The Broncos’ draft last April was kind of ho hum except for the first pick.  RB Knowshon Moreno (1st round, #12 overall) out of Georgia had a decent rookie season for the Broncos.  He played in all 16 games for the Broncos last season and he carried the ball 247 times for 947 yards (3.8 ypc) with 7 TD runs.  Moreno also caught 28 passes for 213 yards (7.6 avg) with 2 TD grabs last season.  Look for him to top those numbers as early as the 2010 season.  OLB/DE Robert Ayers (1st round, #18 overall) out of Tennessee was supposed to be a big time pass rusher but he didn’t show that last season.  He played in 15 games for the Broncos last season and he finished up with 19 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss and 2 passes defensed.  CB Alphonso Smith (2nd round, #37 overall) out of Wake Forest was a helpful player despite being a backup last year.  Smith played in 15 games for the Broncos last season and he had 14 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and 3 passes defensed.  Smith also returned 4 kickoffs for 75 yards (18.8 avg) and 10 punts for 47 yards (4.7 avg) last season.  Safety Darcel McBath (2nd round, #48 overall) out of Texas Tech showed some potential last season as he played in 13 games for the Broncos making 26 tackles, defensing 3 passes and picking off two.  TE Richard Quinn (2nd round, #64 overall) out of North Carolina didn’t catch any passes as a rookie last season.  He did play in 15 games for the Broncos last season in which he returned 1 kickoff for 19 yards and he made 2 tackles.  Free safety David Bruton (4th round, #114 overall) out of Notre Dame played in 14 games last season for the Broncos and he finished with 14 tackles, 1 forced fumble and he defensed 1 pass.  Guard Seth Olsen (4th round, #132 overall) out of Iowa played in 3 games (0 starts) for the Broncos last season.  He does have nice size at 6′5″, 308 pounds so the Broncos think he will grow some.  WR Kenny McKinley (5th round, #141 overall) out of South Carolina helped out on special teams despite not catching any passes as a rookie last season for the Broncos.  He played in 8 games for the Broncos last season and he returned 7 kickoffs for 158 yards (22.6 avg) and 3 punts for 32 yards (10.7 avg).  McKinley also made 3 tackles last year.  QB Tom Brandstater (6th round, #174 overall) out of Fresno State stuck around all year as the #3 QB despite not playing in any games.  Center Blake Schlueter (7th round, #225 overall) out of TCU didn’t make the Broncos and he finished up the season with the Falcons, but he never got on the field.

GRADE FOR 2009:  C+

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  B

The Broncos have lost rookie safety Darcel McBath for the rest of the year with a broken forearm.  McBath played in 13 games for the Broncos last season and he made 26 tackles, defensed 3 passes and he had 2 interceptions.  McBath was a second round pick last April out of Texas Tech and he appears to have a bright future in Denver.

It appears to me the RB Knowshon Moreno (1st round, #12 overall) will be a workhorse back in the very near future.  He has carried the ball 109 times for 420 yards (3.9 ypc) with 2 TD runs and he also caught 11 passes for 64 yards (5.8 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Moreno is just scratching the surface of his potential as he is sharing the football with veteran Correll Buckhalter right now.  DE Robert Ayers (1st round, #18 overall) has not played well yet for the Broncos as he has 9 tackles and 2 tackles for a loss.  CB Alphonso Smith (2nd round, #37 overall) was drafted with the future in mind as the Broncos are stacked at CB.  He has made 8 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and he has defensed 2 passes this season.  Safety Darcel McBath (2nd round, #48 overall) has 12 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception this season.  TE Richard Quinn (2nd round, #64 overall) has not caught any passes this season and he has 1 tackle.  FS David Bruton (4th round, #114 overall) has 5 tackles this season so far.  OG Seth Olsen (4th round, #132 overall) has played in 2 games (0 starts) this season for the Broncos.  WR/KR Kenny McKinley (5th round, #141 overall) has not caught any passes this season for the Broncos but he has returned 3 kickoffs for 74 yards (24.7 avg) this year.  QB Tom Brandstater (6th round, #174 overall) is the #3 QB for the Broncos but he hasn’t played this season yet.  C Blake Schlueter (7th round, #225 overall) has been cut.  The early returns on this draft have not looked good outside of Moreno but the potential for this draft is pretty high down the road.

Rookie RB Knowshon Moreno is stepping up for the Denver Broncos this season.  With Correll Buckhalter out of action the Broncos needed Moreno to become more of a lead back and he is doing a solid job.  Moreno has carried the ball 81 times for 337 yards (4.2 ypc) with 1 TD run and he has also caught 8 passes for 69 yards (8.6 avg) with 1 TD grab this season.  The Broncos are expecting big things out of Moreno as his running style reminds many of Terrell Davis.

The Broncos traded up to select Richard Quinn with the last pick of Day #1 of the NFL Draft.  Quinn is 6′3″, 260 pounds and he runs a 4.75 40.  But, the reason the Broncos selected Quinn is because he’s a great run blocker operating like a extra tackle on the end of the O-Line.  Quinn played 3 seasons for North Carolina covering 34 games (19 starts) in which he caught 12 passes for 124 yards (10.3 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Look for Quinn to contribute in the running game for the Broncos in 2009.