positions in the NFL. Fitting, isn’t it? Fullback Peyton Hillis, the lead blocker for 2008 first round running backs Darren McFadden and Felix Jones, was selected as the Broncos’ final draft choice in the 7th round, 227th overall.

Hillis (6-1, 240) was ranked among the best of this draft class’ fullbacks, and some even had him ranked above 5th round pick Owen Schmitt. He’s not a bruising blocker, and is a bit of a ‘tweener (that word is getting old for the record), but he has a ton of athleticism and can contribute to the team in a number of ways. I’d expect he start at special teams and compete with Cecil Sapp for the starting fullback role. Full scouting report

The Denver Broncos have selected safety Josh Barrett in the 7th round of the 2008 NFL Draft. The prospect (6-2, 223) out of Arizona St. was projected to be a 2nd or 3rd round pick by many draft analysts. He had an underwhelming senior campaign, but he has all the physical tools that could help him develop into a stud safety at the NFL level. His free fall all the way to the seventh round (220nd overall) was surprising,

Full scouting report

The Denver Broncos started out the draft by addressing the offense with 3 consecutive picks. Now, 3 of the past 4 have fallen on the defensive side of the ball, as the Broncos added linebacker Spencer Larsen to their depth.

Larsen was the “heart and soul” of the Arizona defense, and has a lot of upside. He didn’t wow at the combine, but his production in college was high, and he was reportedly feared by opposing offensive coordinators for his attitude and versatility. Full scouting report.

The Broncos have two picks left in the 7th round of the draft. Keep up with us at the live blog chat by scrolling below.

A 6’3″ 300 pounder out of Virginia Tech, Carlton is a run-stopper who was projected for late 4th round; so at the middle of the 5th round, we may have gotten great value here. He needs to work on his technique and he is a mediocre, at best, pass-rusher so he is the sort who is likely to play situationally in run situations, but given his excellent run-stopping capability, he seems likely to compete for a spot in the rotation right away, especially if he can contribute on special teams.

I very much like this pick. Read more about Powell

Ryan Torain played at Arizona state. He is not an outside runner, but he excels between the tackles. He’s mediocre at best in receiving, but he is exactly the kind of runner that we need to pair with Selvin Young: Tough, between the tackles. He compares favorable to Mike Anderson, who we all know had a stellar few years in the Denver system.

Read more about Torain.

The Denver Broncos select defensive back Jack Williams in the 4th round of the NFL draft (119th overall). Williams hails from Kent St. and grades as a nickel or dime cornerback. Read more on Williams here.

So far today we’ve taken OG and CB… interesting choices. I still expect the Broncos to take a RB and DT with their remaining picks.

UPDATE – The live blog is up!

After some technical difficulties, we’re hoping we’ve gotten them all straightened out for what should be an interesting day two of the draft. The 4th round is underway, and the Broncos have already made their first pick – OG Kory Lichtensteiger. Talk about it here, and we hope to have the chat room back up in a jiffy.

More on Lichtensteiger here.

The Denver Broncos draft Center Kory Lichtensteiger out of Bowling Green with the 9th pick in the 4th round of the 2008 NFL Draft..

Lichtensteiger started his career at Bowling Green as a guard and then shifted to the middle. He has been used mostly in a shotgun formation, and will probably be shifted back to guard for at least a couple of seasons while he works on NFL-style centering. NFL Draft Reports gave him a grade of 85.45% blocking consistency, which the highest grade of all active centers. He is durable and comfortable working in unison with his other blockers.

His negatives are that he is a little stiff and is a better blocker when on the move than when he is stationary. He does not have the quickness to get to the edge and take on speed rushers.

At this time, this makes him the heir apparent to Tom Nalen, until someone else steps in, anyway.

If you’ve been surfing around the interwebs like I have, you’ll notice that every news outlet out there is already distributing out Day 1 grades for each pick. A well-documented habit of irrelevance, but that’s not what we’re going to discuss.

Upon viewing these grades, you may have noticed that the Kansas City Chiefs were consistently mentioned among the teams that did the best in the draft. With their three picks, they selected players who all could have been drafted higher and fell to them – not a bad haul, to be certain. Glenn Dorsey, perhaps the best defensive player in the draft. Branden Albert, with the versatility to move to LT according to most scouts. Finally DB Brandon Flowers had a first round grade by some teams, and it also addresses a position of need for the Chiefs.

So the Chiefs get an A in my book, too, right? I mean, how can you argue with such great value three times in the first day?

It’s pretty simple really. The Chiefs should have never traded Jared Allen. Then they would have added Dorsey and Flowers today and really improved their defense dramatically.

Since the Chiefs used a 3rd round to move up and grab Albert, in essence the Chiefs traded Jared Allen for Branden Albert and a third round pick. Even if Albert turns into a Pro Bowler, it’s a move that really doesn’t take the steps forward necessary for a rebuilding team. The Chiefs just took three steps forward and four steps back, and they’ll be reaping these “rewards” for years to come.

Great news from Denver Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan – first round choice OT Ryan Clady has already locked up the left tackle position. It’s his to lose.

“He’ll start at left offensive tackle the day he comes in,” Mike Shanahan said Saturday. “Pretty simple, wasn’t it?”

“The thing that impresses you is his feet.  I haven’t been around a tackle that has that type of feet. . . . He’s got excellent, excellent feet. You don’t find that very often.”

Atypical for the Denver Broncos offense – usually, drafted offensive linemen sit the bench a year to learn the nuances of the zone blocking system. I’ve said many times though that if the Broncos take Clady, he could break the mold because of his experience in a zone blocking system, and his terrific footwork.

What does this mean for incumbent linemen Chris Kuper, Ryan Harris, and Erik Pears?

“We are going to have some competition with guys like Ryan Harris, who can play either way.  Ryan might be on the other side competing with Erik and Kuper.”

Shanahan said that Clady was the Broncos second rated tackle behind Jake Long, and that he expected the Boise State product to be selected between 5 and 8.

“It’s hard to get people in the later rounds and expect them to come in and play. Every once in a while you get lucky . . . but to get a guy like this, who we had as the top tackle after Long, we felt pretty lucky he was there.”

So do I, Shanny. So do I.

• Video: Shanahan’s Presser after Clady Pick [DenverBroncos.com]