John Bena from SB Nation's Mile High Report has posted a lengthy interview with Denver Broncos GM Brian Xanders filled with all sorts of good nuggets.
2011 NFL Draft: After No Defensive Tackle, Broncos Look To Free Agency
One thing that stood out to me regarding the Broncos draft was the lack of a defensive tackle and Xanders hinted to Bena that there’s still work to be done saying there’s still a full free agency board of defensive linemen. Xanders also addressed the run on defensive linemen and how it may have affected Denver.
There were just some good players that all got picked early. There were 12 defensive lineman, I think, picked in the first round, then in the 2nd round there are a couple left. It's something that happens - it happens every year with the offensive tackle board too - the good ones go early.
So this tells you that defensive tackle is on the Broncos’ radar -- you just can’t fill every need in every draft.
This brings up a really interesting question regarding defensive linemen. For example, I'm a Kansas City Chiefs fan and KC got Ole Miss DT Jerrell Powe in the sixth round when he was rated by a lot of mock drafters to be a third or fourth round talent. Maybe he simply just fell but one theory could be that, as Xanders says, so many teams got their fill on defensive tackles early that they the other guys started to fall.
Hop on over to Mile High Report and check out the full interview. Lots of good Broncos tidbits including an admission that LB Von Miller is a day-one starter.
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