Broncos were quite pleased to get Jonah Elliss

The Broncos react to their drafting of Utah EDGE Jonah Elliss

With the 76th overall pick the Broncos drafted Utah EDGE Jonah Elliss, who is going to provide a great deal of athleticism when it comes to the pass rush and should make for a fine addition to this Broncos unit. The front office apparently looked highly upon Elliss as they would’ve moved down in the draft if it wasn’t for him.

And while the Broncos already have a room full of young EDGE rushers, many, including Sean Payton, felt like it was a position that they needed to improve at.

One main concern that was circulating around Elliss was his injury history. Elliss tore his shoulder labrum late last season and prevented him from the Combine and from initial Pro Day workouts. He was able to have a personal Pro Day session and was medically cleared thought. And while a labrum injury can take 6 months, it seems like Elliss will be plenty recovered and ready for camp.

Paton had this to day about Elliss’ injury:

Sean Payton also added:

We met on it. You go through the process… he’s above the board.

Payton also went on to say:

He’s an EDGE player that plays with energy, effort, all those things that you look for.

He also touched on the character that Elliss has and complimented his football make-up.

It’s clear that the Broncos got the player that they wanted with their third-round pick and were anticipating the chance to draft Elliss. Elliss is a versatile rusher and played out of eight different alignments last season with Utah. He’ll have a role on this Denver defense and, from the press conference, it seems like Payton has an idea of where Elliss will start, but he’s also keen on moving him around defensively.

Here’s the longer clip with Sean Payton and George Paton where these quotes came from: