Quarterback Peyton Manning #18 of the Denver Broncos stretches with the team during organized team activities at Dove Valley on May 21, 2012 in Englewood, Colorado. (Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)

It’s been awhile since we opened up the polls to something beside BT Profile Approval ratings, so with the first set of OTA’s behind us, let’s talk the Denver Broncos offseason.

I recently appeared as a guest on All Purpose Roto‘s podcast to talk Broncos, and took inventory of Denver’s offseason to prepare for the chat (that interview will air during their live show Monday; we’ll drop a link on Twitter and the subsequent Daily Links). Anyway, jotting down the results of the Broncos offseason got me wondering: we all know everyone’s favorite offseason move the Broncos made this offseason was signing Peyton Freaking Manning… what was your second favorite move?

Let’s break down the choices and dish it out in the poll and comments.

Tightening up the tight end position

The Broncos were savagely murdered by the two tight end combination of the New England Patriots twice in 2012, and as the old saying goes, if you can’t beat them, join them. Free agent pickups Jacob Tamme and Joel Dreessen aren’t going to confuse anyone for Rob Gronkowski, but with Manning at the helm, the hope is they can do a decent imitation.

Bolstering the secondary, big time

No personnel group was more aggressively pursued by the Broncos this offseason than their secondary. They signed Tracy Porter to a one-year deal, who has the inside slant on starting opposite Champ Bailey based on the first set of OTA’s. They added veteran Drayton Florence and rookie Omar Bolden, as well as Coryell Judie as a UDFA; they signed Mike Adams to presumably start at free safety, and he’s saying all the right things. The Broncos got younger at DB, and it appears they got better too; with the idea that Peyton Manning will have them sitting on high scores and forcing their opponents to early pass-heavy attacks, the Broncos secondary can now match up against just about anybody.

Addressing DT with the top pick

If it feels like it’s been years and years since the Broncos used their top draft pick on a defensive tackle, that’s because it has been. Derek Wolfe may not start in year one, but he’s a one-gap pass rushing threat that could really add a new element to Denver’s already fierce threat of Elvis Dumervil and Von Miller.

Adding a running back threat

If healthy, I believe the Ronnie Hillman draft pick will have more immediate impact than any other rookie the Broncos brought to Dove Valley this year.

Providing young competition for the interior O.L.

Between the Philip Blake draft pick and the additions of Austin Wuebbels and Wayne Tribue, the Broncos have added some meat to their left guard and center positions to compete with Zane Beadles and J.D. Walton, who struggled at times last year.

Hiring Jack Del Rio

Of course, the move was forced by the departure of Dennis Allen to coach the Raiders, but Del Rio has a promising history as a defensive coordinator in the NFL.

Looking toward the future

The Broncos added QB Brock Osweiler, who already has John Elway‘s blessing as “quarterback of the future”… or is that label really a curse? Either way, with the addition of Osweiler’s ASU teammate WR Gerrell Robinson, the Broncos have set the foundation for what the team will look like three or more years down the road.

So, which is it Broncos fans? What move, outside the signing of Peyton Manning, has you most excited for 2012?

Name: Lonie Paxton
Pos: Long Snapper
Ht, Wt: 6’2″, 270
Age: 34
Exp: 12
College: Sacramento State

Lonie Paxton has been the Denver Broncos‘ long snapper for three seasons, and has been virtually invisible during that time. For a long snapper, that’s the highest praise — if you’ve been noticed, it means you did something wrong.

2011 Analysis: One bad snap vs. the Patriots on an extra point, that I recall. Of course, I was there in person, the first home Broncos game I had ever attended as a fan, and I am a terrible jinx to the team, so it wasn’t Paxton’s fault at all. Paxton was excused from the Broncos’ Divisional playoff game for personal reasons.

Contract Status: Signed through 2013 ($875,000 in 2012).

2012 Outlook: The Broncos have brought in competition for Paxton in the form of undrafted rookie Aaron Brewer. That’s somewhat of an odd thing for a team to do; I don’t recall the Broncos carrying two long snappers into camp, ever (though I could be wrong). Still, no matter how perfectly Paxton launches that football between his legs, if Brewer’s spirals are just as spiral-y, the rookie might unseat the veteran by virtue of his lower pricetag alone.

(“Unseat”… get it? It’s funny because long snappers look like they sit in invisible chairs.)

As always, we invite you, the readers, to participate. Should the Broncos roll with the rookie at a much cheaper price, or is there no premium for a steady hand with the game on the line?

We hope you enjoy these posts as BroncoTalk continues to develop the first fan-powered Denver Broncos roster on the web.

One of 90 iPads the Denver Broncos distributed to players in 2012 for the team's playbook and video.

