Broncos
The Broncos head into the draft with a clear need at running back after opting against signing one in free agency. Denver GM George Paton spoke on the depth of this running back class and stated they will take at least one.
“It’s a strong class,” Paton said, via ESPN’s Jeff Legwold. “There are different flavors throughout the draft. I think you can get a good back in the second round up and all the way to the sixth round. That’s how it is. There’s just so many of them. … We’ll get a back in this draft.”
Broncos HC Sean Payton cited how deep the class is as to why they didn’t sign a back in free agency.
“I think that factors into it,” Payton said. “I also think we felt like it was a pretty lean year in regards to free agency at that position, just relatively speaking. There is depth in the draft.”
Chargers
The Chargers shook up their RB room this offseason, signing Najee Harris while releasing Gus Edwards and opting against re-signing J.K. Dobbins. Los Angeles GM Joe Hortiz outlined what they are looking for in a rookie back and wouldn’t rule out taking someone with a similar profile to Harris.
“Certainly you want to build a complete backfield with some versatility,” Hortiz said, via Gavino Borquez of the Chargers Wire. “But you don’t want to discount a player who is similar to Najee because, again, it may not be a need (now) but it could be a need (down the road).”
Raiders
The Raiders hold the No. 6 overall pick in the draft in their first year with GM John Spytek. When talking about what direction they could go with the pick, Spytek reflected on his time in Cleveland when they were planning to decide between CB Joe Haden and S Eric Berry. Ultimately, the Browns were left with Haden but were comfortable with the pick because of other safeties they could take in round two.
“Yeah, it’s really a team-building exercise is what you’re looking for,” Spytek said, via Josh Helmer of the Raiders Wire. “It’s certainly based some on need, certainly it’s based on the caliber of player that you’re watching and the ideal scenario is those two things match up and then that’s the perfect draft pick. But, that very rarely happens.”
“So, I think ultimately, while it was really close between Eric [Berry] and Joe [Haden], we felt like the drop-off from corner at Joe in one to what we would get in the second round was a lot greater than the drop-off from Eric to a player named T.J. Ward. And that’s ultimately probably what we would have ended up doing had we had to make the decision. We did not because Eric got drafted by the Chiefs that year and Joe was there waiting for us, but that’s kind of a real-life example of what’s the right order to do this in. It’s got a lot to do with your needs as an organization but also the players that you can kind of project might still be available at your later picks.”
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