The Denver Broncos have spent much of their offseason addressing their needs through free agency, adding names such as Aqib Talib, DeMarcus Ware and Emmanuel Sanders as the team continues toward its “win now” mode.
Perhaps the team still believes it’s one piece shy of completing the puzzle.
According to NFL Media insider Ian Rapoport, the Broncos are looking to trade up out of the No. 31 spot in the first round. Among the potential players they could be targeting are linebackers Ryan Shazier and C.J. Mosley.
Maybe Shazier or Mosley? RT @MoveTheSticks: Just caught the @RapSheet report about Denver looking to trade up. I heard the same thing today
— NFL: AroundTheLeague (@NFL_ATL) May 8, 2014
Denver holds six picks from Rounds 2 to 7, and because of how well the team fared in free agency it could afford to use some of its later picks to move a leap up. There’s also the option of using 2015 draft picks as ammunition.
Both Shazier and Mosley could slide as starters by Week 1, so a move up would justify the selection. A move up to grab one of these prospects again is a sign that Denver general manager John Elway is surrounding Peyton Manning with the best team as he and the Broncos’ window begins to close.
Shazier has been a popular choice on mock drafts for the Broncos picking 31st, though his stock has seemingly been on the rise in recent weeks and now it appears as if he could land somewhere between No. 19 until the end of the first round. The former Ohio State standout would fill a major void left by Wesley Woodyard and Paris Lenon, and his speed would give the Broncos one of the league’s most athletic linebacking corps.
The Denver Post suggests the addition of Mosley would give the Broncos ” a truly dominant defense.” A two-time national champion at Alabama, Mosley would be an upgrade at the position, one the team has lacked since Al Wilson left back in 2006.
