Answering How Seventh-Round WR Tyrie Cleveland Fits with Broncos

The Broncos spent a seventh-round pick on a third wide receiver. How does Tyrie Cleveland fit with the Broncos?

It isn’t very often that you hit on a seventh-round draft pick in the NFL, so the Denver Broncos' decision to target a third wide receiver as a kind of hail mary on Day 3 was understandable. The issues, for me, is how low Tyrie Cleveland was ranked and there being other receivers available that had a little more to offer as well as other positions. 

Cleveland was always a year away at Florida and never really lived up to the hype he got. Of course, that could be a result of the issues at quarterback the Gators have dealt with for a few years. There is still potential with Cleveland, and that is what the Broncos were betting on when they drafted him.

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There is speed to Cleveland’s game, which was obviously the focus for the Broncos in the draft. Denver added speed and then some to its offense. 

Zach Azzanni is a fine WRs coach, so the Broncos taking Cleveland could have been at his request to have a project to work on. The concern, if that was the case, is how young the Broncos' WRs corps is and not wanting to stretch Azzanni out too thin. 

As good of a coach as he is, he has his plate full with still developing Courtland Sutton, DaeSean Hamilton, Tim Patrick, and then adding Jerry Jeudy, KJ Hamler, Cleveland, and a few college free agents. That's a lot of youth still in need of development.

If Denver can tap into even a small part of the potential Cleveland has, he can end up being worth the selection. The fact of the matter is, seventh-round picks don’t need much to live up to the draft pedigree. 

One thing is for certain, and it isn’t just the selection of Cleveland that proves it; Denver was not happy with their receiver room last year and they wanted to make drastic improvements to the unit. For more on Cleveland, the potential he has, and how he might fit, check out the video above.

Follow Erick on Twitter @ErickTrickel and @MileHighHuddle.