With just three weeks left in the NFL regular season, the 2012 NFL Draft order is close to being set for the non-postseason teams. At the moment, that means the Denver Broncos and 11 other teams are waiting to make their quest for the Super Bowl a reality. But for purposes of mock draft, the Broncos are picking in the early to mid-20s at this point since they are 8-5 and still in a tight race to win the AFC West.
Over at Mocking the Draft, a pre-bowl game mock draft has the Broncos selecting Memphis Tigers defensive tackle Dontari Poe with the No. 24 overall pick. The defensive tackle position is certainly a position where the Broncos could use an upgrade at, but it is wrong to characterize the current state of the team's tackles as thus:
The stop gap DT's in Denver, Bunkley and Thomas, have held up surprisingly well.
Marcus Thomas and Brodrick Bunkley have turned into more than stopgap players, and the team will likely try to re-sign both of them. The team is also expected to have back Kevin Vickerson and Ty Warren, both of who were lost to injury for the seasons.
Poe is 6 foot 5 and 350 pounds, a real run stuffer. He has 87 career tackles and five sacks.
Adding a rookie first-rounder at the position certainly helps depth and will push the others to perform at their peak, one would hope. As always, four months.
For in-depth coverage of the Broncos, visit Mile High Report. For more on the NFL, be sure to check out SB Nation NFL.