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Published on 03/24/2011 at Thu Mar 24 11:22.
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Might Denver Select a Quarterback?

Posted Thu Mar 24th by

NFL Combine Football

The Broncos are scheduled to visit Auburn quarterback Cam Newton on April 18th. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Some have speculated that the Denver Broncos are working out several of the top quarterback draft prospects to give the impression of interest in order to entice a team that truly wants one of the top-rated quarterbacks to make a trade for their number two pick.

That was a nice theory, until Mike Klis threw it out the window.

On Tuesday, Klis wrote in an article for the Denver Post that Denver’s interest in this 2011 quarterback class is sincere.

Then today, he shared this:

Never mind the economic factor of the No. 2 overall pick. Sheer roster needs scream that the Broncos must trade back from the No. 2 pick in hopes of adding at least one more pick in the second round.

But to trade back on draft day, April 28, the Broncos need a near-miraculous resolution to the current labor agreement. As it stands now, the No. 2 pick would likely get $44 million in contract guarantees (10 percent more than the $40 million Detroit handed Ndamukong Suh last year).

A new CBA promises a contract cap system on first-round picks that reduce that guarantee figure substantially. Without a new CBA by April 28 — and face it, there won’t be – the Broncos will be the second team drafting.

Translated: the Broncos can’t trade down from 2nd overall come April, and the team knows it. “If it stays like it’s been there’s no way anybody’s trading,” said Broncos Head Coach John Fox.  So if they can’t trade down, who are they going to take 2nd overall?

At the moment, it appears that Alabama defensive tackle Marcel Dareus is the front runner (in most mock drafts anyway), but there are several other players who are close behind.  There’s also LSU cornerback Patrick Peterson, Texas A&M linebacker Von Miller, Auburn defensive tackle Nick Fairley, Clemson defensive end Da’Quan Bowers and a slew of quarterbacks.

Yes, I said it, quarterbacks.  Shoot me.

The general consensuses is, because they have such staggering needs on the defensive side of the ball, they couldn’t possible go offensive with the second overall pick, especially with a defensive minded coach in John Fox.  While that is true, you also have to factor in Vice President of Player Personnel John Elway.

NFL/

Presumably, quarterback Kyle Orton will be traded when trades are permitted and since Brady Quinn isn't a starting-caliber quarterback, that could leave Tebow to duke it out with a rookie. (Reuters Pictures/Daron Dean)

The Broncos and Elway are going through a re-building process, from scratch.  They’re going to wipe the slate clean and start over, getting some players that they think are part of the solution, and parting ways with those that aren’t (in their minds).  They want to upgrade every position if possible (quarterback position included), so they’re exploring every position in the draft.

This is not a knock against quarterback Tim Tebow, they’ve neither given up on him nor given him the reins, they don’t know yet if he is their guy. That is understandable considering they (Fox and Elway) did not draft him or see him play live last season.  With the second overall pick, they are going to pick the best player available, regardless of position.

That second pick may or may not be a quarterback, but most likely it will be a defensive player.  Denver will have several other picks however (compensatory draft picks will be announced today and until they are announced we won’t know for sure how many picks the Broncos will have).  They do have a second round pick, and have shown interest in a few quarterbacks that should be available in the second round.

The Broncos have met with (or will meet with) and/or worked out five quarterback prospects (Newton, Gabbert, Locker, Ponder, and Kaepernick) and offensive coordinator Mike McCoy went to see a sixth (Ryan Mallett) at Arkansas’ Pro Day.  That’s a whole lot of quarterback interest, brushing it off would be irrational.

Second overall I don’t foresee Denver going with a quarterback (although I wouldn’t put it past them).  In later rounds however, don’t be surprised if the Broncos select another quarterback for Tebow to compete with.

  • steeplebomb

    ugh so let me get this straight. Our dear leaders are uneasy because Tebow is a raw, unfinished procuct with some questionable fundamentals… And there solution is to spend the most the franchise has EVER spent an a rookie player to pick up ANOTHER raw unfinished product with some questionable fundamentals? If the QB prospect was a slam dunk, than I get it. But its not. Elway and company have repeatedly said that this pick needs to be a as sure a thing as possible. They can't miss. If they really believed that they would do what most fans here and elsewhere have been begging the franchise to do for almost 3 years: improve the front seven, add depth to the secondary, maybe pick up a pass-catching tight end, o-line depth, in that order. I just hope that after all their evaluation they come to the same conclusion.

  • JackfnBurton

    No. They will not. If Denver stays at number two and does NOT select a defensive player I will eat my car. You heard it here first.

