Drafting Smart

It wasn't flashy. It wasn't trading up to get Jay Cutler. But the Broncos did what they had to in the draft. Shanahan picked up not one, not two, but three defensive linemen. And they weren't from Cleveland. Can't get any better than that.

In theory, this has the makings of a great draft. With new defensive coach Jim Bates in the mix, this group could turn out be stellar. Bates' expertise is sacks. He's the mastermind of getting to the quarterback. A few years down the road, the Broncos just might have the league sack leader sitting pretty in Dove Valley. And there's a good chance it'll be one of these guys: Moss, Crowder, or Thomas.

Thomas is the guy to worry about. He has a past history of "conduct detrimental to the team, " but we all know that Shanahan is a gambler and this is his preseason crap shoot. On the flip side, Thomas might be the best of the bunch. A lot of teams passed on Thomas because of his character, which begs the question: what 20 year old hasn't made a kaboodle of mistakes? Thomas may very well be the defensive steal of the entire draft.

Despite what people think, Shanahan consistently puts his team in a position to a) get better and b) win as many games as possible to get the Super Bowl. Kudos on a solid draft.