After causing guacamole and chips to be left uneaten at numerous draft-watch parties Thursday night by trading out of the first round, the Broncos filled some roster holes with some surprises Friday night in rounds 2 and 3
Denver entered the day with three picks in the NFL draft, including the No. 36 overall, No. 57 and No. 87 (in the third round). They used the first two, but traded the third pick to move up in round 3.
Rounds 4-7 will conclude the draft on Saturday, beginning at 10 a.m.
Broncos trade up for running back
With a trade, the Denver Broncos moved up in the third round to give quarterback Peyton Manning a weapon, choosing running back Ronnie Hillman of San Diego State with the fourth pick of the third round, No. 67 overall.
Hillman, 5-foot-10 and 190 pounds, rushed for 1,711 yards and 19 touchdowns last fall as a third-year sophomore and 1,532 yards and 17 TDs in 2010 as a redshirt freshman.
To move up, the Broncos sent their third-round pick (No. 87 overall) and a fourth-rounder (No. 120) to Cleveland.
QB Brock Osweiler joins Peyton Manning in Denver
After taking a defensive tackle earlier in the evening, the Broncos went with a marquee player next, making Arizona State quarterback Brock Osweiler the 25th pick of the second round (No. 57 overall).
A 6-foot-6, 240-pounder who is only 21 years old, Osweiler will have plenty of time to be groomed to be Peyton Manning’s eventual successor.
Osweiler threw for 4,036 yards and 26 touchdowns last fall as a junior.
Barring a trade, the Broncos have one more pick today – the 25th pick of the third round (No. 87 overall).
Broncos pick DT Derek Wolfe at 36
After trading out of the first round Thursday night, the Broncos finally added a player Friday by selecting Derek Wolfe of Cincinnati with the fourth pick in the second round, 36th overall.
The Broncos took most of their allotted seven minutes before turning in the name, getting an interior defensive lineman which was considered a top position of need.
Wolfe recorded 9.5 sacks last fall and is known as a physical player but was considered a bit of a surprise among defensive tackles. The Broncos list him as a defensive tackle/defensive end.
Terrell Davis, the star running back on Denver’s two Super Bowl championship teams, announced the selection.
Jeff Legwold previewed the 6-foot-5, 286-pound Wolfe two weeks ago. But Wolfe did not show up in Legwold’s NFL Draft Top 100.
Wolfe said he had had very little contact with the Broncos pre-draft and was quite surprised they selected him.
Wolfe, an under-the-radar defensive tackle, has the size the Broncos were looking for on the interior defensive line, and had 21.5 tackles for a loss as a senior at Cincinnati.
Elway apologizes for Day 1
John Elway, the Broncos’ executive vice-president of football operations and ringleader of the team’s draft strategy, apologized Thursday night for leaving Broncos fans feeling empty. But Elway promised that he has a plan and that things will work out just fine because, he believes, the strength of this draft relative to value is after the first round.
Elway also said he believes the Broncos will find one of the players at No. 36 that they had targeted for No. 25, their original pick in the first round.
Who might that be?
The Denver Post’s draft expert, staff writer Jeff Legwold, said some of the top players that may be available at No. 36 include:
Stanford tight end Coby Fleener
UConn defensive tackle Kendall Reyes
Georgia Tech wide receiver Stephen Hill
Miami (Fla.) running back Lamar Miller
Others, including possibilities to slip down the second round, could be:
Clemson defensive tackle Brandon Thompson
LSU wide receiver Rueben Randle
Central Florida cornerback Josh Robinson
Georgia cornerback Brandon Boykin
Nebraska linebacker Lavonte David
Miami (Fla.) linebacker Sean Spence
There are countless other possibilities.
Will the Broncos target a quarterback to be groomed as Peyton Manning’s eventual successor? That may be more likely in the third round, or even during third-day rounds.
Remember, Denver has three fourth-round picks and may well package two of them to gain another third-round pick.
Get those leftover appetizers out. Broncos fans can consider Thursday to be a rain check. The draft party was postponed to tonight.
Tom Kensler: 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com
