Josh McDaniels (right) appears to be using the same draft style as Bill Belichick, an approach he picked up on while he was in New England. (AP)

There’s an interesting story in today’s Denver Post that details the Broncos’ draft strategy (free registration required) — a style that appears to be taken straight from the Patriots’ team-building approach in the sense that they only have a handful of names on their draft board. It’s called using a “short board,” according to the story.

“It’s a process [Bill] Belichick has used to build a three-time Super Bowl champion. Some who have worked with Belichick said there were years when the Patriots had as few as 25 names on their draft board,” writes Jeff Legwold, who notes that it’s a style the Chiefs use as well.

“You take the names off, and then you kind of reset the board,” Belichick said last month at the league meetings when asked about his draft style. “Based on who you’ve drafted, maybe that changes your draft strategy a little bit.”

Legwold calls it a “highly-disciplined approach,” and notes it produced mixed results in Josh McDaniels’ first season in Denver. But it appears to be a process that the Broncos are committed to.

“We’ve had our criteria in place a lot longer this year,” McDaniels said. “I think we’re all well versed in what we want to do and how we want do it. We’re more comfortable with the whole process.”