The Bourbon Belly Up April 6 – April 13
By Adam Uribes
· General
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· 2 min read
"Yes, teammates are pointing to Ellis’s athleticism at the combine as a justification for the move. Just something to chew on, Ellis has been less than stellar covering receivers in space and struggles moving laterally, not exactly glowing traits that say moving to the inside will be a smooth transition."
The Raiders will challenge for the AFC West this year…
APRIL FOOLS!!!
Sorry, had to get that jab in there. Is it ironic that April Fools ' Day corresponds with all the chatter and rumors that come out of thin air during the lead-up to the NFL Draft? It seems to be, but so does every year.
With the Jaylen Waddle deal in the review, Denver does not have a 1st round pick at the time of writing, meaning that all is quiet in Broncos Country right now. While anything can happen, as of right now, the heavy drama of the draft is probably all clear.
All things being quiet does not mean things can't change in a hurry. So what is going on in Broncos Country right now? Let's take a peek.
**1. Jonah Ellis – INSIDE Linebacker**
Position changes are common in college football, but not so much in the pros. So when you hear of a team moving a player from one spot on the field to another, it is significant. Former 2nd round pick, Ellis, has shown flashes of talent while working in a rotational backup to both Jonothan Cooper and Nik Bonitto, but hasn’t had the sustained production that you would like to see so far. Join that together with Ellis dealing with some injury issues, and the emergence of 5th round pick Que Robinson, and you get a position change for Ellis.
Yes, teammates are pointing to Ellis’s athleticism at the combine as a justification for the move. Just something to chew on, Ellis has been less than stellar covering receivers in space and struggles moving laterally, not exactly glowing traits that say moving to the inside will be a smooth transition.
**2. Best Player Available or Position of Need? **
The age-old question: Do you draft a player you need, or do you take the highest-rated guy on your board? If previous draft history has told us anything about George Paton, it bears out that the Broncos draft board is the final authority.
From Patrick Surtain in 2021 to Jahdae Barron last year, the Broncos tend to follow the board more often than they don’t. There are examples of taking a player at a position of need, the name Bo Nix comes to mind in 2023, but from Riley Moss, to Robinson, to even Caleb Lohner and Jeremy Crawshaw last year, Paton isn’t afraid to trust his evaluators without getting caught up in where they play on the field.
All the means is, don’t be shocked if the first of the Broncos draft picks comes on Day 2 of the draft, and isn’t who all the talking heads think it should be.
**3. Aaron Rodgers to Denver??**
That headline already is giving more attention to something that won’t happen, probably. However, there are credible people in the know who say that the story of the Broncos having interest in the future Hall-of-Famer does have SOME credibility.
It does seem a bit far-fetched to see Rodgers pacing the sidelines with the headset, but you can also make the argument that Denver was a quarterback away from playing for Lombardi once Nix went down at the end of the divisional round. While anything can happen in the NFL, file this under “nah”.
Just because it’s the offseason does not mean that Bourbon, Broncos, and No BS are resting until the start of next season. Listen up every Tuesday as we go into the most important topics of the day, giving you something to tide you over until this fall.
Tags: Broncos, Broncos Country, NFL, Denver, Football, NFL, Blogs