Does the steal of RB Ryan Torain in the 5th round by the Broncos spell the end of Travis Henry's time in Denver, or will the team keep both as a hedge against injury? Comments?

Neither of them could hold Steven Jackson's jock strap!!!

i agree with Kia. But for real, they should let go of him, he is nothing but trouble. The thing is with the broncoes is that they can fit any running back into their system and be ok.

I have always liked Torain. He had a poor forty time, but IMO Selvin Young and Ryan Torain could be a good 1-2 punch.

I am not sure about that anymore, ramsdraft1029. That was very true with their old Oline, and their coach, Alex Gibbs. However, most of that line is gone, and so is Gibbs. They are still running the same zone blocking scheme installed by Gibbs, but I doubt anyone there can coach it like he could. I think that saying is about to catch up to this franchise, and that they've taken that for granted perhaps too long.

I agree ny. the productivity of that scheme and general quality of rbs has been in deline since TD broke 2000 yds. denver has been pretty famous as a no name rb team, but that was with number 7 under center they'll need a premier back sooner than later.

I think they were 4th in the league in ypc. My son plays on the OL for them. They should be pretty good with the addition of Clady and their young nucleus of offensive players. The defensive line will be the key. I think pretty much any running back can be successful in their system. They need a back that can punch it in from from 5 yds out.

The OL is the key. Alex Gibbs asked to come back to the Broncos several seasons ago, but coach Shanahan declined because of his opinion of Rick Dennison. Dennison was promoted to OL coach when Gibbs first left, and has a bright future, perhaps someday as a head coach. Under his tutelage, Clinton Portis, Reuben Droughns, Mike Anderson and Tatum Bell all were 1000 yd. backs, running behind pedestrian linemen such as Ephriam Salaam, George Foster, Cornell Green and Cooper Carlisle. Only time will tell, but the Broncos appear to have drafted four excellent OL prospects the past three years: Chris Kuper, Ryan Harris, Ryan Clady and Kory Lichtensteiger.

While Torain certainly is no Steven Jackson, he does appear to be that back that can churn out the tough yardage, and while he lacks long speed, he has excellent vision and great initial acceleration which is key in the zone blocking system. The scheme is gaining popularity in the league, with teams such as Green Bay, Baltimore and Houston having adopted it.

Their starting line during this weeks OTA's were LT- CLADY LG-Hamilton C-Nalen RG- Holland RT- Kuper

3 athletes over the 300# mark (that kuper kid is a stud- good bloodlines) and 2 established veterans as long as Hamilton's head is ok. Nalen's bicep is 100%. I think Oakland may be looking at the scheme also.

Not only is that RT one heckuva good football player, but, like his dad, he's also a heckuva nice guy!

Number 73 definitely can play; had a great game week 17 vs. Minnesota. Best five will start; have a feeling he'll be among them.

who knows they also signed michael pittman on tuesday

n how bout selvin young saying he can run for 2,000 yds tis yr?

The biggest steal by the Broncos in this most recent draft was S Josh Barrett, imho. I would've been thrilled if my Falcons had taken him in the second or third round. Great size, great speed, and can be an entire defense all by himself when he wants to be. He'll sit behind John Lynch and be a special teams demon this year, but mark my words, he'll be making people forget Lynch in 2009.

come over to the falcons forum and post your top 10 players on falcons. me and cjs206 are the only ones who have so far, and Id like to see what you think!

Oh, I definitely agree. I had him in our Top 100, and I really thought somebody would be smart enough to grab him by the end of round three. Injury will fade, and if the guy returns to his sophomore form, LOOK OUT!

I think Barrett's a player, but he's got some learning to do. Should be something on special teams in the meantime. It's nice Selvin Young is setting his sights high, but it'll be hard to run for 2000 over the next two seasons if he can't string more than six quarters together without getting dinged. He plays much tougher than advertised, but something always pops. Pittman was brought in as insurance, as Henry too is injury prone. Don't think the Broncos will keep both Pittman and Henry, barring injury -- neither one is good for a locker room and both may be way too much.

Travis Henry was released

WHOOT WHOOT TORAIN TRAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Selvin Young has had a terrific offseason and is a rock solid 212 as of spring camps, and his weren't among the many pulled hamstrings this past week. He'll be given first crack at starting, but the big rookie is highly intriguing and fits the mold of a Shanahan back. Had the feeling there wasn't room for both Henry and Pittman. Since everyone else has worn the label of "injury prone," he may be due for many carries, but I'm pulling for the youth.

Josh Barrett has great size and even better speed for a safety, but the fact of the matter is that he lost his starting position as a senior and was never able to gain it back. That's why his stock dramatically fell, and the Broncos were able to take him so late.

All true, but my understanding is that he was also dinged up all season and felt misused in Dennis Erickson's defense. If completely healthy and used correctly, I think Denver got a monster steal.

Definitely, he kinda fell out of line when the new coaching staff came along. A great physical specimen and should at the very least provide some great depth for the Broncos.

Barrett will be taught (hopefully) to play John Lynch's position as the safety in the box to which he seems ideally suited. And let's face it, Lynch's best days were left in Tampa. He's been a great leader and presence in the locker room, but since he's been in Denver he seems to give up completions at will in his vicinity and has only accounted for two or three big hits in the passing game per season. Marlon McCree has replaced him on passing downs thus far in minicamps. On Barrett's physical tools alone he should be able to at least duplicate those results in a year or so.

I just realized the Broncos got another guy I was hoping the Falcons would pick up - Anthony Alridge. He's a RB/WR/RS from the University of Houston who the Broncos' website has listed as an RB. He's tiny (5' 9" 170lbs), but he can run like the wind (sub 4.4) and was a very productive runner, receiver, and kick returner in college. I actually liked him more than Harry Douglas, though I wouldn't have spent a 3rd-rounder on him (more like a 6th or a 7th). Denver got him as an undrafted free agent!

He reminds me 100% like Jerious Norwood

Almost sure he'll make the practice squad as a RB, K/PR and slot guy, but a lot of depth ahead of him. Stokley, Sammie Parker and Eddie Royal are in front of him at receiver and Andre Hall at RB, and don't underestimate Hall. Had a great game on Monday Night when forced to start (injuries, of course), then got hurt the next week. Fine KR, also. And you can bet that Eddie Royal has the inside track on both returner positions, so Hall's future is even in question. Don't see Aldridge making the roster this year but in the Broncos' revolving RB door he's bound to eventually play on the big stage.