The Broncos don't often trade down in the first round, so it came as a bit if a surprise that Elway and Russell pulled the trigger on this trade with Devin Bush on the board. However when you look at the terms and realize Denver dropped 10 spots, and picked up the 52nd overall selection in the 2nd round, and a 2020 3rd round pick to do so. The Broncos took some heat for the trade being that they had a gaping hole at MLB and had what some believed to be a generational LB on the board. However, Elway and company had their eye on another man on the board who wouldn't have made sense to pick at tenth overall, but would make a lot of sense to pick at number 20. That man was Noah Fant.
Noah Fant is a 6'4 249 lb tight end who ran the 40 yard dash in 4.51 seconds, reaching over 18 mph in the process. He displayed explosion by putting up a 1.55 10 yard split, 2.61 20 yard split, and a vertical of 39.5 inches. He also displayed agility with a 6.81 in the 3 cone drill. When drafted he immediately entered the league as one of the best athletes in the NFL at the tight end position, which is why Elway was so enamored with him he knows the damage a receiving tight end can do first hand. In the eyes of many Broncos talent evaluators they had just drafted a generational talent at tight end to pair with their young quarterback. However there were definite questions about his ability to translate to being a starting NFL tight end due to his relatively limited production in college with 78 receptions, 1,083 yards and 4 tds. He primarily served as second fiddle to Tj Hockenson. The critics said that Fant wouldn't pan out as hoped, and Denver would be left with a bust who couldn't hold up as a volume receiver and was nothing more than a second tight end at best. Well Fant quickly proved the doubters wrong.
During his college career he had high's of 39 receptions, 519 yards and 2 tds nothing to write home about. In year 1 of his NFL career he topped all three of those numbers with 40 receptions for 562 yards and 3 tds. He had issues at times with drops but ultimately progressed as the season wore on foreshadowing what was to come later in his career. Usually receivers take three years to have a break out year but, Fant had a dramatic uptick in his stats in 2020. The second year tight end seemed to develop a rapport with Drew Lock to the tune of 62 receptions, 673 yards and 3 tds. So already through 2 seasons in the NFL he has 102 receptions, 1,235 yards and 6 tds which has not only removed any thought of the bust label but has placed him in the conversation for up and coming young players in the league.
The crazy and relatively unaccounted for part of this trade were the 2nd round pick in 2019, and the 3rd round pick in 2020. Now that we are a year removed from the 2020 draft we now know how those picks were used. In 2019 Denver packaged the 52nd overall pick as well as a couple late round picks to move up and draft Drew Lock with the 42nd overall selection, but they came out on the plus side of this trade in terms of point value assigned to the picks, meaning the Broncos were able to gain value by trading down, and again gained more value by trading up. They also brought in the QB they had their eye on in the first round at one point without having to give up exponential value to get him. In 2020 they used their 3rd round pick 83rd overall to select center Lloyd Cushenberry. So from this trade the Broncos gained their starting tight end, their starting quarterback and their 2020 starting center. It remains to be seen if Lock and Cushenberry can turn their young careers around as both played poorly in 2020 but the fact remains that the Broncos acquired 3 very valuable players to allow the Steelers to draft Devin Bush. These three men combined for 45 starts for the Broncos in 2020.
Devin Bush however has essentially cemented the predraft evaluations that he was an absolute stud of a MLB. Although he missed 11 games in 2020 he still managed 24 tackles, 1 sack, and 3 passes defended. As a rookie he had 16 starts, 89 tackles, 1 sack, 4 passes defended, 2 interceptions 1 forced fumble, 4 fumble recoveries, and 1 touchdown. Showing he is the multifaceted player the Steelers had hoped for. If he can bounce back from his ACL tear in 2021 and put up similar numbers to his rookie year he will likely be looking at a Probowl nod, and start seeing the Steelers talking about extending his contract sooner rather than later.
Long story short this trade is one that truly in my eyes was a win win situation. The Steelers value linebacker unlike any other team in the league so it made sense for them to invest all those picks in a guy who was arguably a can't miss prospect, even if it came at the expense of other positions because they had a very well rounded veteran roster. The Broncos were on the opposite end of the spectrum rebuilding their offense through the draft and relying on the extra picks to do so. In just two short drafts Denver drafted a starting tight end, a starting quarterback, a starting center, starting left guard, starting number 2 wide receiver, slot receiver, backup tight end, and more. The fact that two drafts produced 5 starters just on offense is unheard of.
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