The 2022 NFL Draft begins on April 28, which means that The Game Haus will be debuting draft profiles for every team. Each NFL team will be evaluated heading into this year’s draft, as our staff recaps their last season, highlights their needs and pinpoints their potential 2022 NFL Draft targets. The Denver Broncos are the subject of today’s 2022 NFL Draft profile.
Summary
The Denver Broncos finished the regular season with a disappointing 7-10 record under Vic Fangio. This was of course within the AFC West which is one of the toughest divisions in the league. The Broncos started Teddy Bridgewater who was solid throughout the season. Bridgewater had over 3,000 passing yards and 18 touchdowns. The Denver quarterback also kept interceptions at a minimum as he only had eight.
Bridgewater also had a lot of weapons such Noah Fant, who they will miss in the 2022 season. He had 674 yards and four touchdowns in his final campaign as a Bronco. Jerry Judy also stuck out on offense. He was hurt for some of the season, but he gave the Broncos a good amount production when he was healthy. The rushing attack was terrific as they featured Melvin Gordon and rookie standout Javonte Williams. They split a lot of the action during the season. They finished ranked 12th in rushing offense in 2021. We will now move on to the Defense is in this 2022 Denver Broncos Draft profile.
Defensively however Denver shows a lot of promise. They traded Von Miller to the Rams during the season which left a couple of their young linebackers having to step up. They did just that as the Broncos finished 14th in rushing defense. The one department they struggled in was getting to the quarterback. They finished the season ranked 18th in sacks in 2021. Dre’mont Jones was their biggest contributor in this department as he led the Broncos in sacks with five and a half. As for the secondary they were middle of the road statistically, but Patrick Surtain was a beast all year. He 58 tackles and four interceptions. Overall, their defense played pretty good during the season even though lost Von Miller in the middle of it. The Broncos were hard to score on all season.
Overall, The Broncos had a disappointing year finishing below 500. However, they have made huge changes. They fired Vic Fangio and hired former Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett. Furthermore, they made a huge splash in signing former Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson. The Broncos have made themselves as Super Bowl contenders in 2022.
2022 Draft Picks
The Denver Broncos will have three picks to use in the first three rounds of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Round 2 (one pick): No. 61
Round 3 (two picks): No. 93, No. 105
Team Needs
Tight End: Denver lost Noah Fant who was a part of the Russel Wilson trade. The next man up as of writing this is Albert Okwuegbunam who had a decent season. He had 330 yards and two touchdowns behind Fant. The Broncos will need a good tight end to replace Fant.
Linebacker: Denver added former Eagles linebacker Alex Singleton which is a huge signing for the Broncos. There is still a hole to fill at the right inside linebacker position as Josey Jewell is their best player on their depth chart at that spot. He only played two games in the regular season.
Edge Rusher: The Broncos need more players that can get to the quarterback and produce some sacks on defense. They lost one big sack producer in Von Miller during the season and Bradley Chubb has not been the most productive as of recent.
2022 Draft Targets
Second Round:
No. 61: Trey McBride, TE Colorado State
A lot of people think the Broncos will take a defensive guy or someone to strengthen their offensive line. However, Trey McBride would be a huge addition to this Broncos offense and would do wonders in replacing TE Noah Fant who helped this offense so much in 2021. McBride is a big guy as he is 6’4 and weighs 260 pounds. He has great hands and a lot of speed for a guy his size. Not to mention he is tough to bring down and will without a doubt gain yards after the catch.
He put up some monster numbers in 2021 with Colorado State. He had well over 1,000 yards receiving and one touchdown during the season. Yes, that one touchdown is a concern as he doesn’t bring much in the way of scoring production. However, he can bail the Broncos out by gaining a lot of yardages and bailing them out of tough holes offensively. It has already been reported that the Broncos were impressed with him at the combine and do not be surprised if the Broncos select him with their 61st overall pick.
Third Round:
No. 93: Brian Asamoah, LB, Oklahoma
The Broncos need another linebacker to replace Von Miller. Brian Asamoah would be a valuable pick at this position in the draft. In his senior season at Oklahoma, he had 80 total tackles with one sack in 2021. He has great speed and can move quickly to make tackles. This makes him a guy that will be around the ball and involved in a lot of plays. He is not known for making many sacks as he only had one in the 2021 season. This is a part of his game he can work on in the NFL. He also can force turnovers. He recorded two forced fumbles in the 2021 season which made him top 10 in that category in the Big 12. Asamoah and Alex Singleton would be a great duo and would make the Broncos run defense very good.
No. 105: DeAngelo Malone, EDGE, Western Kentucky
DeAngelo Malone would be great selection for the Broncos as he would be able to help Denver rush the quarterback. He had eight sacks during his senior season as Hilltopper. Malone has a lot of athleticism as he is quick and explosive off the line of scrimmage. He is also great at run defense and can stop running backs in the backfield. He had 17.5 tackles for a loss in 2021.
Not only can Malone put an offense behind the chains, but he also can give his defense an opportunity to get off the field with turnovers. He has four forced fumbles during his senior season. Critics may be skeptical about Malone has he did not play in a great conference, but his skill and abilities are undeniable and has all the tools necessary to play well in the NFL.
This concludes the 2022 Denver Broncos Draft Profile.
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