The Denver Broncos had quite an impressive 2006 NFL draft class in hindsight.
With Mike Shanahan serving as head coach and Ted Sundquist serving as general manager, the Broncos‘ 2006 class included quarterback Jay Cutler (first round), wide receiver Brandon Marshall (fourth round), pass rusher Elvis Dumervil (fourth round) and guard Chris Kuper (fifth round).
Cutler went on to earn a Pro Bowl nod 2008, but that ended up being his final season in Denver before Josh McDaniels arrived and ran the quarterback out of town. Marshall earned six Pro Bowl selections and four All-Pro nods during his career, but McDaniels also traded him away. Dumervil ended his career with 105.5 sacks, five Pro Bowl selections and two first-team All-Pro selections. Kuper started 79 games before an injury-forced retirement.
In a recently published 2006 NFL re-draft, Pro Football Focus had three of Denver’s picks that year going off the board in the first round. The Tennessee Titans took Marshall third overall, the Las Vegas Raiders picked Cutler at No. 7 and the Philadelphia Eagles took Dumervil at No. 14. Had that actually happened, the history of the Broncos would have been flipped on its head, and McDaniels may have traded for Matt Cassel in 2009.
Then again, if Denver never drafted Cutler, maybe Shanahan would not have benched Jake Plummer with a 7-4 record in 2006, and who knows what might have happened with the Broncos after that.
Instead of trading up like they did in real life, Denver stays put in PFF’s re-draft and selects tight end Vernon Davis at No. 15. Davis earned two Pro Bowl selections and a second-team All-Pro nod in the NFL, and he won Super Bowl 50 with the Broncos in 2015 after being traded from the San Francisco 49ers.
It’s hard to imagine Denver’s recent history without Cutler, Marshall and Dumervil. It’s an interesting what-if to consider, and yet another reminder of McDaniels tearing down a talented roster in the post-Shanahan era.
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