Gästebuch » Benjamin Allbright said the buzz in Nashville

was that Denver’s was one of the top drafts this year."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Broncos NewsBroncos 2019 Draft ClassBroncos PodcastsBroncos 2019 ScheduleKey Offseason DatesCommunity RulesFull ArchiveBroncos StoriesScheduleRosterStatsOdds Shop About Masthead Community Guidelines StubHub ✕This past week could be a “narrative changing moment for John Elway and the draft”New Joe Flacco Jersey White ,32commentsBenjamin Allbright said the buzz in Nashville was that Denver’s was one of the top drafts this year. This past week could be a “narrative changing moment for John Elway and the draft”The praise keeps coming in for the Broncos 2019 draft. NFL insider, Benjamin Allbright, joined the guys on 1st & 10 at 10 on Orange and Blue 760 this morning to share some of what he had been hearing around league circles from being in Nashville all last week.Allbright said that the primary buzz around Nashville this week was that Elway and the Broncos had “one of the top two or three” drafts in the league this year, and after years of mediocre drafts that has led to Denver not re-signing a single draft pick since the 2012 draft, Allbright suggests this could potentially be a “narrative changing moment for John Elway and the draft.”Since joining the team management ranks in 2011, Elway has been seen as a GM who is a good negotiator with a penchant for landing key free agents, taking the team to two Super Bowls on the backs of big time signings, but any praise directed toward Elway’s GM prowess is always quickly caveated by his poor drafting record. “If only Elway could figure out how to draft.”And the criticism has been warranted. Denver’s 2013-2017 drafts were chalk full of reaches, busts, injured players, risky picks, and any other negative draft buzzword you want to include, Denver picked them. However, after last year’s draft netted multiple starters and the makings of a young core of talent, the big question was whether Elway could do it again, or was it a function of them picking at #5?Certainly, picking in the top ten the last two drafts has helped, but stringing another excellent draft together this year to go with last year’s class has begun to potentially chip away at the narrative that Elway cannot draft his way to franchise success.Allbright added on air, “whatever it is that they changed, whatever it is that they figured out in their evaluation process, or their evaluation of themselves, they’ve figured out how to better evaluate players and it seems to be working.” Check out the whole interview above for more great insights.We’ve been talking about this for the last several days here, and the guys on the show today also touch on a big piece of what seems to be part of Elway’s new draft strategy that Ian St. Clair has been talking about - how Denver’s last two draft classes are guys that all show great football character and leadership. Now obviously, no one wins awards in May, so it remains to be seen just how good this class can be until they put the pads on, but the early returns of these two most recent draft classes indicate that Denver may have just armored their Achilles heel. DENVER (AP) — General managers John Elway and John Lynch share a bond going back three decades, one built on respect, rivalry and reverence.“He was the poster I had on my wall,” said Lynch, who’s 11 years younger than Elway, 58. “He was the idol I had growing up.”The Broncos (6-6) play the 49ers (2-10) Sunday in the latest chapter of the friendly feud between the two superstars-turned-GMs whose paths have crisscrossed throughout their careers, both on the football field and the front office.Both were tutored by celebrated California high school football coach Jack Neumeier and both were Stanford quarterbacks before starring in Denver, albeit a decade apart and at different positions.Lynch prepared for his move into the front office by serving a sort of apprenticeship under Elway, attending the 2013 NFL combine with him and sitting in with the Broncos’ GM during the draft.Yet, it was 20 years earlier when Elway first lent Lynch a helping hand, as both men recalled during one of Lynch’s scholarship lunches a couple of years ago.“I knew that Johnny was nervous, this being his first preseason game,” Elway remembered. “So, we’re in the first quarter and Johnny’s out there and our cadence back in that time was Set-Hut. I was always famous for saying Womens Courtland Sutton Jersey , ‘Red 98 Red 98. Set-Hut!’ Well I saw Johnny Lynch out there, I said, ‘Set-Het, Red 98. Hey, Johnny Lynch!'”The shout-out impressed the rookie’s Tampa Bay teammates.“I came back to the huddle and it was so funny because all the guys said, ‘You know Elway?’ I said, yeah, we’re tight,” Lynch recounted.Years later, after they really had bonded, Lynch said Elway told him, “I was trying to loosen you up. I knew you were tight.”Elway waited until after the game, however, to deliver the tip that really helped Lynch, who went on to earn nine trips to the Pro Bowl, including in all four of his seasons in Denver.Elway told Lynch he knew exactly when he was going to blitz and when he wasn’t just by reading his eyes.“I look at Johnny Lynch and if he kept looking at me, I knew I was OK, I knew he wasn’t coming,” Elway explained.If Lynch darted his eyes away, the Broncos QB knew Lynch was coming at him off the edge.“I guess he figured if he didn’t see me, I didn’t see him,” Elway said. “I knew when he was coming. I told him that after the game and obviously he took that to heart.”Lynch said Elway told him to “just look at me like you normally do. So, I used that throughout my career” to disguise his intentions.When he was offered the 49ers job last year, Lynch, who felt he might be too green, again sought Elway’s advice.“Yeah, he’s been awesome. He’s a great friend and he exposed me to the business,” Lynch said. “I think the biggest thing, when I had this opportunity presented to me really quickly and had a short, finite time to give them an answer, he kind of gave me the confidence: ‘You know what, you can do this, just like anything else. You can be great at it.’ And hearing that from him kind of emboldened me to feel that way.”Their respective teams are heading in different directions. The 49ers have struggled since losing quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to a knee injury and are jockeying for the top overall pick in the 2019 draft. The Broncos have won three straight and are pushing for their first playoff appearance since 2015.“He helped me out in the beginning but now it’s like anything else, we’re competing,” Lynch said. “Fortunately, we’re not in the same division and all, but he’s been great. He’s one of my best friends in life and we understand that we both have to serve our organizations well, but we can also continue to be great friends and that’s what we are.”