NFL DRAFT 2011: Denver Broncos and Dennis Allen Look to the Bayou for No. 2

Da’Quan Bowers, Nick Fairley or Marcell Dareus as the first pick for the Denver Broncos in the 2011 NFL Draft? Fans and pundits are searching for the answer but if you look closely it should already be clear: none of them.

There is no doubt that the Denver Broncos' roster is rife with holes that desperately need filling. However, the front office has already made the picks that should matter most come September.

Head Coach John Fox and Defensive Coordinator Dennis Allen were chosen by the Broncos to help breathe new life into a defense that has been dead for some time. So with that in mind, the thing that fans and experts have to realize is that these coaches were brought in to get more out of less, which they have a history of doing.

Outside of Julius Peppers’ time In Carolina under John Fox, neither of these coaches have had a marquee player on their defenses. Yet both coaches have found ways to scheme and make average players successful in a system that benefited them.

Anyone remember Rod Coleman? Probably not, but under Dennis Allen’s watch with the Atlanta Falcons, Coleman was transformed into a Pro-Bowl Defensive lineman. So why can’t the same be true here in Denver?

John Elway and the Denver Broncos need to be careful come draft time to not reach for a player at a position that seems most desperate at the moment. There are serious concerns with taking a defensive lineman early in the draft. Draft history is littered with more Gerard Warrens than Warren Sapps in the first round.

If the Broncos are lucky then Patrick Peterson will still be there and they need to take him with the second pick and not look back. If they guessed right with the man they chose to lead their defense, then the only option with the second pick is to take the best talent no matter the position.

Many people have already come to this conclusion for the Denver Broncos but few have mentioned anything beyond stating that Patrick Peterson is the most talented player in the draft. Why does Patrick Peterson make the most sense for the Broncos in 2011?

Its simple: with two lock-down cover corners, the Broncos should hopefully start to resemble the New York Jets, who did not send any defensive lineman to the pro bowl last year. They didn’t need to.

That's not to say that the Jets don’t have quality players on their defensive line but the position becomes much easier to coach and play with players like Bailey and Peterson outside.

It is then up to Dennis Allen to help John Elway identify which defensive lineman he can work with and maybe turn into a Rod Coleman. Those players might be on the roster now, in the later rounds of the draft or free agents, but none are named Fairley, Bowers or Dareus.

All of those players are excellent and will be a help to defenses that can survive the maturation process of a defensive lineman (because let’s be honest, none of them are Ndamakung Suh).

The Broncos, however, need a player who is ready to go and can help the man they have already chosen to turn around the defense.

Dennis Allen probably doesn’t hear his name very often when draft strategy is being discussed for the Denver Broncos, and maybe none of his predecessors did either. That could be why none of them lasted more then a season.

The Denver Broncos have already gone down to the Bayou of Louisiana looking for help on defense once this offseason when they hired Dennis Allen away from the Saints.

Now it is time to move a little bit up the river and take the best thing that Baton Rouge has to offer this year in the draft. 

The Broncos cannot afford to over-think this pick. Take the talent that is ready now and trust that the right coach was chosen to make the most out of whoever takes the field for the Broncos defense in 2011.