Broncos had first-round target in mind if they passed on Bo Nix

Despite rooting for a team that also reached on its first-round quarterback, what the Denver Broncos did to take Bo Nix No. 12 out of Oregon may go down in NFL history as one of the worst picks ever. Denver could have waited to the third round to take him, as nobody else even had a first-round grade on the guy.

Furthermore, what ESPN's Jeremy Fowler revealed had the Broncos not taken Nix at No. 12, there was a pretty good chance they would have taken former UCLA and Washington edge rusher Laiatu Latu with that pick. He went three picks later to the Indianapolis Colts at No. 15.

Latu may have had concerning medicals regarding his neck coming out of UCLA, but he was the first defensive player taken in the draft. Other teams, including my Atlanta Falcons, were very high on Latu, but ended up passing on him. Even though the Broncos did not have a second-round pick, the seventh quarterback taken this year was Spencer Rattler to the New Orleans Saints in the fifth round.

I know that we would not be panning the Broncos' draft as much if they took Latu over Nix at No. 12.

Denver Broncos could have taken Laiatu Latu at No. 12 instead of Bo Nix

For those who don't learn from history, they are doomed to repeat it. I gotta be honest with you, I think about the Minnesota Vikings' 12th overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft almost daily. Christian Ponder was a good college quarterback in theory, but that dude had no chance at being a first-round pick, until he was. He handed the ball off to Adrian Peterson a ton before quickly washing out of the league.

While I would attest that Nix will have far greater staying power in the NFL than did Ponder, he is going to such a tough situation in Denver. He may have the aptitude to master Sean Payton's play-calling like Russell Wilson simply could not. Then again, Nix may not be built for this. He struggled at times playing in the SEC in front of large crowds. Good luck going to Arrowhead and the Desert Rumba!

Overall, I was not that big of a fan of Latu coming out. The medicals scared me a bit, but not as much as it did with the Miami Dolphins, who reached on Chop Robinson coming out of Penn State. However, the value was more in Latu's favor being the No. 12 pick than Nix. I would have taken Nix a few picks later, but it seems as though the Los Angeles Rams wanted an Aaron Donald replacement instead.

While Nix ended up with an offensive-minded head coach named Sean, Payton is not McVay of today.