The Denver Broncos did a great job in the 2011 NFL Draft.  I criticized them last April, but they proved me wrong big time as they possibly found at least four starters for the future and maybe more.  Here is a look at how the rookies did this year during the regular season:

22-year old OLB Von Miller came to the Broncos in the 1st round of the NFL Draft and he made an immediate and lasting effect on the defense.  Miller played in 15 games for the Broncos this year and he had 64 tackles, 11.5 sacks, 8 tackles for a loss, 2 forced fumbles and 4 passes defensed.  He is going to be a force on the Broncos’ D for a long, long time!

21-year old safety Rahim Moore was picked in the 2nd round last April.  He played in 15 games for the Broncos this year and he had 31 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 interception, 1 fumble recovery and 2 passes defensed.  Moore has a nice upside if he can learn from some of the mistakes he made this year.

24-year old OT Orlando Franklin was picked in the second round by the Broncos and they hit a home run with him.  He started all 16 games for the Broncos and he has a very bright future.

23-year old LB Nate Irving was a third round pick last April, but he didn’t show much.  He played in all 16 games for the Broncos (mostly on special teams) and he finished up with a whopping 4 tackles.

23-year old safety Quinton Carter came to the Broncos in the 4th round last April.  He played in all 16 games for the Broncos last year and he had 56 tackles and 1 sack.  He is a hard hitter with a bright future if he can start making more plays against the pass.

23-year old TE Julius Thomas was a 4th round pick last April.  He played in 5 games for the Broncos last year and he caught 1 pass for 5 yards.  He’s going to need to show some improvement during the off-season if he’s going to keep getting paid to play football.

23-year old LB Mike Mohammed was a 6th round pick of the Broncos.  He played in 2 games and didn’t make nary a tackle.

23-year old TE Virgil Green was a 7th round pick last April.  He played in 15 games for the Broncos and he caught 3 passes for 24 yards (8.0 avg).  Green also had 4 tackles last year.

24-year old DE Jeremy Beal was a 7th round pick last April.  He spent his rookie year on the practice squad.

GRADE FOR 2011:  B+

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  A

The Denver Broncos focused on rebuilding the defense in the first draft under John Elway and John Fox’ regime.  OLB Von Miller gives the Broncos an outstanding pass rusher to team with DE Elvis Dumervil.  FS Rahim Moore and SS Quinton Carter were also outstanding picks who could both be starting for the Broncos very early in their NFL careers.  Linebackers Nate Irving and Mike Mohamed are both tackling machines.  DE Jeremy Beal was a steal in the 7th round for the Broncos.  TEs Julius Thomas and Virgil Green could help the passing game early on in their careers.

PROJECTED GRADE:  A

The Broncos picked 23-year old DE Jeremy Beal out of Oklahoma with the 247th overall pick (7th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Beal is 6’2″, 268 pounds and he runs a 4.9 40.  Beal is a good athlete but he might be a tad small for DE.  The Broncos will probably try to get him to gain a few pounds because he’s not fast enough to try OLB.  Beal played in 14 games (all starts) at Oklahoma last year and he had 72 tackles, 19 tackles for a loss, 8.5 sacks, batted down 7 passes, he forced 3 fumbles and he recovered 1 fumble.  Beal played in 54 games (43 starts) in his four years with the Sooners and he had 223 tackles, 58.5 tackles for a loss, he had 29 sacks, batted down 14 passes, forced 10 fumbles and he recovered 1 fumble.  The Broncos got a really solid player in the 7th round as a reward for excellent draft preparation.  Beal could be an impact pass rusher for the Broncos down the road.

The Denver Broncos took 23-year old TE Virgil Green out of Nevada with the 204th overall pick (7th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Green is 6’3″, 248 pounds and he runs a 4.56 40.  Green is going to be a big asset to the Broncos as he will give either Kyle Orton or Tim Tebow a nice big target to hit down the field.  Green has good hands and he can really jump.  He will need to improve as a run blocker and he might be able to be coached up there.  Green played in 14 games (all starts) at Nevada last year and he caught 35 passes for 515 yards (14.7 avg) with 5 TD grabs.  He played in 52 games (34 starts) in his four years at Nevada and he caught 72 passes for 939 yards (13.0 avg) with 11 TD grabs.  The Broncos got really good value with this pick as Green should have been long gone by the time they took him.  Green has a nice upside.

