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Broncos thrilled that Chubb was available

The Sports Xchange

April 26, 2018 at 10:55 pm.

Apr 26, 2018; Arlington, TX, USA; Bradley Chubb (North Carolina State) poses with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell after being selected as the number five overall pick to the Denver Broncos in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft at AT&T Stadium.  Photo Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Apr 26, 2018; Arlington, TX, USA; Bradley Chubb (North Carolina State) poses with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell after being selected as the number five overall pick to the Denver Broncos in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft at AT&T Stadium. Photo Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Denver coach Vance Joseph and general manager John Elway talk about North Carolina State defensive end Bradley Chubb, who was taken fifth overall by the Broncos in Thursday’s NFL Draft:

On DE Bradley Chubb’s fit in the defense

VJ: “No he fits perfect. He’s a good football player. Obviously, a great rusher, also he’s a good player versus the run game. He’s a good player. He plays hard, so as far as his position, he’s going to be an outside linebacker. He’s a great fit, we have a plan for him as an outside linebacker, so we’re excited.”

On the decision to not trade back in the draft

JE: “We didn’t trade because Bradley was there. We did have some options, but we thought that with Bradley falling to us was our best option. We thought that he was one of the best defensive players in the draft, if not the best defensive player in the draft. He really was the best pass rusher in our opinion. We really didn’t want to pass on him, so we didn’t.”

On Chubb flashing different attributes on film and his ability to rush the passer

JE: “I think it’s a combination of all that. I think his motor is as big as anybody’s in the draft. That’s definitely one of his biggest qualities, his motor, and also his strength, his ability to rush the passer and get in the end and whip around the edge. He has that, and I think that what he’s going to bring his leadership. The guy that he is, we met with him one time in Indy. With the scouts’ background that they did on him, plus our meetings with him in Indy, that’s all we needed to see when we met with him. He’s all football. He loves football, and he’s going to be a great influence on our football team because he’s that type of leader he is and has that kind of tenacity.”

On how many mock drafts the team had with Chubb available at No. 5

JE: “We had zero. We didn’t think he was going to be there. We started hearing some rumors today that he might be there today. We kind of just waited to see what was going to happen. When he did make it to us, we were thrilled.”

On if there is a possibility of Chubb rushing the passer from the inside

VJ: “That is possible. Obviously, we are a 3-4 team. On base downs, we are a five-down team. On sub-downs, we are a four-down team. Again, he is a great player. He fits in our system. Obviously, he can move inside on sub-downs and rush. But we also have (DE) Shane Ray, we’ve got (OLB) Von (Miller) and we have (OLB) Shaq (Barrett). We’ve got four big time rushers. How we use them is almost irrelevant. Having four rushers is always a special treat to have.”

JE: “We talk about fit. Over half of the snaps are nickel. We are talking about base defenses changing quite a bit in the NFL. If we don’t dwell on the fit as well as what we are doing, then I think he is a real good fit for us.”

On trading back in the draft if Chubb had not been available

JE: “Most likely. We had a lot of options, which was nice. We had a lot of phone calls on picks. We had some nice options. As I said, we just felt with Bradley falling to us, we couldn’t pass him. We felt like if we had him, we had to take him.”

On Giants GM Dave Gettleman’s comments that he was offered “a bag of donuts, a pretzel and a hot dog” for the No. 2 pick

JE: “To be dead honest with you, I didn’t talk to Dave today. To clear that up, I was not the one that offered the hot dog (laughs).”

On if he was surprised by any of the picks in the first round

JE: “No, not really. I think that as far as our board went, it went pretty close to what our board said. There really weren’t any ones that shocked us. I just saw that (QB) Lamar (Jackson) went to Baltimore, so I’m happy for him. That’s a good opportunity for him. I think there are a lot of good football players that went tonight.”

On if there were players on the board that made him consider moving back into the first round

JE: “No. We wanted to stay where we were. We feel like, with the picks that we have, we feel good. With the three picks we have tomorrow and then two in the fourth and two in the fifth, who know what’s going to happen tomorrow, but we were fine staying where we were.”

On if he was tempted to take a quarterback

JE: “Obviously we did a lot of work on them. When it was all said and done and we looked at all the different options and went through all the different scenarios, we felt pretty comfortable with where we are with (QB) Case (Keenum) and (QB) Paxton (Lynch). We still believe that Paxton can be a good quarterback in this league and he continues to work. We looked at it and delved into it, but the way things fell, Bradley was the best pick for us.”

On managing playing time amongst all the pass rushers

VJ: “It’s a long season, honestly. The better your players, the better your football team. To have all those guys that can rush the passer, including (DE) DeMarcus Walker, is a good thing for our football team. Again, we have packages and we have sub-packages and base-packages also. Having good players is a good thing, so we’re excited about having Chubb, plus Shane, Shaq and all those guys. Having good players is good.”

JE: “It’s good when you say, ‘You have all those rushers.’ I like to hear that.”

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