The Denver Broncos’ issues on the offensive line and at the tight end position are well-documented, and many believe that these positions should be the primary focus for management in the offseason. Most mock drafts have the Broncos selecting Wisconsin offensive tackle Ryan Ramczyk with their first round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. However, on The Final Word with Joe Rico and Alex Ramirez on Mile High Sports Radio, Altitude’s Todd Romero voiced an idea that runs contrary to the public opinion.

“I think if they don’t draft Christian McCaffrey it’ll be a huge mistake,” Romero said. “It settles your issue with punt returning, which was a problem down the stretch. Fumbles, kick returning, slot back, running back, receiver out of the slot; he could to everything, he gives you five different positions.”

Romero makes a good point. The Broncos had the eighth-worst fumble rate in the NFL last year. They fumbled the ball 24 times and lost 14 of those. The Broncos’ punt return game was also in a state of flux last year, as Jordan Norwood lost his job as the sole returner late in the season to Kalif Raymond, who wasn’t much better. McCaffrey, a Colorado native and Valor Christian grad, is well-known protecting the ball.

The Broncos’ running backs also had a hard time holding onto the ball last year. C.J. Anderson was his reliable self and had no fumbles lost when he was healthy, but when rookie Devontae Booker took over, he fumbled the ball four times. Only three running backs fumbled more than Booker in 2016, and two of those players had more than 100 more carries than Booker.

McCaffrey has been compared to quick all-purpose NFL players like Danny Woodhead and Julian Edelman, but Romero thinks McCaffrey has something that those players don’t.

“They don’t have the speed that McCaffrey has,” he said.

Romero went on to share that he doesn’t believe that McCaffrey hurt his draft stock at all by returning to Stanford in 2016, even though the Cardinal had a down year.

Listen to the full interview with Todd Romero, including his thoughts on the CSU Rams men’s basketball program, in the podcast below.

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Catch The Final Word with Joe Rico and Alex Ramirez on Sundays from 10a-12p on Mile High Sports Radio AM 1340 | FM 104.7 or stream live any time for the best local coverage of Colorado sports from Denver’s biggest sports talk lineup.