All Grown Up: Broncos in the NFL, week 8

See a need, fill a need. After seeing suggestions of a post covering the Bronco alumni in the NFL, I thought to myself, now how hard could that possibly be? Just a little research, and Google News searching, perhaps a little SB Nation site hopping, and a FanPost you shall see, just about every week! So, follow me after the jump for Broncos In The NFL, the introductory edition.

As far as setting this guy up, I'm just going to list a player, and let you know what he did for his respective team. If you see areas for any improvement/comments/criticism, let me know, and hopefully I will pay close enough attention to them to have an even better version for you all next week. For this week, I will recap seasons so far, as this is just the first week of coverage on all of the past Broncos in one place. In the words of the lady who starts the carousel at the mall, heeeeeeeeereeeeeeeeee we goooooooooo!

Gerald Alexander, FS, Miami Dolphins

Gerald was cut back in the offseason on the last roster cut made by the Dolphins before the season started. Well, losing all your games can indicate that you've got problems, and to try and help out their secondary, the 'Phins brought him back in to contribute to the secondary back on the 19th of this month. As he was just signed recently, he hasn't had the opportunity to rack up any statistics that I was able to find. It does appear the he has logged playing time in both last weeks 15-18 loss against Denver and again this week in their 17-20 loss against New York. Currently he is on the third string behind Reshad Jones and Chris Clemons, but who knows,  maybe later on this season he will get his chance to shine.

Richie Brockel, TE, Carolina Panthers

Currently playing with the Carolina Newto....Panthers, Brockel will struggle to see the field aside from special teams this year, barring injuries. He is currently listed on the Panther depth chart as the second string TE #2, playing behind the likes of Jeremy Shockey, Greg Olsen, and Ben Hartsock. He has played in four games, where he has one special teams tackle. This weeks close 21-24 loss to the Vikings was seen from the bench, as Brockel was inactive. Here's to the unsung heroes of the special teams!

Chris Carr, CB, Baltimore Ravens

The secondary has struggled a little bit this season for the Ravens, and a lot of those struggles can be attributed to injuries. Chris came into this season as a veteran presence at corner, after starting all 16 games for Baltimore last year. Struggling a lot this year with injuries, Carr injured his thigh against St. Louis on the 25th of September, and just got back to the field this week. This last week's game against Arizona was his first start of the season. Prior to last night's game, he had four tackles on the year. As a welcome back game, Chris almost matched his year's total for tackles with three, along with a sack, while also returning two punts. Not a bad game for Mr. Carr. Stay healthy the rest of the season!

Ryan Clady, LT, Denver Broncos

Ah, possibly my favorite former Bronco, Clady is doing well this year, but not quite up to the same standard he set for himself as an All Pro in his rookie and second years with the other Broncos. The other, less successful Broncos team over there in Colorado is not doing well, but this is in not because of any problems with Ryan. In fact, Clady and Right Guard Chris Kuper seem to be the only ones on the offensive line who are doing anything right this season. He is coming off of an injury sustained last season, and has been durable so far this year. I'm having a difficult time finding stats for his season so far, but I do know that he has had four holding penalties so far this season. Get those hands inside Ryan!

Daryn Colledge, LG, Arizona Cardinals

Fun fact: Daryn was my older brother Rocky's roommate back in their days at BSU. Rocky lives in Phoenix. Daryn signed this year for the Cardinals of Arizona. Roommates reunited at last! After a season of great success up north with the Cheeseheads (sorry Packer fans, I'm a Bears guy) that culminated in a trip (that I hear Daryn actually was not allowed to attend) to the capital to meet the President (also a Bears fan), Daryn was released to free agency. Well, now he is a mainstay on the Cardinals offensive line, protecting whoever throws the ball to Larry Fitzgerald these days. As with the other "big ugly" alumni, Ryan Clady, I had a hard time finding stats. I did see a snippet over at Revenge of the Birds, Arizona's SB Nation site that Beanie Wells has been averaging 8.1 yards per carry when running between Daryn and center Lyle Sendlein. Unfortunately, there were also complaints about his pass blocking, but as I like to view all former Broncos as the best players on their respective NFL teams, I'm just going to have to ignore those complaints.

