For the Denver Broncos
Corey Kluber Jersey , long-shot projects are so last year.Instead, long-term prospects are what dominants their 2018 draft class, players who spent four years in college and enter the NFL with degrees in
hand.
Picking higher than they’re accustomed to also allowed the Broncos to land players that initially seemed out of reach. They were thrilled when North
Carolina State pass rusher Bradley Chubb, the draft’s top-ranked defender, fell
to them at No. 5 , and again when SMU receiver Courtland Sutton was there at 40
.
Starting with those two surprising selections, nine of Elway’s 10 picks spent four years in college. Almost all were captains and all bring a shot of maturity
to a team that was besieged by a generational divide last year when several
exasperated veterans charged the 2017 draft class with wanting playing time
based not on merit but on draft status.
Elway said Saturday he needed to inject a shot of maturity into a team that’s coming off a five-win season just two years after a Super Bowl parade.
”One thing we learned last year when you’re 5-11 and you’re in a losing streak, you need that maturity and that leadership to get things turned around,”
Elway said. ”So, these players have that ability.
”That’s why we decided to go more in that direction.”
Elway copied his cornerstone selection of Chubb on Days 2 and 3, beginning with Sutton, who took a medical redshirt his first year at SMU and graduated
after his junior season.
”I stayed another year and I worked on those things that some people saw as my weaknesses,” said Sutton, suggesting that decision did wonders for his
maturity and his game.
It wasn’t until the sixth round and their seventh pick – Arizona State guard/center Sam Jones – that the Broncos selected a player who left school
before his eligibility expired.
Jones declared for the draft after Sun Devils coach Todd Graham was fired.
After Sutton, Elway’s next five picks – Oregon running back Royce Freeman
Authentic Customized Raiders Jerseys , Boston College cornerback Isaac Yiadom, Iowa linebacker Josey Jewell, Penn State wide receiver DaeSean Hamilton
and Wisconsin tight end Troy Fumagalli – all stayed through their senior
seasons.
So did Denver’s last two picks, Washington linebacker Keishawn Bierra and Arkansas running back David Williams, who transferred with his degree in hand
after three seasons at South Carolina.
Aside from Jones, the Broncos’ other nine draft picks have a combined 412 games of FBS experience.
So, unlike last year’s class, which has yet to pay dividends , this group is expected to make more of an immediate impact as the Broncos try to leave behind
two disappointing seasons and return to the playoff picture for the first time
since winning Super Bowl 50.
SNEAK PEAK: Fumagalli, Yiadom and Hamilton all caught the Broncos’ eye at the Senior Bowl, which was one bright spot from coach Vance Joseph’s dreadful debut
season.
”It was huge for us,” Joseph said. ”Coaching that game is a clear advantage going into the draft. We drafted three guys from Senior Bowl game. To have a
chance to work with those guys for a week in meetings and on the practice field
is huge. Taking three guys from that game proves it.”
Not that they want to go back to Mobile, Alabama, for the annual all-star game again any time soon.
”You don’t want to coach that for a long time,” Elway said. ”We had a great time at the Senior Bowl
Cheap Tre'Quan Smith Jersey , but we are good not coaching it for a while.”
KEEPING THE FAITH: The Broncos’ decision to bypass a deep class of quarterbacks shows how much faith Elway maintains in Paxton Lynch, whom he moved
up to grab in the first round out of Memphis two years ago.
Lynch has only started four games in two years, but Elway keeps insisting he still believes in the raw quarterback even after signing Case Keenum in free
agency and declaring him the starter in 2018.
”We are not kicking him to the curb,” Elway said of Lynch. ”Paxton is going to compete with Chad (Kelly) for that backup spot.”
That marked the first time Elway has thrown Kelly into the mix publicly in the year since he drafted him out of Mississippi with the final pick in
2017.
HOMETOWN HERO: Among the Broncos’ undrafted signees is Colorado running back Phillip Lindsay, a Denver native who will compete in the backfield with Devontae
Booker and De’Angelo Henderson to back up Freeman.
—
??The ball had just been whacked out of Tom Brady’s right hand at the worst possible moment for the New England Patriots, giving the Philadelphia Eagles the
ball just before the two-minute warning.Brady sat on the turf, resting his arms
on his knees with a pose of resignation. Once he reached the sideline and
plopped down on the bench, he lowered his head and stared down for several
seconds .This was surely not the end of his unparalleled and
sure-bet-for-the-Hall-of-Fame career, but at age 40 there’s no guarantee this
wasn’t the last time he played in a Super Bowl.“It’s a team sport. The Eagles
played a better game today,” Brady said. “They deserve to win. That’s why we’re
not the champs.”The fumble, forced by Brandon Graham and picked up by Derek
Barnett, put the Eagles in position for a field goal that pushed their lead to
eight points. Brady and the Patriots had one last possession, but his final
heave from midfield was batted down to give the Eagles their first Super Bowl
trophy with a 41-33 victory and drop Brady’s career record in the title game to
5-3.The all-time leader with eight career postseason fourth-quarter comebacks,
Brady wasn’t able to notch a ninth.“We obviously didn’t make enough plays in the
red zone and turned the ball over one time,” offensive coordinator Josh
McDaniels said. “If we have a turnover that leads to some points for
them
Adidas Henrik Sedin Jersey , and you fail to score a couple of touchdowns in the first part of the game, generally speaking against a really good team, it
usually comes back to bite you.”Brady already owns a healthy share of the NFL
record book, but there’s a new entry that he and all of New England would prefer
to erase. Brady became the first quarterback in NFL history to lose a game, in
the regular season or the playoffs, despite passing for 500 or more yards, three
or more touchdowns and no interceptions.“You always hope you come out on the
winning end of the shootout,” Brady said. “We didn’t win it today.”Brady
finished 28 for 48 for 505 yards and three scores and a 115.4 passer rating. He
has two of the three 400-yard passing games in Super Bowl history, with his 466
yards in last season’s overtime win over Atlanta and Kurt Warner’s 414 yards for
the St. Louis Rams in a victory over the Tennessee Titans 18 years ago.“I’ve
played in eight of them, and they’re all good games. Today, we had our
opportunities,” Brady said. “Never really got control of the game. Never really
played on our terms. Just didn’t make plays when we needed to.”This was the
second time Brady was voted the NFL’s Most Valuable Player and lost in the Super
Bowl, a contrast he also experienced 10 years ago.In fact, the past nine winners
of the Associated Press MVP award to reach the big game have lost. The others
were Kurt Warner (2001), Rich Gannon (2002)
Youth Natrell Jamerson Jersey , Shaun Alexander (2005), Peyton Manning (2009 and 2013), Cam Newton (2015) and Matt Ryan (2016).Brady led the league in
2017 with 4,577 passing yards, despite losing standout wide receiver Julian
Edelman to a knee injury, so he sure hasn’t been slowing down. There’ve been
reports of friction between Brady, coach Bill Belichick and owner Robert Kraft,
but any potential dysfunction didn’t deter him. He was all smiles during his
interview sessions during the week, wondering with seeming sincere curiosity why
there’s been so much media fixation on when he’ll ever retire. This one, though,
had to hurt.“No one is going to feel sorry for us,” Brady said. “We’ll evaluate
like we always do. I’m sure everyone is pretty tired after a long year. That’s
football.”.
