2014 NFL Draft Grades: Grading the AFC West Round One picks

May 8, 2014; New York, NY, USA; Bradley Roby (Ohio State) holds up his jersey after being selected as the number thirty-one overall pick in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft to the Denver Broncos at Radio City Music Hall. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports

Denver Broncos: Bradley Roby (CB, OSU)

For all of their free agency additions and valuable picks that have panned out in the draft in the past years, Denver really dropped the ball by reaching for a corner in Roby with so many pass rushing options available to their disposal at the #31 pick yesterday.

Roby is a quality player, which is why the Broncos drafted him, but with much better corners selected in front of him in the late stages on Thursday it is hard not to get the impression the Broncos had their mind set on corner/safety after losing Champ Bailey and were forced to settle with Roby after the rest of the league went defensive back happy late on.

It is hard to knock a team that is picking so late in Round One for not getting a top talent, but Denver seem to have passed on some high end defensive tackle talent in order to pick Roby and while corner may have been a bigger need for them the likes of Louis Nix III, Timmy Jernigan or Ra’Shede Hageman as well as several available linebackers could have also filled that void. Going to a contender Roby will be able to learn while not being in a demanding role right away and should have a solid career with the Broncos, but with the players on the board selecting the eighth defensive back in the first round doesn’t seem to have the same value to me.

Grade: C