Offensive tackle Ryan Clady has had surgery to repair his patellar tendon of his left knee (it was torn).  The 2009 All-Pro selection was injured playing in a pick up basketball game.  The 23-year old Clady could miss the start of the 2010 season because of this injury which comes at a really bad time for the Broncos with the draft being last weekend.  He has started all 32 games the Broncos have played in his two years with the team.  This is a huge blow to the Broncos who were counting on Clady to have another outstanding year in 2010.

The Broncos have selected DE Jammie Kirlew out of Indiana with the 232nd overall pick (7th round) of the NFL Draft.  Kirlew is a good athlete at 6’3″, 259 pounds and he can run a 4.86 40.  He plays with a non stop motor and he is good against both the pass and the run.  He had 62 tackles, 6 sacks and he forced 3 fumbles at Indiana last season.  In his four years at Indiana, Kirlew finished up with 220 tackles, 21 sacks and he forced 6 fumbles.  With Kirlew’s all out effort he gives he will have a chance to stick with the Broncos on special teams and maybe more down the road.

The Broncos have picked CB Syd’Quan Thompson out of California with the 225th pick (7th round) of the NFL Draft.  Thompson is a tad small at 5’9″, 182 pounds and he’s a tad slow running a 4.55 40 but he plays a lot better than those numbers suggest.  When the lights are on Thompson plays much bigger than his size and he’s much faster than his timed speed.  Give the Broncos’ scouts credit for watching a lot of film on this guy.  Thompson played in 13 games (all starts) at California in which he had 49 tackles, broke up 10 passes and he had 1 interception.  Thompson played in 52 games (all starts) in his four years at California in which he had 257 tackles, he broke up 36 passes, had 7 interceptions (204 return yards), forced 1 fumble and he recovered 2 fumbles.  Thompson will likely be a special teams ace for the Broncos as he was a solid punt returner in college.  Many projected Thompson to be drafted in the 3rd or 4th round so the Broncos got another steal here late in the draft.

The Denver Broncos picked center Eric Olsen out of Notre Dame with the 183rd pick (6th round) of the NFL Draft.  Olsen is a 6’3″, 300 pound mauler in the running game.  Olsen is exactly the kind of lineman that Josh McDaniels is looking for as he wants power blockers.  Olsen will need help when pass blocking but he will likely get some from guards when he gets on the field.  Olsen played in 12 games (all starts) for Notre Dame last season and he played in 44 games (31 starts) in his four years there.  This was a nice pick late in the draft for the Broncos.

The Broncos have selected CB Perrish Cox with the 137th overall pick (5th round) of the NFL Draft.  The Broncos got a absolute steal with this pick as he was projected to go in the first round by many of the draft “experts”.  Cox is on the small side at 5’11″, 189 pounds but he is fast running a 4.4 40.  He is a big time playmaker on defense and special teams.  He scored 6 TDs at Oklahoma State on returns (4 kickoffs and 2 punts).  Cox played in 11 games at Oklahoma State last season and he finished up with 36 tackles, 15 tackles for a loss, 4 interceptions and 1 fumble recovery.  He played in 49 games (25 starts) in his four years in college and he finished up with 134 tackles, he broke up 36 passes, had 10 interceptions, he forced 1 fumble and he recovered 1 fumble.  I can’t say enough about how great of a pick this was for the Broncos.

The Broncos have signed 30-year old inside linebacker Akin Ayodele to a 1-year deal.  Ayodele played in all 16 games for the Dolphins last season and he had 71 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss and he forced 1 fumble.  Ayodele has now played in 128 games in his eight years in the NFL and he has 630 tackles, 23 passes defensed, 9.5 sacks, he has forced 9 fumbles and he has 7 interceptions.  The Broncos were lucky to find a player like Ayodele this late in free agency.

The Broncos have selected WR Eric Decker out of Minnesota with the 87th overall pick (3rd round) of the NFL Draft.  Decker is a possession type WR who has a outstanding set of hands.  He played in 8 games (all starts) for the Golden Gophers last season in which he caught 50 passes for 758 yards (15.2 avg) with 5 TD grabs.  Decker is coming off a Lisfranc foot injury which likely caused him to drop a round but if he comes back healthy the Broncos will be very happy with this pick.  Decker played in 44 games (33 starts) in his four years with Minnesota and he caught 227 passes for 3,119 yards (13.7 avg) with 24 TD grabs.  This was a outstanding pick for the Broncos as Decker gives them a solid #3 type WR.

With Casey Wiegmann off to K.C. the Broncos found themselves in a need of a starting center.  With that in mind they selected center J.D. Walton out of Baylor with the 80th pick overall (3rd round) in the NFL Draft.  Walton is a very hard worked and he is smart enough to pick up NFL blocking assignments very quickly.  He comes to play every snap as he is very aggressive and provides good punch in the running game.  He also sets his feet up very well in pass protection.  Walton is 6’2″, 300 pounds giving him the size needed to deal with big nose tackles.  Walton played in 12 games (all starts) for Baylor last season and he played in 36 games (all starts) in this time there.  This was a solid pick for the Broncos as Walton could be starting at center as early as the first week of the 2010 season.

The Broncos have selected OG Zane Beadles out of Utah with the 45th overall pick (2nd round) of the NFL Draft.  The Broncos will be moving Beadles inside to guard after he started at left tackle for the Utes last season.  He projects much better inside because of his speed off the ball and willingness to hit a moving target.  He has nice size at 6’4″, 307 pounds so he should be able to deal with tackles inside at the NFL level.  Beadles played in 13 games (all starts) for Utah last season and he played in 51 games (50 starts) in his four year career there.  The Broncos might have picked Beadles a round or two too early but he fits a big need for them.

The Broncos traded back into the first round moving a 2nd, 3rd and 4th round pick to the Baltimore Ravens in order to take QB Tim Tebow of Florida with the 25th pick in the round.  Tebow really improved his stock at his Pro Day when he showed that he can be coached up as he sported a new release point on his passes.  I find it hard to believe that a lot of people doubt this guy as he is a fearless warrior and a great leader.  Tebow played in 14 games (all starts) with the Gators last season and he completed 213 of 314 passes (67.8%) for 2,895 yards with 21 TD passes and 5 INTs.  In his 4 years in Florida, Tebow played in 55 games (41 starts) and he completed 661 of 995 passes (66.4%) for 9,285 yards with 88 TD passes and 16 INTs.  The Broncos will likely bring Tebow along slowly behind Kyle Orton and Brady Quinn in 2010.