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2018 NFL Draft: Denver Broncos 7-round mock

By Conor Dorney

SOUTH BEND, IN - OCTOBER 28: Notre Dame Fighting Irish offensive lineman Quenton Nelson (56) battles with North Carolina State Wolfpack defensive tackle Ben Frazier (90) during the college football game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the North Carolina State Wolfpack on October 28, 2017, at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, IN. (Photo by Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
SOUTH BEND, IN - OCTOBER 28: Notre Dame Fighting Irish offensive lineman Quenton Nelson (56) battles with North Carolina State Wolfpack defensive tackle Ben Frazier (90) during the college football game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the North Carolina State Wolfpack on October 28, 2017, at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, IN. (Photo by Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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The Denver Broncos may opt to solve their quarterback problems in free agency but will still need to have a strong draft in order to make the playoffs next season.

The Denver Broncos may be just two years removed from winning a Super Bowl title but now find themselves picking in the top five of the 2018 NFL Draft. After a promising start to 2017, the club reeled off eight consecutive losses that all put an end to their playoff hopes.

Between Trevor Siemian and Paxton Lynch, the club’s most glaring need remains at quarterback and by all accounts, they may very well be the favorites to land Kirk Cousins in free agency. For the sake of prognostication, I’ll base this seven-round mock on the idea that Denver does in fact land Cousins. With Cousins in the fold, the Broncos can afford to fill their secondary needs early before going with the best-player-available approach during the rest of the draft.

Picking at number five and not needing a quarterback also gives them quite a bit of leverage to trade back with a number of teams that will be hungry for one. Teams like Arizona and Buffalo both figure to be contenders for a trade up with the Broncos if Cousins takes his talents to the Mile High city.

The Broncos enter the draft with all of their native picks in addition to a fourth-rounder from San Francisco and fifth-rounder via Atlanta. So, without further ado, let’s take a look at how John Elway and company will look to get Denver back on the right track with a strong draft in 2018.

1st round

The Broncos have some work to do in solidifying their offensive line play and no prospect is more pro-ready in this class than Notre Dame’s Quenton Nelson.

Nelson is big and mean, with the ability to become a Pro Bowl-caliber starter at guard from day one of his NFL career. Denver won’t be the only team making their case for Kirk Cousins, but the idea of pairing Nelson and last year’s first-round selection Garrett Bolles on the left side would be awfully enticing for any free agent quarterback.

Nelson has some of the best awareness of any player in this draft class and has the power to really get things going in the run game. He won’t wow you with his athleticism but at 6-foot- 5 and 330 pounds, he has more than enough mass to power through defenders in one-on-one situations. Even though the run game was never really the problem on offense last season, adding Nelson and his ability to move defenders off the ball will go a long ways towards opening up the offense as a whole.

Aside from Bradley Chubb, Quenton Nelson will possibly have the biggest impact of any first-round rookie and the Broncos would be making a great investment in the former Fighting Irish standout with the fifth-overall pick.

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