TOPIC: On Day 2 of the NFL draft, Denver Broncos general

ENGLEWOOD http://www.seahawksfootballauthentics.com/cody-barton-jersey-authentic , Colo. (AP)manager John Elway began fixing the mess on offense, selecting two big bangers in SMU wide receiver Courtland Sutton in the second round and Oregon running back Royce Freeman in the third.”Well, we got better on the offensive side, no question,” Elway said Friday night after adding Sutton (6-foot-4, 218 pounds) and Freeman (6-foot, 238 pounds).Also in the third round, the Broncos selected Isaac Yiadom, a lean, long-armed cornerback from Boston College who impressed the Broncos at the Senior Bowl and is expected to be a special teams stud in Denver.Mix Demaryius Thomas‘ size and strength with Emmanuel Sanders‘ pedigree and athleticism and you’ve got Sutton, whom the Broncos project as a future featured receiver.”He’s big and he can really run,” Elway said. ”He can make the very difficult catch and make great catches. We also think he’s very raw and has lots of upside.”Thomas and Sanders ”are going to be great role models for him,” Elway added.Sanders tweeted a video of the two of them working out together last month in Dallas, saying the he and Sutton ”joked about how lethal we’d be together.”Now, the laugh is on Denver’s opponents.With the first of two third-round picks, the Broncos added Oregon’s all-time leading rusher in Freeman, a big back who ran for a Pac-12-record 60 career touchdowns but carried 947 times in four seasons in Eugene, putting plenty of miles on his football odometer.”What it shows to us is durable,” Elway said. ”He played a lot, so obviously he can take that. And it’s probably nearer at the end of his career Gary Jennings Jr. Jersey , but who knows how much that will shorten it? But it wasn’t a concern when we took him.”The Broncos needed a top-tier running back after releasing C.J. Anderson in a cost-cutting move, and in Sutton they added the big playmaker their anemic offense has sorely lacked of late.Sutton gives quarterback Case Keenum another big, physical red-zone target who will initially be the third receiver but ”has No. 1” receiver traits, according to coach Vance Joseph.”John said it, in the future he could be our No. 1 guy,” Joseph said.Freeman could be the starting running back right away.Elway called him a ”big banger that we haven’t had for a while.”Freeman is big like Anderson but faster.”With Freeman, he is a big back with speed, so when you’re down in the red zone running the football, he’s definitely a nice option,” Joseph said. ”When you’re in third-and-1, fourth-and-1, he’s a great option.”Like Sanders, Sutton went to SMU, and over the years he sought his advice.”It wasn’t an everyday thing but we would talk a few times about how I get to that level and how I continue to climb to be the best that I can be, even with that big fight against me coming from a smaller school,” Sutton said.The versatile Sutton prides himself on garnering attention no matter where he lines up, but he’s admittedly still a work in progress and eager for mentoring by Thomas and Sanders.”I am very new to the position. I am learning as I go,” Sutton said.Recruited out of high school as a safety, Sutton was moved to wide receiver by former Mustangs head coach June Jones.”I loved playing safety, but I feel like in my heart I was a true receiver,” Sutton said. ”They played me at safety but Coach Jones saw that I had the ball skills and they needed some grit on that other side of the ball.”After a medical redshirt in 2014 http://www.seahawksfootballauthentics.com/phil-haynes-jersey-authentic , Sutton caught 194 passes for 3,193 yards and 31 touchdowns in three seasons at SMU.The Broncos turned to offense on Day 2 after Bradley Chubb , the top-ranked defensive player in the draft, fell to them at No. 5 on Thursday night.Elway insisted he was also surprised to see Sutton there at No. 40 on Friday.”We feel very fortunate,” Elway said. ”We had a first-round grade on him.”Chubb, a defensive end at North Carolina State, will play outside linebacker in Denver, where the Broncos believe his dogged determination and relentless motor will help their defense return to dominance.”That is really what we’re excited about because I think it’s contagious,” Elway said Friday.”That motor came from always wanting to make plays,” Chubb said. ”I always wanted to be around the ball. It was just something I was raised with. If I am going to do something, I am going to do it at 100 percent. That is my mindset every time I step on the field. I feel like I bring that to the pass-rush game.”— John Elway is arguably the most popular figure in Colorado, so when the Denver Broncos general manager and president of football operations speaks, mountains can move.