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Denver Broncos | News

Broncos, Briefly: Friday, April 12, 2019

Peyton Manning heads up a star-studded roster of nine individuals who will be inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in June.

Biggest Need: Interior O-line. 2016 fifth-rounder Connor McGovern, who struggled a few times in one-on-one scenarios at guards last year, is the new center, with Matt Paradis not being re-signed. That's a downgrade. So is undrafted third-year pro Elijah Wilkinson in McGovern's old right guard spot. And at left guard, Ronald Leary is coming off an Achilles injury and can be cut in 2020 for a cap savings of $8.5M. New QB Joe Flacco, at this point, is only comfortable playing from a clean pocket. Denver needs at least two new blockers inside.

**Who should the Broncos draft at No. 10?** (Nicki Jhabvala, The Athletic)

They have a tight end group that is largely unproven, but they need an infusion of talent there. They have young receivers, but could use more speed; they added to their secondary in free agency, but might look for more depth; and they brought in a highly-praised offensive line coach, but still need to provide him adequate pieces.

The NFL regular season schedule is generally announced before the draft, which makes next week the likely unveiling.

That means it's time to guess the Broncos' schedule.

Most prospects go the business casual route—it's a job interview after all. A smaller number err on the formal side and wear a suit and tie or blazer and slacks. (I'm told that, when Temple CB Rock Ya-Sin showed up in a suit for his visit in Pittsburgh, the only one to do so among the team's visits, the Steelers noticed.) Others dress extremely casual, with a trendy tracksuit and sneakers. Haskins took a different tack in Denver. The 21-year-old decided to have some fun with his outfit and, according to multiple sources, wore a throwback No. 7 John Elway jersey to his interview.

I thought about Drew Lock at No. 10. Is Joe Flacco really the long-term answer? But with Oliver still available, he'd be hard to pass up. Put him at end in Vic Fangio's 3-4 defense. Put him at nose tackle. Maybe let him get some edge-rushing reps to spell Von Miller and Bradley Chubb. Oliver has the athletic ability to be a star at multiple positions, although he needs to develop some true pass-rushing moves.

Coming out of last year's Senior Bowl, the mere suggestion of Mayfield being in play for the No. 1 overall pick was ridiculed. That actually happened. I wrote Mayfield was a legitimate Browns target after the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama. By the time I got to the airport, a league source had called me to say that I should be embarrassed by the column, at which point I made sure to tweet out that not everyone agreed with my assessment.

The XFL isn't revolutionizing football as much as it is reimagining it. And part of that reimagination may include a redefinition of a forward pass.

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