We now know who the Broncos took in the 2008 draft, and you know what that means…time for some analysis.

In the first round, Ryan Clady was the best case scenario for the Broncos and that was exactly what happened. While some liked Vanderbilt’s Chris Williams and/or Branden Albert, from Virginia, more than Clady there’s no doubt that Ryan was the right pick for Denver. Clady moves very well for his size, and will be a perfect fit in the Broncos zone-blocking system. Left tackle became a giant need for the Broncos when Matt Lepsis decided to hang it up after a long and decorated career in Denver. Clady won’t have a lot of competition for the starting spot, and it wouldn’t be a total surprise to see him spend a year at right tackle learning the offense before the Broncos move him over to where he will eventually be. With Jay Cutler in place, and now Ryan Clady coming to protect his blindside, the Broncos have the two most important positions in football filled for years to come.

The first "WHAT THE HELL!?" moment of the Broncos draft came in round two, when the Broncos selected Virginia Tech wide receiver, Eddie Royal with their pick. With Dan Connor on the board, and Nike Koutouvides as the only middle linebacker on the roster now that D.J. Williams will be going back outside, it made it hard to understand what the Broncos were doing. Even when you look at the receiver position, where Denver needed help, Eddie Royal still doesn’t make sense. Devin Thomas, Malcolm Kelly, Limas Sweed were possibly the three best receivers in the draft, and all were still available. Royal does bring a decent return game to Denver, but even then: DeSean Jackson is even better. I still don’t know what Denver was thinking taking Eddie Royal at this pick.

The Broncos didn’t have a third round pick, but made up for it with two picks in the fourth round…kind of. With the first pick (9^th in the round) the Broncos took center, from Bowling Green, Kory Lichtensteiger. Lichtensteiger is a capable run blocker who can play either guard or center. Unfortunately, the Broncos didn’t need a center which is where his future will ultimately be. Tom Nalen is still in Denver, and Casey Wiegmann is dependable and a perennial pro bowler who was brought in. Denver still had other huge needs (linebacker, safety, cornerback) that they could have filled here but instead went with Kory. Later in the round (20^th), Denver made a very good pick when they drafted Kent State’s Jack Williams. While most people haven’t heard of him, he’s still a great pick. He’s not going to start right now, and Denver doesn’t need him to with Dre Bly and Champ Bailey already there. He’ll likely compete with Dominique Foxworth for the nickel back spot and will see a lot of time on the field this year. With a reported 4.32 40-time, Jack Williams was a nice pick here; I thought he would be gone by the end of the third round.

I didn’t like what the Broncos did at all, in the fifth round of the draft. Again, they had two picks. With the 4^th pick in the round, Denver took running back from Arizona State, Ryan Torain. Torain was good as a junior, but was all banged up last year: foot, ankle, and calf injuries all kept him off the field. While I can see what the Broncos liked in Torain, he’s a great one-cut, north-south runner that fits the Broncos running back mold, there were still probably better backs out there (paging Chauncey Washington). Not a horrible pick, but the team already has Travis Henry, Selvin Young, Mike Bell, Cecil Sapp, and Andre Hall on the roster. With the 13^th pick in the round, Denver went with another Virginia Tech Hokie: defensive tackle, Carlton Powell. Powell wasn’t even a productive college player (5 ˝ career sacks), and played in a pro style defense there. There were a few defensive tackles with more upside here, and Letroy Guion from Florida State could have been just what the doctor ordered for Denver---a decent pass rusher who also is a solid tackler from the defensive tackle spot. In terms of pure strength and size, Frank Okam was also available and would have provided more help than Powell will. I hope that this time next year, I’m eating my words; but I seriously doubt it.

In the final two rounds, Denver did a great job---probably better than anyone else in those same two rounds---safety, Joshua Barrett put up great numbers at Arizona State and showed amazing speed at his pro day and the combine. He had legitimate third round talent and was still available in the seventh. A rival of his in college, Spencer Larsen was taken in the 6^th round and the middle linebacker was one of the players (along with Barrett) Denver could have picked in one of the two rounds before. They closed out their draft taking fullback, Peyton Hillis from Arkansas. Hillis cleared the way for two first round running backs---Darren McFadden and Felix Jones---and is very similar to Cecil Sapp. Hillis can run the ball, and is also a very willing run blocker. He has a "complete fullback game" (and, yes…I did just make that up.)

In summation, the Broncos drafted started out very good when they landed Ryan Clady. However, that was a no-brainer pick and they made some questionable decisions in the middle rounds before putting together a great second half of the second day. Right now, it wouldn’t be a stretch at all to say that all three of their 6^th/7^th rounders will make the final roster.