ENGLEWOOD – One of the loudest roars that came from the Broncos’ war room this weekend was the moment it was announced the Cleveland Browns had taken receiver Antonio Callaway with the No. 105 overall pick in the fourth round.
Nothing against Callaway, a fine, fine receiver from Florida. It’s just that the Broncos began Day 3 of the NFL Draft on Saturday morning waiting, hoping for Iowa inside linebacker Josey Jewell.
When Calloway became the fifth selection of the round, it meant Jewell was still there for the Broncos to take with the rounds’ sixth pick, No. 106 overall.
"We felt like we were think at inside linebacker,'' Broncos general manager John Elway said in a sit-down interview with 9News. "Josey was our target right from the very get-go.''
Jewell was taken 24 days after 9NEWS reported he had taken a pre-draft visit with the Broncos at the team’s UCHealth Training Center headquarters.
“It was a great day,’’ Jewell said of his visit in a conference call Saturday with the Denver media. “I came in a little nervous, not knowing what was going to happen. Talking to the coaches, that was the best visit I had."
Talking to the coaches, I really liked them. I talked to coach (Reggie) Herring. I talked to (general manager) John Elway a bit and the defensive coordinator (Joe Woods).
“It was a great atmosphere there. I loved that family atmosphere. It just felt like they wanted to get to work. It felt like how it was for me at Iowa in that aspect.”
Jewell is a former team captain at Iowa who makes up for his lack of speed with great anticipation.
After taking Jewell with their first, fourth-round draft pick, the Broncos took Penn State receiver DaeSean Hamilton with their second pick in the round, No. 113 overall. The Broncos then made two trades to move back a few spots in the fifth round in exchange for picking up extra picks in the sixth and seventh rounds.
The Broncos selected Troy Fumagalli, a 6-foot-4, 240-pound, pass-catching tight end from Wisconsin in the fifth round; hometown kid Sam Jones, an offensive guard from ThunderRidge High School and Arizona State, and Keishawn Bierria, a small,fast linebacker from Washington, in the sixth round, and Arkansas running back David Williams in the seventh round.
Hamilton was also the second receiver taken by the Broncos, as they picked SMU’s Courtland Sutton with their No. 40 pick in the second round. Clearly, the Broncos entered the draft wanting to address their lack of receiver depth after they let Cody Latimer and Bennie Fowler III leave to free agency and Jordan Taylor is coming off hip surgery.
The Broncos got to know Hamilton during Senior Bowl week.
“I got along with coach Azzanni really well,’’ Hamilton said in his conference call. “I got to work with him and really I just felt a connection with him from there. I really learned a lot from him and obviously, was introduced to the Broncos’ scheme from working with that staff.’’
At Penn State, Hamilton seemed to be on TV nearly week in Colorado. He had five catches for 110 yards and two touchdowns in Penn State’s 35-28 victory against Washington in the Fiesta Bowl last season. He said the highlight of his big-game college career was the Big Ten Championship Game in his junior season of 2016, when he helped the Nittany Lions overcome a 28-7 deficit to defeat Wisconsin, 38-31. Hamilton had eight catches 118 yards in that game.