The Denver Broncos join the likes of the Baltimore Ravens and Tampa Bay Buccaneers by digitizing their playbooks for 2012.

A technological milestone for the Broncos today: 90 iPads distributed to the players to be used for playbooks/video this year.

— Patrick Smyth (@psmyth12) May 24, 2012

Want to plow Philip Rivers‘ helmet into the turf, or leave Troy Polamalu so torched on a long gain he’s left scratching his well-conditioned head? There’s an app for that.

Image via Elliot Coffey on Twitter.

Name: Adam Grant
Pos: Tackle/Guard
Ht, Wt: 6’6″, 320
Age: 26
Exp: 1
College: Arizona

Adam Grant was the most prized of the Denver Broncos‘ undrafted rookies in 2011 heading into training camp… if you judge “prized-ness” by the signing bonus the Broncos initially dished out for the player (not the worst metric). Based on his junior and senior seasons at Arizona, you can hardly blame them — Grant earned second team All-Pac 10 honors at right tackle in 2010 before moving to left tackle his senior year and enjoying a “stellar season” on the offensive line’s most vital position. Short arms and marginal athleticism, along with a series of knee and hand injuries early in his collegiate career, dropped his draft stock, but the Broncos brought him to camp with the hopes of grooming him into an NFL offensive lineman, at one position or another.

2011 Analysis: Grant spent most of training camp at tackle, but moved to left guard on the practice squad after being one of the team’s roster cuts to reach the 53-man limit in September. The Broncos are said to be high on the former Wildcat.

Contract Status: Signed a future/reserve contract for 2012.

2012 Outlook: Roster bubble. Grant is a likely camp body, but his greatest strength is his versatility — being able to back up left tackle, right tackle, and left guard is a boon for his roster outlook. It’s also worth noting that Grant is still eligible for the practice squad.

As always, we invite you, the readers, to participate. What are your thoughts on Grant in year two? Should he make the Broncos roster?

We hope you enjoy these posts as BroncoTalk continues to develop the first fan-powered Denver Broncos roster on the web.

Denver Broncos safety Mike Adams, pictured here in 2011 as a member of the Cleveland Browns, will continue to wear #20 for the Broncos, last worn in Denver by Brian Dawkins. (Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Brian Dawkins was only a member of the Denver Broncos for three seasons, but in that short time, he left a legacy.

Dawkins, who announced his retirement last month, left a legacy of #20 representing a fierce athlete on the field — a sure tackler with a dominant edge. He left a legacy as a leader to his teammates, both on and off the football field. He left a legacy as the patron safety for a group of up-and-coming young defensive backs in Denver.

And Mike Adams has inherited all of it.

Adams, an NFL veteran of nine seasons and the Broncos’ first free agent signing this offseason, has never been in this position before. He’s never been in any of these positions before.

But it became clear Tuesday that Adams, who will wear #20, is all of those things for the 2012 Broncos, and he is taking it all in stride.

“I just had a talk with the young guys in there,” Adams related. “Rahim Moore had a great day today. I told him, ‘Don’t make it easier for me. Don’t make it easy for Quinton [Carter]. Don’t make it easier for anybody. Make it hard for the coaches to make a decision who’s going to start and who’s going to play when September comes.’”

“That’s what I’m all about,” he continued. “I’m all about competing. I’m all about making everybody better, including myself.”

Making himself better will be paramount for Adams, the presumed starter at free safety for the Broncos in 2012. One does not simply fill the shoes of a future Hall of Famer by sheer will alone. There will be a talent deficit in Dawkins’ absence.

But there’s reason to believe that Adams, a sure tackler and aggressive run defender himself, can exceed the expectations set upon him. After all, he’s made an NFL career of doing just that.

“If you check my track record from being an undrafted free agent to the San Francisco 49ers, they always brought in somebody to replace me,” Adams said. “Fortunately, I’ve been able to last nine years in the league and played my 100th game last year. That’s what I do. I’m a blue-collar guy that goes out and works and competes hard.”

Adams’ blue-collar mentality is already rubbing off on his younger teammates. Undrafted rookie Duke Ihenacho took to Twitter to thank his veteran teammate:

Shoutout to @MDOTADAMS20 for trying to help a young rookie like myself become a good player. True vet and leader. #respect

— Duke Ihenacho (@NachoLyfe) May 22, 2012

It’s that kind of patronage and camaraderie that shows Adams is already doing the Number 20 justice in the offseason.

On top of it, Adams, 31, is not a bad football player. He started 16 games at free safety for the Cleveland Browns last year, totaling 64 tackles and three interceptions for a Browns defense that ranked second in the league against the pass.

Assuming Adams continues his workmanlike approach and stewardship of his younger teammates, all that’s left for Adams to represent Number 20 is to perform in excellent fashion on the football field.