The Broncos have picked linebacker Mike Mohamed out of California with the 189th overall pick (6th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Mohamed is 6’3″, 239 pounds and he runs a 4.7 40.  He can handle playing inside or outside linebacker, so his versatility should help the Broncos.  He played in 11 games (10 starts) for California last year and he had 95 tackles, 5 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks, he broke up 1 pass, had 1 interception and he recovered 2 fumbles.  Mohamed played in 50 games (29 starts) in his four years with California and he had 340 tackles, 20 tackles for a loss, 7 sacks, he broke up 9 passes, had 7 interceptions and he forced 3 fumbles.  This was another solid pick for the Broncos as Mohamed should help out the rebuilding off the D.

The Broncos picked 23-year old TE Julius Thomas out of Portland State with the 129th overall pick (4th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Thomas is 6’4″, 251 pounds and he runs a 4.7 40.  Thomas played basketball his first four years at Portland State before turning to football in 2010.  He played in 11 games (1 start) for Portland State last year and he caught 29 passes for 453 yards (15.6 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Thomas has a huge upside because he’s such a good athlete, but, it might take him a lot of time to adjust to the jump in competition.  Thomas also has quite a bit to learn about playing TE before he’s ready to get on a NFL field.

The Broncos picked 23-year old strong safety Quinton Carter out of Oklahoma with the 108th overall pick (4th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Carter is 6’0″, 211 pounds and he runs a 4.55 40.  Carter is a solid in the box safety as he is really good with the action in front of him.  He does make plays down the field as he has good hands but he doesn’t have the speed to go toe to toe isolated against really fast receivers.  Carter played in 14 games (all starts) for Oklahoma last year and he had 96 tackles, broke up 6 passes, had 4 interceptions and he recovered 1 fumble.  Carter played in 44 games (29 starts) in his four years with the Sooners and he had 222 tackles, broke up 13 passes, had 8 interceptions and he recovered 2 fumbles.  This was a good pick for the Broncos as Carter has the upside to be a starter for them down the road.

The Denver Broncos have picked ILB/OLB Nate Irving out of North Carolina State with the 67th overall pick (3rd round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Irving is 6’1″, 242 pounds and he runs a 4.85 40, so he’s a pretty good athlete.  Irving played inside linebacker last season for the Wolfpack but he projects better as a outside linebacker in the pros because of his pass rush ability.  Irving played in 13 games (all starts) for North Carolina State last year and he had 92 tackles, 21.5 tackles for a loss, 7 sacks and he broke up 6 passes.  He played in 34 games (26 starts) in his three years with the Wolfpack and he had 228 tackles, 40.5 tackles for a loss, 9 sacks, he broke up 12 passes and he had 4 interceptions.  Irving will likely be starting soon for the Broncos as he has a nice upside.

The Denver Broncos picked 23-year old OT Orlando Franklin out of Miami (FL) with the 46th overall pick (2nd round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Franklin is 6’6″, 315 pounds and he’s mean.  He tries to drive defensive players into the dirt in the running game.  Franklin also has pass rushers usually done if he gets his powerful mitts on them.  Franklin played in 13 games (12 starts) for the Hurricanes last year and he played in 51 games (39 starts) in his four years with them.  Franklin wasn’t drafted to fill a need, he was picked because he was way too good to pass up.  I look for Franklin to force his way into the starting lineup in 2011 and beyond.  I love this pick for the Broncos.

The Denver Broncos picked 21-year old free safety Rahim Moore out of UCLA with the 45th overall pick (2nd round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Moore was the highest ranked safety according coming out this year according to most draft “experts”.  Moore is 6’1″, 195 and he runs a 4.45 40.  He is a ballhawk on defense as he believes that when the ball is in the air that it belongs to him.  He’s a little soft though and doesn’t especially likely tackling bigger RBs and WRs too much.  Moore played in 12 games (all starts) for UCLA last year and he had 77 tackles, he broke up 4 passes, had 1 interception and he recovered 1 fumble.  He played in 37 games (all starts) in his three years at UCLA and he had 186 tackles, he broke up 15 passes, had 14 interceptions and he has recovered 3 fumbles.  This pick fills a huge need for the Broncos as Moore will likely start at the back end of the D from Day #1.