Denver Broncos: Complete 2015 NFL Draft Wrap-Up and Analysis

The 2015 NFL draft is complete, and now it's time for a full review.

The Denver Broncos came into the draft with 10 picks at their disposal, and they ended up making nine selections. That's because of the big trade they pulled off on Thursday night, moving up in the first round to select Missouri defensive end Shane Ray.

In addition to Ray, the Broncos found two offensive linemen, a tight end, a defensive tackle, three defensive backs and a quarterback. Did those picks fill all of the team's needs? Were there better players on the board when those choices were made?

Those are the questions we are going to examine and answer right here. In addition, we will look at the best and worst picks that were made and give the team an overall draft grade.

Click forward for further analysis on Denver's draft.

The Selections

The Broncos looked to fill as many needs as they could with this draft, but it appears that most of these picks will end up being future prospects.

Shane Ray, Ty Sambrailo and Max Garcia are the only rookies with a real chance to start this season, and even Ray will likely be used as more of a situational pass-rusher, learning behind the likes of Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware.

Sambrailo and Garcia join an offensive line that has lost three starters from last season—Orlando Franklin, Will Montgomery and Manny Ramirez. Because of that, Sambrailo and Garcia could easily become first-year starters.

Jeff Heuerman is a powerful tight end with good hands whom the Broncos will be able to line up all over the field. He fits the offense Gary Kubiak likes to run, and he will be mentored by guys like Owen Daniels and James Casey, two guys who have spent years in Kubiak's system.

Lorenzo Doss and Taurean Nixon, teammates at Tulane and both cornerbacks, were drafted in the fifth and seventh rounds, respectively. Doss brings exceptional ball skills to the team, while Dixon has blazing speed. Each player will try to earn a role in a crowded secondary.

Darius Kilgo is a run-stopper. His ability to put any pressure on the quarterback or have any kind of positive effect on a passing down is very questionable, however.

The Broncos also chose two other players in the seventh round. Quarterback Trevor Siemian had to be one of the biggest surprises of the entire draft. Despite just seven quarterbacks being chosen this year, Siemian was one of them. He threw only 27 touchdowns in four years at Northwestern and had nearly as many interceptions. He was a puzzling choice, but the Broncos like something about his ability.

Finally, Josh Furman was taken with the team's last pick. He is a versatile safety/linebacker who could help the Broncos in multiple areas. His best fit in the NFL is definitely at the safety position, but his versatility is what got him drafted.

The Broncos found several players who can line up at more than one position, but don't expect many of them to do that in the 2015 season. There are several long-term prospects in this Denver draft class.

Best Pick: Shane Ray, Defensive End, Missouri

David Zalubowski/Associated Press

One of the big questions in the air when the draft opened concerned the status of Shane Ray. Initially thought to be worthy of a pick in the top 10, Ray's value began to drop after he was cited earlier in the week for possession of marijuana.

Would he fall out of the top 10? Would he even be drafted in the first round? The Broncos answered those questions when they traded with the Detroit Lions to come up to No. 23 in the first round. In the process, Denver leapfrogged teams such as the Dallas Cowboys and Baltimore Ravens.

The Broncos felt those teams may have been interested in Ray. In the case of the Cowboys, they were likely correct, since Dallas was the team to finally draft Randy Gregory.

The Broncos gave up their first round pick (No. 28) along with one of their fifth-round selections and a fifth-round choice in 2016. Detroit also obtained offensive lineman Ramirez in the deal. That actually helped Denver, as Ramirez was set to make $3 million in 2015 and was a good possibility to be released as a result.

The Broncos clearly made the decision that if Ray came down towards the bottom of the first round, they were going to make a move.

In Ray, the Broncos get one of the premier pass-rushing specialists in this draft. Pairing him with the likes of Miller and Ware makes the Broncos scary on defense. In three seasons at Missouri, Ray racked up 19 sacks and had 34 tackles for loss.

Much more worrisome than the citation is the injury status of Ray's foot. He has been hobbled by the injury for some time, and surgery could be necessary. If Ray opts to go that route, it could put any offseason program as well as training camp, preseason and even the start of the regular season in jeopardy.

Still, it was a risk worth taking and gives the Broncos an even stronger pass rush. With young players like Miller and Ray in the fold, they could sustain that for many years to come as well.

Shane Ray Draft Grade: A-

Worst Pick: Trevor Siemian, Quarterback, Northwestern

Justin Hayworth/Associated Press

Though it was a seventh-round choice, the decision to bring in Trevor Siemian from Northwestern was a strange one.

When you consider that only seven quarterbacks were selected in the draft, it makes it an even more curious pick. The other six signal-callers to be chosen? Jameis Winston, Marcus Mariota, Garrett Grayson, Sean Mannion, Bryce Petty and Brett Hundley. Putting Siemian on that list seems quite odd.

While at Northwestern, Siemian threw 27 touchdown passes in 44 games. He also threw it to the other team just about as many times, tallying 24 interceptions.

In addition, he is coming off a torn ACL suffered less than seven months ago. He is currently rehabbing the injury.

