Best available NFL draft Day 2 prospects for Broncos: Quest for running back continues in second round

As the night darkened in Green Bay a slew of talent falling off the board the Broncos walked straight into the running back crossroads that had been presented by analysts for months Omarion Hampton or TreVeyon Henderson Power or speed Bell-cow or complement Both sat ready and waiting at pick No various mocks largely linking the Broncos to one or the other in this year s NFL draft But the mocks as head coach Sean Payton smirked at a first-round presser Thursday were embarrassing Entertaining sure But embarrassing The Broncos in a move that wholly upended the majority pre-draft logic took neither back Texas cornerback Jahdae Barron who stole Payton and general manager George Paton s eyes on film came in Hampton went two picks later to the Chargers Denver s foe in the AFC West Henderson stayed on the board And Denver seemed wholly unconcerned You never feel good but we feel pretty good we ll get a runner after this draft Paton noted Thursday night There s a lot of em If there s not then we ll sign one after the draft we ll sign a free agent In retrospect Paton s proclamation that one could grab a running back in the second round and all the way to the sixth round as he declared at the owner s meetings was no smokescreen It was an omen And after snatching up a first-round draft slider in Barron the Broncos still have a fairly obvious need for skill-position talent in Day and beyond Michigan tight end Colston Loveland Penn State TE Tyler Warren and Hampton are all gone But Henderson remains as do a host of impact receivers and defenders Here s a few of the best talent remaining for the Broncos to look at come Friday Offense RB TreVeyon Henderson Ohio State A player the Broncos likely considered at No now sits there going into Friday night He won t last long It will be thought-provoking to see if the Broncos consider trading up for Henderson or another offensive contestant TE Mason Taylor LSU The Broncos have several connections to Taylor Multiple staffers have long histories at LSU and defensive QC Brian Niedermeyer coached Taylor for a year in high school The son of Hall of Famer Jason Taylor does everything well and won t have to wait long to hear his name called Friday night WR Luther Burden Missouri Burden spent much of the past year being touted as a first-rounder His stats lagged in due to underwhelming quarterback play but he s still a versatile play-maker He will be gone rapidly on Friday RB Quinshon Judkins Ohio State Judkins is a big powerful runner in the Omarion Hampton mold who was super productive at Ole Miss and then in one year with the Buckeyes In a loaded running back class he s near the top of the Day heap RB Dylan Sampson Tennessee Sampson s got home-run speed and the ability to work out of the backfield in the passing meeting He d work well as a pair with Audric Estime in Denver s backfield RB Kaleb Johnson Iowa Johnson thrived in Iowa s outside zone scheme and might fit best with teams that base their offense in that world But he s talented and versatile and could end up thriving wherever he lands TE Elijah Arroyo Miami Big-time athlete who can stretch the seam and is a vertical threat He s more of a receiver than a plus blocker but he s got a chance to be really good in the red zone and the kind of passing-game threat Sean Payton knows exactly how to use TE Terrence Ferguson Oregon The Littleton native is a former teammate of Denver quarterback Bo Nix and he s got a chance to carve out a real role early in his career Ran seconds in the -yard dash at the combine at - and pounds WR Jayden Higgins Iowa State Higgins is a big talented receiver who is likely to go early Friday night He s got big-play ability and was super productive the past two years for the Cyclones totaling yards and touchdowns WR Jack Bech TCU Bech is really good after the catch and has a lot of the traits and route-running abilities Payton likes in his receivers He broke out in totaling yards and nine touchdowns Defense S Nick Emmanwori South Carolina The Broncos apparently don t need more top-tier help in the secondary but they ve done their homework on Emmanwori and he s a value talent at this point for any club that snags him -yard-dash -inch-vertical CB Will Johnson Michigan Shockingly Johnson slid all the way out of the first round Thursday night a season-long fall after he was widely projected as a top-five pick coming off a national championship in ESPN s Adam Schefter released Johnson has a knee issue that has concerned selected teams EDGE Jordan Burch Oregon As far as pure pass-rushers go Burch might be the best fit left on the board for Denver He racked up sacks and tackles for loss last year with the Ducks and at his size -foot- and pounds profiles as a expected successor to John Franklin-Myers who s up for a contract extension LB Carson Schwesinger UCLA If the Broncos are looking for a developmental MLB behind veteran Alex Singleton and new signee Dre Greenlaw Schwesinger was one of the largest part productive linebackers in the country in racking up tackles as a former walk-on at UCLA EDGE Mike Green Marshall He s a clear first-round corner in profile and production but Green comes with major character concerns denying multiple statements of sexual assault EDGE Donovan Ezeiruaku Boston College A monster at Boston College in with sacks and tackles Would the lower-level production hold up in the NFL though Related Articles How Broncos fell in love with Texas CB Jahdae Barron We just couldn t stop watching him Broncos analysis CB Jahdae Barron adds versatility and intrigue to Denver secondary long-term Winners and losers from the first round of the NFL draft Broncos draft Jahdae Barron Here s how the national media graded the pick Texas CB Jahdae Barron selected by Broncos with th overall pick in NFL draft DT Shemar Turner Texas A M Slightly oversized for a defensive end slightly undersized for a tackle Turner nonetheless is proven in the pass-rush He struggled with missed tackles in though EDGE Nic Scourton Texas A M Scourton s sack production dropped off from at Purdue in to just five after transferring to Texas A M but he still was a pocket-pressuring presence and is widely praised for his motor EDGE Bradyn Swinson LSU One of the more underrated prospects at his position Swinson could well fall to the third round after an -sack breakout season this past fall He s an aggressive -foot- and pounds S Xavier Watts Notre Dame Watts was tremendous in coverage last year for a tremendous collegiate activity in Notre Dame and if the Broncos indeed turn back to their secondary he d be solid depth behind injury-prone signee Talanoa Hufanga Want more Broncos news Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis