"Where are we going, and why am I in this handbasket?"

As I watched Denver charge through the 2009 NFL draft, these two questions kept popping into my head. I held my breath as I watched each pick come and go, and as each pick was read, I was progressively more and more confused.

My mock drafts were wrong. I had a few hits here and there, but mostly misses, and I am ok with that. I was expecting that. I also knew that one of the things I simply could not expect was to have a clear perspective on what new head coach Josh McDaniels and GM Brian Xanders had in store for the draft.

And it is not that I'm disappointed with the caliber of each player selected, just mostly confused about the positions they play, or why we pulled them where we did. Here's the breakdown...

Round 1, Pick 12 - Knowshon Moreno, RB
Don't get me wrong. I like Moreno. I think he's the best back in this draft and I am excited to have him on the team. I believe it was appropriate he was the first back off the boards. But my confusion stemmed from two other places. The first... in the offseason we successfully signed Correll Buckhalter, LaMont Jordan, J.J. Arrington, and we proudly announced the physical recoveries of Ryan Torrain, Selvin Young and Peyton Hillis. That's right folks, Denver had 6 runningbacks who have all been former starters. Even if you take Hillis out of the mix toward a position as a FB and flex option, you still have way too many guys. But fair enough. Knowshon is a talented guy. But there's the second part of the problem... why at 12? Did the Broncos really believe there was another team likely to snag him in between? Would getting Chris Wells or Donald Brown be such a horrific step down in talent it was worthwhile to wait to snag an RB at 18? With some defensive talent still on the board, this one had me shaking my head, but the day was young.

Round 1, Pick 18 - Robert Ayers, DE/OLB
I also like Ayers. But I was under the clear opinion that the team was moving to a 3-4 under coach Mike Nolan. The guy is an inbetweener on a team that already had a few. But it was defense, and as I said, I don't mind the caliber of the player... I was just confused as to what position we were hoping to fill there.

Round 2, Pick 5 - Alphonso Smith, CB
Please don't get me wrong. Smith seems promising too. But the Broncos pulled in starter Andre Goodman. They have Champ Bailey, and promising younger players like Jack Williams. And I don't mind having Smith. Really. But even if he is only stepping in as a nickleback, was he really worth sacrificing the leverage of a first rounder next year? Was he more worthwhile on a defense that did so very terribly against the run last year, when Rey Maualuga and Ron Brace were still on the board? Was Smith so likely to be off the board in the next 11 picks that he was worth such an effort? Now I was starting to get mad. Even our efforts to retool our defensive seemed to be slightly off-center. I didn't want to think it could get worse.

Round 2, Pick 16 - Darcel McBath, DB
This corner turned safety looks like a talented guy. But in the offseason, we pulled in two very talented guys to play safety, in Brian Dawkins and Reynoldo Hill. And yes, I know they're old, but why pull the trigger on McBath so early? Was he likely to go before the next round? Do we feel he's someone who can start? I couldn't help but wonder if we had just begun a long process of acquiring men for special teams and decided to start early. I comforted myself in knowing at least we were done for the first day.

Round 2, Pick 32 - Richard Quinn, TE
Or maybe we weren't. I gasped in horror as I learned that Denver had sacrificed two 3rd round picks to move to the second to select a pass-blocking tightend that had been graded out around the fifth. He was also the second tight end selected in the draft, with various other prospects at the position graded above him. This couldn't wait until the third? If we were so anxious to lose 3rd round draft picks, couldn't it have been for someone to play in a woeful defensive front 7? Was there a plan at all here?

Round 4, Pick 14 - David Bruton, FS
"Another safety?" I screamed. Yes, Bruton is a good player, and I was surprised he fell to the fourth round as well, but this was just getting ridiculous.

Round 4, Pick 32 - Seth Olsen, OG
Yes, because a line that gave up 12.5 sacks last year needs the help, not the defensive line that applied about as much pressure as a well intented cotton swab.

Round 5, Pick 5 - Kenny McKinley, WR
Marshall, Royal, Stokely, Gaffney, Jackson, and probably Scheffler. We moved up to snag McKinley because he obviously brought us something we didn't have before... a seventh receiver. And that defense keeps getting better too, doesn't it? Yeah, that's a great reason to give up two picks to move up 7 spots... (shakes head)

Round 6, Pick 1 - Tom Brandstater, QB
Project QB. Sweet. Glad we traded next years pick for him as well. Just as well, we've effectively bypassed every obvious D-Lineman and LB save Ayers in the draft. Why worry now?

Round 7, Pick 16 - Blake Schlueter, C
You know what? Fine. Casey Wiegmann needed a backup, assuming this dude even makes the team.

Again, it is not that I'm disregarding any of these guys ability... just the seeming lack of draft strategy or needs assessment done by the Broncos before hand. Our trade strategies stunk like they had gin on their breath.

At this point, I just don't see how we have the personnel to get anywhere close to transitioning to a 3-4 defense as coach Nolan might have hoped, and our basic 4-3 package is largely still intact from last year. And the defense was terrible, as fans may recall.

I keep trying to give the new head staff the benefit of the doubt, but they seem to be going out of their way to show that they don't have to play by any sense of logic because they're in charge now. I have a sense that if Denver doesn't have a winning season this year, fans might start asking for heads to roll again. It was almost sickening to see how excited McDaniels was that they got such great players, but I'm failing to see how these off-season movements really have helped the team at all, and at the moment, I believe we're worse off than when the season ended.

If I were Brian Dawkins, I would be furious. Part of the lure to come to Denver was that he saw us as a playoff up and comer, simply in need of a few defensive tweaks and some emotional leadership to find success. Now it seems that the team will be lucky to go 8-8 again, and that we may be in for a complete rebuild. It is a shame.

On the plus side, at least the Raiders had a worse draft.