Denvernapolis Day 2

If you can’t beat the Colts, become the Colts.

After firmly establishing ourselves as the team that loses to Indy, the Broncos decided to ape the Colts’ style, using the draft to acquire through picks and trades seven offensive players and just one defender. Weird.

A day after the surprising pick of Jay “Cragler” Cutler, the Broncos continued to reload the passing game with two wide receivers and two interior offensive linemen.

(Okay, speaking of Cutler, one last NFL.com draft profile bash. Cutler’s says, “Overall, Cutler has flown up draft charts a ton over the last three months, but he may struggle to become the consistent quarterback he has the talent to make.” Becoming the quarterback, and making one...so, in case Cutler doesn’t pan out, he’s also building a quarterback in his basement? I don’t get it.)

The wide receivers were Brandon Marshall of Central Florida and Domenik Hixon of Akron. If I saw either one play, I obviously don’t remember it. But a story on the impartial denverbroncos.com excites me. Marshall volunteered to move to safety as the team struggled his junior year and ended up leading the team in tackles. That’s awesome. Can he be as big a stud as Troy Brown? Hixon also played safety in college, but I’m more intrigued by his rumored 4.3 speed. Sure, a lot of fast guys don’t make it, but it’s the fourth round, you know?

The Broncos also drafted guard Chris Kuper of North Dakota (fifth round) and center Greg Eslinger of Minnesota (sixth). I hope Greg doesn’t plan on lining up at center any time soon. I said recently that I hoped the Broncos wouldn’t take O-linemen high, and they didn’t. The way I see it, the Broncos have a competitive advantage when it comes to drafting offensive linemen. Because they look for a different kind of blocker-that is to say, they don’t obsessively court obesity-the Broncos will always be able to find good fits for their system later in the draft. Hopefully one of these guys works out.

I guess it's not that weird that we have been so pass-minded in the draft. After all, playing from behind is definitely a weakness, and because of that the Pittsburgh game was over in the first half. I just hope Javon Walker can step in right away.

I was excited to see us take Elvis Dumervil, the defensive end from Louisville, because I’d heard of him, and that’s the best you can hope for with a second day pick. I was excited until I Googled him and remembered why I knew him-he’s the guy Marcus Vick cleated.

But Dumervil’s more than worthy of note as a player. He led the nation with 20 sacks and a record eleven forced fumbles last year. Awesome! How does a guy with production like that fall to the second day? Well, the Broncos website lists him at 5-11, 258 lbs. That’s small. Small enough to be undersized in college and yet finish the year with twenty sacks and eleven forced fumbles, if you get my drift. I think this is a tremendous pick. I’d much rather gamble on a guy who’s made the plays than a guy who really tore up the stopwatches.

Do you remember when Dwight Freeney came out? (Hey, he’s a Colt now, isn’t he?) Freeney led the country in sacks his last year but, thanks to size concerns, slipped a little in the draft. We all know how he turned out. Will Dumervil match Freeney? Probably not. But he’s definitely got an NFL-level game.

While I wish we could have snagged a couple Buffaloes, I’m more or less pleased with the second day’s selections. And y’all?