But the Broncos brought in Siemian for a pre-draft workout, and now it's clear they weren't just going through the motions when they did that.

Peyton Manning is 39 years old and is entering the last stretch of his career. Once he departs, the franchise faces some very real, very serious questions.

Brock Osweiler, chosen in the second round of the 2012 draft, has attempted just 30 throws in his three-year career. He will be entering the final year of his rookie contract in 2015.

Is Siemian his replacement? Highly unlikely.

"

Shocking Trevor Siemian was drafted. Absolutely stunning

— Ian Wharton (@NFLFilmStudy) May 2, 2015"

Instead, Siemian will battle with Zac Dysert for the third quarterback spot on the roster, a player who will most likely be moved to the practice squad directly after winning the job. He'll see some reps in training camp and get some work in preseason games, but that will only be used to judge how much he needs to develop in order to stay in the league.

This pick signals the fact that the Broncos will almost certainly re-sign Osweiler and proceed with him as the quarterback of the future.

But if the Broncos wanted a quarterback in the seventh round, what was wrong with Chris Bonner out of Colorado State-Pueblo or even East Carolina's Shane Carden? Both seem like better choices than Siemian.

This was just a strange pick.

Trevor Siemian Draft Grade: D+

What the Experts Are Saying

John Raoux/Associated Press

Mike Klis, formerly of The Denver Post

You will hear jokes related to Ray coming to the state where marijuana has been legalized for quite some time, perhaps several years. But it doesn't appear that those will bother him.

Ray lost some money, but he could have lost much more. He seems angry with himself, and it appears he recognizes the severity of his poor choice. He comes off as genuine in the sense that he won't let a mistake jeopardize his career again.

Mike Klis echoed that sentiment with this tweet.

"

Shane Ray helped himself today. Very impressive. Poised. Polished. Smart. Remorseful. I can see why Broncos believe he won't mess up again

— Mike Klis (@MikeKlis) May 1, 2015"

Robert Klemko, Sports Illustrated

When you change your offensive style, you need new offensive linemen. The Broncos found what could be the center of the future in Max Garcia, their fourth-round pick out of Florida.

Garcia is an athletic player with strong hands and quick feet. His game translates very well to the zone-blocking system Denver will use under Kubiak.

Manning demands intelligent football players who see the game the way he does. Robert Klemko feels that Garcia is that type of player.

"

C Max Garcia is a perfect fit for Peyton Manning. Smart football guy, above all else.

— Robert Klemko (@RobertKlemko) May 2, 2015"

Jeff Legwold, ESPN

Were you surprised that the Broncos chose not to address the inside linebacker position in this draft? Jeff Legwold was, as he writes in his own draft wrap-up.

Legwold also points to the depth the Broncos have at the position. Though these players will force the Broncos to rely heavily on Brandon Marshall and Danny Trevathan, the fact that they didn't add an inside linebacker should not be frowned upon.

Lamin Barrow and Corey Nelson, two late-round picks last year, will also get a bigger chance to prove themselves this year.

What's Left to Address?

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

Now that the draft is complete, the Broncos have a solid roster. Looking at it from top to bottom, there don't seem to be many holes or deficiencies. However, there is still one position that sticks out as a weakness.

Despite using their fifth-round selection on Darius Kilgo out of Maryland, the Broncos don't have a proven commodity at the defensive tackle position. The only other players on the roster are Sylvester Williams and Marvin Austin, two high draft picks who have been mostly disappointing to this point in their careers.

The Broncos can't give up on Williams just yet. The switch to a 3-4 defensive scheme could be just what the doctor ordered for him. If it's not, the team may have to admit they made a bad choice in selecting him.

But if Williams doesn't perform well at the nose tackle spot, it seems the team should look to a more proven option than Austin or the very limited Kilgo. The Broncos let Terrance Knighton leave via free agency without much of a fight, and to this point have done little to replace him.

Williams and Austin are probably better options than anything the Broncos will find at this particular point, but not being more active in addressing the defensive tackle spot is something that could potentially come back to bite the Broncos this season.

Final Grade

David Zalubowski/Associated Press

This was the first draft for Elway and Kubiak together, and while they certainly held their own, the draft was far from great.

It's hard to determine how well the draft went without seeing these players develop. After all, many draft picks are made for three, four even five years down the road.

The trade in the first round to obtain Ray was a very good move. The Broncos continued that momentum into the second round by selecting Sambrailo, another player who fits the zone-blocking scheme quite well.

Heuerman and Garcia were solid additions in the third and fourth rounds, and both players could become integral pieces of the team for many years. After that, the draft got a little weird.

Doss and Kilgo have the ability to develop into key contributors on defense, but that will likely be at least a couple of years down the road. The choices in the seventh round made little sense with the exception of Furman, who gives the team another option at safety.

Nixon and Siemian were both poor choices, and neither of them is likely to enjoy a long tenure with the team. There were still some very good players on the board in the seventh round, and the Broncos decided to go with three players whom most teams likely had rated as low undrafted free agents.

The first half of the draft was solid; the second half was the opposite. That earns them a grade right in the middle.

Final Draft Grade: C