NFL Denver Broncos

Hroniss Grasu Makes Most Sense For Denver Broncos In 2015 NFL Draft

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Hroniss Grasu

Gary A. Vasquez – USA TODAY Sports

The Denver Broncos have questions that must be answered before they aggressively prep for the 2015 NFL Draft. The most obvious is whether quarterback Peyton Manning will return for another season after a poor outing in the AFC Divisional round of the playoffs against the Indianapolis Colts. While Manning’s arm is fading, the porous play by the offensive line didn’t help the situation, and the center position has been in flux over the past two seasons.

Hroniss Grasu is the starting center for the Oregon Ducks and his play on the field made him a finalist for the Rimington Trophy for two straight seasons. As things stand right now, the Broncos have veteran Will Montgomery as their starting center, but there has not been a constant player there for two years as guard Manny Ramirez, who’s infamous for his over the head snap in the Super Bowl last year, started all 16 games at the position last season.

As far as centers go, Grasu is the total package; and being that Manning prefers an up-tempo style of play, it’s quite possible Manning may have to speed up to keep up with Grasu who’s used to the lightning fast attack with the Ducks. Grasu is a highly-skilled pass-blocker and his run-blocking is solid too.

Above all, however, a center has to be an effective communicator and have the ability to make the necessary calls on the line of scrimmage. The Oregon coaches rave about this quality in Grasu.

Traditionally, centers are not selected very high in the draft, and as things stand currently, the Broncos have the No. 28 overall pick. If they feel that is too high to target Grasu, they can try to see how far he slides in the draft and steal him late in the second or early in the third round.

The waiting game makes this pick contingent on Manning; but either way, the Broncos could use an upgrade on their offensive line, and Grasu would be a perfect fit.

Brandon Williams is an Atlanta Braves writer for www.RantSports.com. You can follow him on Twitter, @BfreshAlum4UA, “Like” him on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google.

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