  • Raider_Hater!

    Denver Broncos first two picks will be spent on Marcel Dareus and Kyle Randolph.

  • TheTroglodyte

    I couldn't agree more!

  • TheTroglodyte

    rofl I expect you to post pics!

  • None

    If they take a QB I might start missing McD

  • mikebirty

    Peterson and Paea for me

  • The Mascot Army

    This is not very convincing. No way they take a QB in the first two rounds, and a shame afterwards.
    Maybe they are looking at QBs to prepare for possible orton deals. Maybe they might swap orton for a rookie in some sort of convoluted deal.
    It may be easier for them to trade orton for a drafted rookie QB than it would be to actually trade for a draft pick.

    maybe?

  • Masaga91

    yeahhh best player available and probably the slam dunk at no 2 is peterson

  • flbronc

    what hasnt been talked about at all that i have seen, is our offensive coordinator. i would assume that fox likes him and trusts him- as they worked together in carolina then he kept him on here…

    while fox and elway have not seen tebow 'play live'- mccoy has. nobody knows better what tebow does or doesnt have than him right now… i'd love to know how their conversations have gone in respect to the quarterback situation.

  • kerry

    John Fox doesnt utilize TE's. he never other then being blockers. no way he wastes a pick on Randolph.

  • http://Facebook.com/BroncosZone Jon

    I agree. I don't see a “pass catching” tight end as a need because Fox doesn't even use them.

  • kerry

    yeah they may select a QB. Tebow and Orton arent QB's that we cant live without. most of you act like Tebow went 11-5 last year. newsflash guys, Elway and Fox have ZERO loyalty to Tebow and Orton and will want THEIR guy. Gabbert may be that guy, or Mallett or Dalton or someone they like who doesnt have to be taught how to throw all over again.

  • TheTroglodyte

    Exactly!

  • TheTroglodyte

    Mallett has some of the worst mechanics I have ever seen when he faces the slightest bit of pressure. He is Orton 2.0 with a Rocket arm and a faster 40.

    Dalton has decent mechanics and footwork but really poor arm strength and he really struggles with accuracy over 10 yards.

    Gabbert might be worth a pick in round 2 but there is no way he should be grabbed in the top 20 as he consistently checked down in an open pass friendly offense and hasn't proven much if anything other than he doesn't make risky decisions.

    No matter how you cut it, every QB in this draft seriously underwhelms as a potential “the guy”.

  • Paradisimo

    I think there is so much more to this picture than meets the eye. The chances of having a CBA in place before the draft are slim and none so the reality is that the #2 pick is going to receive $44 million in guarantees. After giving Champ a healthy contract and making Doom one of the highest paid defensive players in the league I'm just not sure the Broncos are willing to devote that much of their cap space to 3 defenders. Correct me if I'm wrong but the way I figure it we will have $100 million in guarantees devoted to those 3 players and they will likely account for about 1/3 of our salary cap figure for the next 4 years. For a defense that has more holes than swiss cheese that doesn't leave much leftover to fill in the other positions. I'd like to see us get a kick-ass defender as much as the next guy but at what expense?

  • areferee

    Rest easy. They will.

    Fox will never allow his team to pass up on the defensive talent in this draft when he knows that they are loaded with enough firepower on offense, except the positions you accurately mention, along with the addition of a RB, (in FA, if any).

    It will be top loaded with defense, and he is smart enough to know that the six picks we have will be enough to have a real shot at the division leader…assuming there is a division…and games to play.

    Fox is putting round pegs in round holes this year, unlike all of the square pegs from the previous administration. If there IS a season, most of the talking heads will be discussing the Broncos' amazing turnaround. It will happen based on the defensive performance. The “Crush” is on its way back.

  • areferee

    I hope it's a compact.

  • areferee

    It went something like this:

    Fox: “Want a Job, Mike?”

    McCoy: “Yeah, but leave my offense alone.”

    Fox: “OK, I don't like them kinda guys anywho!”

    Elway: “Anybody need a new car?”

    Xanders: “Anybody care what I think?”

    Bowlen: “Anybody know what I think?”

  • Alex44

    If there is no new agreement, can we even sign the second pick? Wouldnt they fall under the new rules?

  • Danno

    Let's be real here. We are aweful, and we are probably looking at a top ten pick this year and at least next year too. If Tebow cannot throw the hard accurate deep ball and we know Kyle can't…Let's take a close look at this years best QB prospects. Watch Rivera take Dareus…And, then who do we pick?!