Korey Hall, FB, New Orleans Saints

How soon the Packers forget the two reasons they went to the Super Bowl, leaving Korey Hall and Daryn Colledge to find new teams. Alright, I kid, I kid. While a fullback may not be THAT instrumental in a teams success, it doesn't hurt to have a guy who can throw a block or two there, make a goal line dive, or at the very least be a standout on special teams. Korey has found his niche this season with the Saints special teams. He earned himself a special teams game ball from Sean Payton a few weeks back against Carolina. While listed as the starting fullback, it seems that Jed Collins played well last week and may have challenge for a starting spot as the Saints look to put things back together after losing yesterday against St. Louis.

Jeron Johnson, SS, Seattle Seahawks

Another one of the Broncos who went undrafted but still impressed a team enough to warrant a roster spot, Jeron is currently third on the depth chart for the Seahawks. Proving that he can contribute on special teams is where he will earn his way towards more playing time on defense, he has made six tackles so far this season. If people can go from working in grocery stores to leading their teams to Super Bowls, I see no reason why undrafted free agent Jeron Johnson can't become a solid starter for the Seahawks some day.

Quintin Mikell, FS, St. Louis Rams

One of those successful undrafted free agents here, Quintin is putting together yet another solid year, this time wearing the navy and gold of the St. Louis Rams. The Rams needed help in the secondary after O.J. Atogwe left the Rams for the greener checkbooks of Dan Snyder's Redskins. Quintin Mikell helped the Rams upset the Saints with his contribution of five tackles to add to his season total, now at 43. Those tackles along with his one interception put him on pace for 86 tackles and two interceptions. Not a bad season by any means.

Legedu Naanee, WR, Carolina Panthers

The other Panther from Boise, Legedu has started six out of eight games so far this season, and has put up decent numbers alongside the ever reliable Steve Smith. While he hasn't put up a touchdown yet this season, he has hauled in 247 yards on 22 receptions. In their loss yesterday, he caught five balls for 49 yards. We'll see what the rest of this season has in store for Legedu.

Austin Pettis, WR, St. Louis Rams

Austin, I hope you didn't get your bell rung too bad on that punt return a few weeks back. He's currently sitting third on the depth chart behind Brandon Gibson and a familiar player, Greg Salas. Pettis is the Rams punt returner though, which is good for him to get his hands on the ball (albeit, while getting smashed to bits by Niles Paul). He has played in six games so far this season, where he caught six balls for 40 yards. Also, he has returned six punts for 65 yards, with one punt return going for 39. Certainly no Devin Hester, but a workmanlike effort, showing the blue collar we all know and love.

Orlando Scandrick, CB, Dallas Cowboys

Why anyone would feel comfortable playing on a team with Tony Romo pulling the trigger is beyond me, but Scandrick is doing the best he can to help the Cowboys not choke away big games. While injuries have hindered him so far this year, in the games he has played in, he receives his fair share of praise. He's posted 13 tackles in 4 games. As much as he would probably like to deny it, he is still a blue collar Boise State player, who doesn't post gaudy numbers, but does mean something to his team. He put up 5 tackles yesterday against the Eagles.

Brandyn Thompson, CB, Washington Redskins

Brandyn is in a similar situation as Gerald Alexander. He was cut after week two, but injuries to starting corners DeAngelo Hall and Josh Wilson prompted the Skins to re-sign Thompson for depth purposes last Friday. While currently not listed on the depth chart, he will be a member of the special teams (two tackles so far this season), until his number is called on defense.

Kyle Wilson, CB, New York Jets

I got a little bit of a kick out of what they are saying about our former lock down corner over at Gang Green Nation, the New York Jets SB Nation site. In looking for nicknames for their consensus "Most Improved Player" of the midseason, there are some good ones. Kyle is finally starting to come into his own over there in the Big Apple. Jets fans have been pleased to see Kyle improve his coverage this season and liked his first NFL interception. With 18 tackles and a pick so far this season, I would agree with them by saying that the arrow is pointed up for Kyle. The Jets had a bye this week.

Titus Young, WR, Detroit Lions

Last, but by all means certainly not least, we come to one of the most electrifying players in the history of Boise State football, Titus Young. Yesterday was a big day for Titus, he caught his first professional football touchdown on a play that even Munson could have scored on, he was that wide open. Titus had a good game against the Broncos, where he had four catches for 66 yards and a score. That game brings his season total up to 275 yards on 19 catches. A 14 yard average per catch is pretty good for his rookie season so far.

Okay, I take that thought that I had questioning how hard this post could be back. It was a little more than I was expecting. Hopefully you all enjoy following the former Bronco greats! Good luck in week 9 to all the guys!