“At some point in time, we have to play better football … we’re still making the mistakes we shouldn’t make to beat good football teams like the Rams,” Elway told Orange and Blue 760 radio. “(It’s) disappointing, that’s for sure.“Hopefully we can … take a mentality into that Thursday night game where we’re fighting for our lives.”Denver (2-4) carries a four-game losing streak to Arizona, where it meets the equally struggling Cardinals (1-4) in a game involving the two worst run defenses in the NFL.Broncos All-Pro linebacker Von Miller heard his boss loud and clear, telling reporters: “I wouldn’t say it’s a must-win, but we gonna kick their (butt) though. Make sure you put that up there. We’re gonna kick their (butt). They’re gonna get our best this week.”With fans up and down the Front Range clamoring for Denver head coach Vance Joseph to replace ineffective quarterback Case Keenum (seven touchdowns, eight interceptions) with untested Chad Kelly, the Broncos could make life easier for their No. 1 QB with a more balanced offensive attack. Denver threw the ball 41 times in last week’s 23-20 loss to the undefeated Los Angeles Rams while running it only 17 times.The Broncos appear to have the horses to run the ball in rookie Phillip Lindsay and Royce Freeman Ugo Amadi Jersey , who have combined for 618 yards and four of the team’s six rushing touchdowns while averaging 5.2 yards per carry.“They bring two different dimensions to the game,” Cardinals middle linebacker Josh Bynes said. “Freeman is a bruising guy, he’s physical, he’s downhill and he bounces off tackles. And Lindsay, he can move. He can move, he can shift, he does it all.”Denver could also lend Keenum a hand by not allowing Arizona’s David Johnson to rush for 200 yards. The Jets‘ Isaiah Crowell totaled 219 on the ground in New York’s 34-16 victory in Week 5 while Todd Gurley II lit the Broncos up for 208 on Sunday.“We have to win,” rookie linebacker Bradley Chubb said. “It’s been four games now and we’ve lost all four. We have to go out there and win whether somebody’s job is on the line or not. The object of the game is to win, we all know that and we all just want to go out there and get a win for the team and not selfishly.”Chubb had a breakout performance with three of Denver’s five sacks last week. Chubb, the fifth overall pick in the draft, is emerging as a forceful complement to Miller as he gets accustomed to playing in the NFL.“I’m getting more comfortable, understanding my job and my role on this team,” Chubb said. “Whatever the coach asks me to do, I’m just trying to do right now.”Arizona is also struggling to stop the run, yielding a season-high 195 yards in a 27-17 loss at Minnesota on Sunday. The Cardinals are allowing 151.2 yards per game on the ground, second-worst in the NFL to Denver (161.3). Arizona allowed only three teams to exceed 100 yards last season.“The run defense has been a problem all year,” Cardinals defensive tackle Corey Peters said. “At some point, it’s like, ‘Do guys care?’ At the end of the day, everybody’s got a responsibility and everybody’s got to take a look in the mirror and say, ‘Did I do what I was supposed to on this play?’“That’s the reality of it.”Arizona’s issues do not stop on defense as offensive coordinator Mike McCoy has been under pressure and there seems to be an imminent chance of him getting fired for the second straight year near the midseason mark http://www.clevelandbrownsteamonline.com/sione-takitaki-jersey , just as he was last year in Denver following a 3-7 start.Not that he’s apparently hearing any of the regular calls for his head, however.“No offense,” McCoy said, “but I don’t watch a lot of TV, I don’t read papers, I don’t get on the internet. I’m too busy doing other things, like putting plans together. When my family is in town, I spend every minute I can with them or talk to them at night when they’re in San Diego.”McCoy paused and then added, “I’ve been in this long enough.”Through the first six weeks of the season, the Cardinals rank last in total offense (220 yards per game), last in rushing offense (64.0), last in total first downs (76) and last in third-down conversion percentage (21.9). They rank next-to-last in passing offense (156.5), points scored (13.7 per game) and passer rating (69.4).“I would say all our jobs are in jeopardy, including mine if we don’t win,” Arizona head coach Steve Wilks said when asked if McCoy’s job was in jeopardy.The Cardinals hope the bright lights of prime-time football will spark Johnson, who is averaging only 59.4 yards per game. Johnson has rushed for 763 yards and nine touchdowns to go along with 32 receptions for 273 yards and a score in nine prime-time appearances. Arizona went 7-1-1 in those games.Denver prevailed 41-20 in the last encounter in 2014 and leads the series 8-1-1, including 3-1-1 in Arizona.