Rookie Class is Broncos' Saving Grace

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Rookie class saving grace for Broncos
By Mike Klis
The Denver Post

As the NFL draft finally reached its sixth round, most people either were nodding off or not paying attention.

Jim Goodman was holding his breath.

The Broncos' first 10 picks in the 2008 draft had gone according to the Shanahan Script. They wanted left tackle Ryan Clady with the No. 12 pick overall, and he was there. The Broncos had decided a good week before the draft they were going to take Eddie Royal in the second round with the No. 42 pick, and nobody beat them to it.

On it went. Goodman, as the right-hand man of Broncos coach Mike Shanahan, was the man responsible for overseeing the draft, and was 10-for-10 entering the sixth round.

"We had a plan, but you never know how it's going to come off because you don't know what the teams are going to do in front of you," Goodman said. "But it went just like we had it. Every one of those guys, our scouts, our coaches, we all said: 'Well, this guy can do this. This guy can make our team because he can do that.' "

Rookie class saving grace for Broncos - The Denver Post