Good Morning, Broncos fans! Let's open with some key points from Peter King's MMQB column:
- According to PK, Denver sees Cody Latimer as replacing Eric Decker right away. That would be something; we'll believe it when we see it.
- Johnny Manziel was pretty convinced he was going to end up in St. Louis; the Browns apparently beat out the Vikings in trading up to draft him at #22.
- Browns GM Ray Farmer says he was close to drafting Sammy Watkins at #4, before trading down. Of course, they drafted no wideouts, and Josh Gordon is facing a one-year weed-related suspension.
- San Francisco parlayed the Alex Smith trade (two second-rounders from KC) into five players - Stevie Johnson and four players drafted in the second and third rounds of the past two drafts.
- Jacksonville was close to moving down from #3 in a deal with Atlanta, hoping to extract an extra third-rounder while still drafting Blake Bortles.
- Impossible not to root for Les Snead, Jeff Fisher, Kevin Demoff, and the rest of the Rams organization. For all of our cynicism, the drafting of Michael Sam and how it was presented on television speaks to the power of the NFL for good.
And a couple of tidbits from elsewhere:
- Dallas was on the phone with the agent for Ryan Shazier when Pittsburgh snatched up the linebacker one spot ahead of them.
- The Jets frantically tried to trade up for Marqise Lee during the second round, but were unable to.
Broncos
Mike Klis says Demaryius Thomas will indeed get his money from Denver, and figures to have Emmanuel Sanders and Latimer alongside him in 2015.
FWIW, Terry Frei agrees with King re:Latimer.
Jeff Legwold thinks Juwan Thompson's having played for David Cutcliffe at Duke will help his chances of sticking.
Troy Renck expects Lamin Barrow to push Nate Irving at the Mike, and he says Matt Paradis weighed in 20 pounds heavier than Denver had expected.
News
Indy added Hurricanes hoopster Erik Swoope, whom Denver had worked out.
Philly signed Nebraska QB Taylor Martinez; Chicago signed NIU QB Jordan Lynch as a RB.
Michael Sam
That Miami locker room sure has a bunch of swell guys. Don Jones was fined and suspended by the team over homophobic tweets following the Rams' selection of Sam.
Bill Barnwell thinks Sam's chances of sticking on a 53-man roster would have been better if he'd ended up with the Bears or Giants.
Sam jerseys have been the second best sellers among drafted players.
Analysis
In his draft wrap, Mike Tanier suggests that rather than stick with their plan, the Browns should have adapted to the Nate Burleson injury and late-breaking Gordon suspension, and drafted a wide receiver.
Greg Gabriel reviews the draft hauls of the NFCN teams.
Doug Farrar includes Kapri Bibbs among his favorite undrafted rookies.
Chase Stuart examines the capital spent in the draft at each position.
PFF has T.J. Ward ranked as their 100th best player in the NFL.