The Denver Broncos selected 22-year old outside linebacker Von Miller out of Texas A&M with the 2nd overall pick of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Miller is very fast around the corner as he runs a 4.6 40 despite being 6’2″, 237 pounds.  Miller played in 13 games (all starts) for Texas A&M last season and he had 68 tackles, 17.5 tackles for a loss, 10.5 sacks, he broke up 6 passes and he had 1 interception.  Von Miller will be expected to boost the pass rush from Day #1 for the Broncos.  Miller played in 47 games (30 starts) in his four years at Texas A&M and he finished up with 182 tackles, 50.5 tackles for a loss, 33 sacks, 11 passes broken up and 1 interception.  This looks like a great pick for the Broncos.

With John Fox on board as the new head coach of the Broncos, I look for them to reload on defensive players in next weekend’s NFL Draft and it’s a smart move.  Here is who I see the Broncos winding up next weekend based on my own mock draft:

1st round (#2 overall) – Nick Fairley, DT, Auburn

2nd round (#36 overall) – Christian Ballard, DE, Iowa

2nd round (#46 overall) – Rahim Moore, FS, UCLA

3rd round (#67 overall) – Tyler Sash, SS, Iowa

6th round (#186 overall) – Darren Evans, RB, Virginia Tech

6th round (#189 overall) – Ricky Henry, G, Nebraska

7th round (#247 overall) – Daniel Hardy, TE, Idaho

If the Broncos could come up with these players it would be a good start to rebuilding this once proud franchise.

The Denver Broncos found a lot of contributors last April in the NFL Draft and they hope to do the same at the end of this month.  Here is a look back at last year’s rookie crop:

Demaryius Thomas – In the first round last April the Broncos used the 22nd overall pick on WR Demaryius Thomas out of Georgia Tech.  Thomas played in 10 games (2 starts) for the Broncos last year and he caught 22 passes for 283 yards (12.9 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  He also carried the ball 2 times for 1 yard (0.5 ypc) last year.  Thomas also helped out on special teams as he returned 16 kickoffs for 398 yards (24.9 avg) and he also had 5 tackles.  An off-season injury already clouds Thomas’ 2011 season but he still has a nice upside.

Tim Tebow – The Broncos traded back into the first round last April and they used the 25th overall pick on QB Tim Tebow out of Florida.  He played in 9 games (3  starts) for the Broncos last year and he completed 41 of 82 passes (50%) for 654 yards with 5 TD passes and 3 INTs (82.1 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 43 times for 227 yards (5.3 ypc) with 6 TD runs last year.  Tebow proved that he could be an NFL starter but he’s going to have to beat out Kyle Orton for the starting gig in 2011 unless Orton is traded.

Zane Beadles – In the 2nd round, the Broncos took OG Zane Beadles out of Utah with the 45th overall pick.  Beadles played in 16 games (14 starts) for the Broncos last year and he finished the season as the starting guard on the left side.  He will enter the 2011 season as the Broncos’ starter at LG.

J.D. Walton – The Broncos used the 80th overall pick (3rd round) on center J.D. Walton out of Baylor.  He started from Day #1 and he was very consistent.  He will head into 2011 as the starting center  for the Broncos.

Eric Decker – The Broncos used the 87th overall pick (3rd round) on WR Eric Decker out of Minnesota.  Decker played inn 14 games (0 starts) for the Broncos last year and he caught 6 passes for 106 yards (17.7 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He also returned 22 kickoffs for 556 yards (25.3 avg) and he also had 9 tackles last year.  Decker is a good special teams player and I think he will be improving as a WR the more experience he gets.

Perrish Cox – The Broncos picked CB Perrish Cox out of Oklahoma State with the 137th overall pick (5th round) last April.  Off the field issues is the reason that Cox slipped so far in the draft as many projected him to get picked in the late first round.  Cox played in 15 games (9 starts) for the Broncos last year and he had 59 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, he defensed 14 passes, had 1 interception and he forced 2 fumbles.  Cox didn’t stop there as he also returned 16 kickoffs for 398 yards (24.9 avg) and 3 punts for 7 yards (2.3 avg).

Eric Olsen – The Broncos picked C Eric Olsen with the 183rd overall pick (6th round) out of Notre Dame.  Olsen only played in 1 game (0 starts) for the Broncos last year.  Olsen needs to pick up the pace this year if he wants to stick with the Broncos.

Syd’Quan Thompson – The Broncos might have a gem in  CB Syd’Quan Thompson.  He was picked in the 7th round (#225 overall) out of California.  He played in 13 games (0 starts) for the Broncos and he had 18 tackles, 4 passes defensed and 2 interceptions.  Thompson also returned 3 punts for 18 yards (6.0 avg) last year.

Jammie Kirlew – The Broncos used the 232nd overall pick (7th round) on OLB Jammie Kirlew out of Indiana.  He got cut on September 3rd before getting picked up by the Bills who stashed him on the practice squad.

GRADE FOR THE 2010 SEASON:  B+

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  A

23-year old rookie QB Tim Tebow will get his third start of the season tomorrow against the Chargers.  If he has a good game I really think the Broncos will try to deal Kyle Orton during the off-season.  Tebow has played in 8 games (2 starts) for the Broncos so far this year and he has completed 25 of 46 passes (54.3%) for 449 yards with 3 TD passes and 1 INT (100.7 QB Rating).  Tebow has also carried the ball 30 times for 133 yards (4.3 ypc) with 5 TD runs so far this year.  Ex-head coach Josh McDaniels took a chance in picking Tebow with the 25th overall pick of the first round and it might turn out being quite a going away gift.

You have to wonder if the Broncos might consider making a switch at QB to provide a spark to the team.  Rookie 23-year old Tim Tebow has played in 6 games for the Broncos so far this year and he has completed 1 of 1 passes for 3 yards with 1 TD pass (118.8 QB Rating).  Tebow has also carried the ball 12 times for 28 yards (2.3 ypc) with 3 TD carries so far this year.  Even though this season appears lost for the Broncos, I don’t think it would be right to yank 28-year old QB Kyle Orton out of the starting lineup.  Orton has played in 12 games so far this year and he has completed 274 of 457 passes (60%) for 3,487 yards with 20 TD passes and 6 INTs (93.0 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 20 times for 93 yards (4.7 ypc) so far this year.

23-year old cornerback Perrish Cox was a 5th round pick out of Oklahoma State last season.  For some reason he dropped in the draft as many experts had him graded out to be picked in the 2nd or 3rd round.  The Broncos are happy that he slipped to them.  Cox has played in 7 games for the Broncos so far this year and he has 27 tackles, 10 passes defensed, 1 interception and 1 forced fumble.  Cox will continue to get playing time as long as he stays effective.

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.