The Broncos selected WR/KR Eddie Royal out of Virginia Tech with their 2nd round pick last Saturday.  Royal only projects as a #3 or #4 WR in the future because of his size.  He is only 5′9″, 182 pounds but he runs a 4.48 40 and can flat out fly.  Royal played in 52 games (44 starts) for Virginia Tech and he caught 119 passes for 1,778 yards (14.9 avg) with 12 TD grabs.  Royal does not have the body type to be a effective kickoff returner in the NFL.  He returned 59 kickoffs for 1,386 yards (23.5 avg) at Virginia Tech.  Royal is a fine punt returner however as he can take any one that he fields to the house. 

The Broncos continued to try and get younger on the offensive line with the pick of Ryan Clady in the first round.  Clady stands at 6′6″, 315 pounds but he runs a 5.1 40.  Clady played in 39 games (37 starts) in his career at Boise State.  Clady should fit well in the Broncos zone blocking scheme as he’s adept at hitting moving targets in the running game.  The increase in competition could be a problem for Clady so it will be interesting to see how he handles it. 

The Broncos have acquired DT Dewayne Robertson from the New York Jets for a late round conditional pick in the 2009 NFL Draft.  The pick can escalate to as high as a 2nd rounder based on Robertson’s performance for the Broncos in 2008.  Robertson played in all 16 games (15 starts) for the Jets last season and he made 57 tackles and had 4 sacks.  Robertson has now played in 77 games (75 starts) in his NFL career and he has made 256 tackles, has 14.5 sacks and he has defensed 1 pass.  This was a good move for the Broncos who needed some size to help defend the run.

The Broncos have signed WR Samie Parker.  Parker played in 15 games for the Chiefs last season and he caught 24 passes for 298 yards (12.4 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Parker has now played in 47 games in his NFL career and he has caught 110 passes for 1,529 yards (13.9 avg) with 7 TD grabs and he has also carried the ball 4 times for 9 yards (2.3 ypc).  Parker will probably fit in as the #4 WR on the Broncos in 2008.

The Broncos have signed 29-year old WR Darrell Jackson to a 1-year deal.  Jackson played in 15 games with the 49ers last season and he caught 46 passes for 497 yards (10.8 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  Jackson has now played in 111 games in his NFL career and he has caught 487 passes for 6,942 yards (14.3 avg) with 50 TD grabs.  He will give the Broncos another veteran wide receiver with upside which should help out the whole offense.

The Broncos decided to use all four of their draft picks last season on linemen.  1st round pick, DE Jarvis Moss injured himself as he only played in 6 games (1 start) last season and he made 12 tackles, had 1 sack and forced 1 fumble.  DE Tim Crowder was taken in the 2nd round by the Broncos.  Crowder played in 13 games (1 start) for the Broncos last season and he made 17 tackles and forced a fumble.  OT Ryan Harris was the 3rd round pick of the Broncos and they expect him to be a starter soon.  He played in 11 games for the Broncos last season but he didn’t get any starts.  DT Marcus Thomas has the highest upside of all of the players the Broncos drafted but he slipped to the 4th round because of off-field issues. Thomas played in all 16 games (5 starts) for the Broncos last season and he made 20 tackles, forced 1 fumble, defensed 1 pass and intercepted 1 pass.

GRADE FOR THE 2007 SEASON:  C

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  B

The Denver Broncos have signed center Casey Wiegmann to a 2-year contract.  The 34-year old Wiegmann is the Broncos’ kind of lineman as he is a little on the small side at 6′2″, 285 pounds but he’s quick.  Wiegmann started all 16 games for the Chiefs last season.  He has now played in 163 games (136 starts) in his NFL career so he nows all the tricks of the trade.  This was a good move for the Broncos.

The Broncos signed center Chris Myers to a 4-year, $11 million dollar contract and then they traded him to the Houston Texans for a 6th round pick in the 2008 NFL Draft.  Myers started all 16 games for the Broncos last season.  He played in 41 games and started 16 of them in his three seasons for the Broncos.  It doesn’t seem as if the Broncos got fair value for Myers.

The Broncos have signed WR Edell Shepherd.  He didn’t play at all last season in the NFL.  He has now played in 25 games in his NFL career and he has caught 13 passes for 163 yards (12.5 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Shepherd has also returned 3 punts for 24 yards (8.0 avg) and 37 kickoffs for 809 yards (21.9 avg).  Shepherd will be a long shot to make the Broncos but it helps his cause that he is a good special teams player.

The Broncos have signed linebacker Boss Bailey to a 5-year, $17.5 million dollar contract.  Bailey is CB Champ’s brother which is a nice thing.  Bailey played in 15 games for the Lions last season and he made 51 tackles, 2 passes defensed, 3.5 sacks and 1 forced fumble.  Bailey has now played in 58 games in his NFL career and he has made 265 tackles, 13 passes defensed, 7 sacks, 1 forced fumble and 2 interceptions including one returned for a TD.  This was a good move for the Broncos who needed help at linebacker.