  • Nisse

    trade doom maybe? it isnt safe to keep him as e DE as we dont know if he will be as special as a DE as he was as a OLB.

    on the otherhand, his tradevalue wont be as good as it was a year ago because of the injury.

  • crazykid

    peterson… duh

  • Masaga91

    duhhh as easy as it gets, peterson is the answer all day long

  • 5280

    wa wa wa! wall of you are makin a stink for nothin. itll be defence and no they wont take randolph. this just soidifies what ive been saying all along. It'll be dareus at #2 and if they do trade anywhere itll be from a second rounder back into the first to pick up someone like ryan kerrigan or akeem ayers or martez wison. the rest of the draft will be defence mostly unless they take a RB or an OL with the last couple of picks. look for a a corner and saftey between round 2 and 3. Shilo keo, shareece wright, brandon harris, something like that. there will be no QB's taken and if they decide to pull a rabbit out of a hat itll be Kapernick in the 3rd or 4th. but there will be no one taking tebows place because to spend money on a 1st round QB and then get rid of him after one year in which he played all of 3 freakin games is preposterous. there isnt enough talent at QB in this years draft to justify a move like that. Orton MIGHT be traded for another pick but given the CBA situation thats highly unlikely. To say that ElFoxX has “0 loyalty” to tebowmean you havent even considered the money aspect of that whole ordeal. they have millions of dollars of loyallty in tebow and they probably want to give it all they got with that first before they just scrap him and to ignore those last 3 games he had last year could possibly mean ignoring a great QB. no 3 games is not 11-5, no shit. but he made better decisions with less of a team in those 3 games then orton did with a full deck. think about it. they have to at least see what they can do with him.

  • Fan From Spain

    I really do think Tebow is going to be a Bronco for a “long” time, he might not be the starting QB next year but he sure is going to be a bigger part of this team. Bet ya they just draft heavy on D and start Orton.

  • Whodat587

    Well it's good that the Bronco's are finally coming to their senses and realizing that Tebow is not a QB who is going to lead you to an NFL Championship. He might, “MIGHT” win some games but he is not going to lead any NFL team to a championship, let alone the Bronco's. C'mon guys, get with the picture. We need a REAL quarterback, i.e. Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, someone like that. Someone that you know has a good chance in his career to lead your team to a SB championship.

  • ArtM

    and then Marvin Austin (what a middle of the d line), and then maybe Greg Jones or Mark Herzlich in the third and then my stretch pick is Jaquizz Rodgers at sometime

  • http://nation.theorangepage.com/blog Ian Henson

    Hah! Woooowww

  • http://nation.theorangepage.com/blog Ian Henson

    We can't sign any of our draft picks until there is a new CBA.

  • Danno

    Peterson only runs a 4.47 40 and is sized for safety not corner. In addition, he said he does not want to return kicks and the rule changed anyway driving his stock down further…Duh.

  • TheTroglodyte

    You might want to check your info. Peterson ran a 4.34 at the combine and the only reason he wasn't faster is because he showed up with another 10 pounds of muscle on his frame.

  • Danno

    That would make him a little bigger than Troy Polamalu and faster than his 4.37 when he came into the NFL. Maybe he should be considered for that type of role? I wonder if he can tackle as well as Troy.

  • TheTroglodyte

    3 inches and about 15 pounds bigger with a frame to grow.

    Our defensive coordinator did that with Malcolm Jenkins on the Saints so I'm sure it's been brought up. I don't think there is a Coach, GM or Owner in the league that wouldn't consider taking Troy Polomalu #1 overall in any draft so if the Broncos think they can utilize him in that way I'm all for it.

  • Fuss

    I didnt know that Aaron Rodgers was considered a qb of a good chance to win a sb when he was drafted ( I will look that up). But I know that he, Rodgers, sat on the bench for some time prior to starting. As such, why not give tt the same experience and patience I think he will work out if he stays behind orton for another year. During his 3 games starting tt showed something that takes years for other qbs to bring to the whole team. Heck the sd game was meaningless but watch rivers reaction to the broncos tt lead comeback. My read is that he was like oh no.

  • Fuss

    I didnt know that Aaron Rodgers was considered a qb of a good chance to win a sb when he was drafted ( I will look that up). But I know that he, Rodgers, sat on the bench for some time prior to starting. As such, why not give tt the same experience and patience I think he will work out if he stays behind orton for another year. During his 3 games starting tt showed something that takes years for other qbs to bring to the whole team. Heck the sd game was meaningless but watch rivers reaction to the broncos tt lead comeback. My read is that he was like oh no.