Former head coach goes to bat for two of the newest Denver Broncos

Oregon head football coach Dan Lanning has heard the chatter when it comes to two of his former players and he's not having it. Speaking to Chris Tomasson of The Denver Gazette , Lanning stood up for Bo Nix and Troy Franklin, who he feels will both be great for the Denver Broncos.

He has heard the criticism about Nix being drafted too high by the Broncos and that the team "reached" for the quarterback. He's also heard about Franklin falling to the fourth round for several reasons, but most notably that he doesn't really care about playing football. Lanning had this to say about the wide receiver:

"I heard so many things about the guy doesn't love football. I mean, the guy practices his tail off like football was what he was made for. That's what he does. He's an extremely intelligent player who is very smart and works hard to be really good."

Much of the criticism surrounding Franklin was over his size, or lack thereof, but Lanning heard that somewhere.

Lanning, who is a Kansas City Chiefs fan (let's not hold that against him), feels the chemistry between Nix and Oregon, who were one of college football's top connections, is huge for the Broncos. He doesn't feel that draft analysts got it right when it comes to the former Ducks.

"I kind of think those draft analysts are kind of like weathermen. They don't have to be right. … Who cares what they think? It's about what kind of career he's going to have."

If you are a Colorado Buffaloes fan and watched the Colorado-Oregon game last year, you know that Lanning is a passionate coach. He's standing up for his players and believes in them as much as Sean Payton seems to. Both coaches believe the Broncos got some draft steals.