Denver Broncos Draft Implications With New Bailey Deal

Whew! It looks like the Broncos will still have something resembling a secondary next season with Champ Bailey's new four-year deal.

Apparently, Bailey has enough faith in the front office and coaching staff to remain in Denver for what will seemingly be the home stretch of his illustrious career.

With Bailey's new deal out of the way, the Broncos can officially focus on April's draft. Don't think they still won't consider taking LSU cornerback Patrick Peterson, assuming Carolina doesn't take him, with the second overall pick just because they just signed Bailey.

Andre Goodman is nearing the end of his rope, and he's no Champ Bailey. Does Denver replace an aging and regressing Goodman with the best cornerback in this year's draft, or does it address its defensive line needs right away and take Clemson defensive end Da'Quan Bowers or Auburn defensive tackle Nick Fairley?

The Panthers will help answer that question. If Carolina takes Fairley, which many experts are suspecting they will, that narrows the options to Bowers or Peterson.

If it looks like Elvis Dumervil will be at 100 percent by the beginning of the season, I would probably lean towards taking Peterson. Of course, you can't underestimate the importance of a solid pass rush.

We've all seen how successful the Colts have been in their pass rush with defensive ends Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis. The thought of Dumervil and Bowers producing a tandem like that is extremely enticing. Either way, Peterson is a nice complement to Bailey and Bowers is a nice complement to Dumervil. It's a safe pick either way.

However, if Fairley's still there after Carolina picks, I think they should take Fairley. A healthy Dumervil on the end and Fairley plugging up the middle seems like a pretty decent plan for an effective pass rush as well, not to mention what it would do against the run game.

There will be two very good players the Broncos will have to pick from after Carolina's pick. I'm just glad Bailey's deal got done.