“Dawkins was a great player,” said Adams. “He brings great intensity, and I try to bring that much intensity when I play the game.”

“Hopefully I make him proud wearing that number.”

Name: Zane Beadles
Pos: Guard
Ht, Wt: 6’4″, 305
Age: 25
Exp: 3
College: Utah

Zane Beadles has started in 30 of 32 possible games in his NFL career — six games at right tackle, and the rest at left guard. A versatile, promising prospect drafted by the Denver Broncos in the second round of the 2010 NFL Draft, Beadles and C J.D. Walton formed the first rookie tandem to make their regular season debut as starters on the offensive line in franchise history.

2011 Analysis: After being named to The Sporting News‘ All-Rookie Team in 2010, 2011 was a step back for Beadles. Of course, there’s the built-in excuse of the dramatic scheme change the Broncos underwent last year, but Beadles didn’t really improve from Weeks 1-5 under Orton and the rest of the year behind Tebow. He struggled in both the run and pass game and was one of the lowest graded starting guards by ProFootballFocus.com in 2011.

Contract Status: Signed through 2013 ($490,000 in 2012).

2012 Outlook: Starting left guard. Beadles will compete with the likes of undrafted rookies Austin Wuebbels and Wayne Tribue, with fourth round pick Philip Blake also potentially pushing Beadles. Beadles has decent speed and is able to get his blocks to the next level, but a decent bull rush can cause him problems. He needs to bulk up and get stronger this offseason since there really isn’t anyone ready to knock him out of his starting position.

As always, we invite you, the readers, to participate. Has Beadles left you wanting more, or are you still on board with this promising 2010 draft prospect?

We hope you enjoy these posts as BroncoTalk continues to develop the first fan-powered Denver Broncos roster on the web.

Quarterback Peyton Manning #18 of the Denver Broncos talks to the local and national media following organized team activities at Dove Valley on May 21, 2012 in Englewood, Colorado. (Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)

A collection of nuggets, thoughts, opinions, and second-hand observations from the Denver Broncos‘ first organized team activity led by Peyton Manning on Monday.

1. These aren’t the Indianapolis Broncos

There’s a fantastic and timely article I encourage you to read and digest from SmartFootball.com. In it, the author and owner of the site, Chris Brown, breaks down how Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts — for 13 years — “ran the same tiny little cluster of plays, from the same tiny little cluster of formations, with the most consistent personnel in the league, and brutalized NFL defenses year-in and year-out.”

Brown breaks down how the majority of the Colts’ formations under Manning involved a shift of only two positions — the two inside receivers — and how offensive coordinator Tom Moore developed a system with Manning that allowed the quarterback to run the show. “Trust may have been Tom Moore’s greatest skill,” Brown writes, alluding to the fact that the Denver Broncos may not be matching that working paradigm.

The Broncos are putting Manning in a new situation with a new playbook and new receivers and new linemen, and Brown doesn’t reasonably expect an immediate impact of the same magnitude that Manning had in Indianapolis. After all, it was the intimate knowledge of each player’s strengths and weaknesses, and years of using the same system, that led to that success.

“Yeah, there’s no question it’s different,” Manning said of the Broncos offense. “You’ve got different terminology and different players — there’s no question it’s different.”

How different? It behooves the Broncos to make their $18-million man as comfortable in this offense as possible. It behooves them to turn this Colt into a Bronco not by throwing out the horseshoes, but by tweaking the saddle. Peyton Manning knows how to run a prolific NFL offense; as Brown concludes, whether the success is immediate or not, the Broncos’ and Manning’s respective transitions will be fun to watch.

(Editor’s Note: If you liked Brown’s article on Manning, be sure to check out his new book, The Essential Smart Football.)

Click here to go to Page 2 »

Denver Broncos sixth round draft pick linebacker Danny Trevathan has signed with the club, the Broncos announced Tuesday.

Officially, Trevathan becomes the third Broncos draft pick to sign his rookie contract. Monday, the Denver Post reported that Derek Wolfe had agreed to terms, but the Broncos have yet to announce it, suggesting they may be waiting for Wolfe to come to town and sign the dotted line.

Either way, having half the draft class signed in May is infinitely better than the training camp scurry of years past, and there’s no reason the Broncos won’t have their entire draft class signed by month’s end.

A collection of photo galleries after the jump.

MaxDenver:

Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning prepares to throw at OTA's on May 21, 2012. (Andrew Mason/MaxDenver.com)

DenverBroncos.com:

Peyton Manning talks to John Elway at Broncos practice on May 21, 2012. (Denver Broncos/Eric Lars Bakke)

Denver Post:

Denver Broncos QB Peyton Manning watches rookie Brock Osweiler throw during OTAs on May 21, 2012. (John Leyba/Denver Post)

Carolina Panthers' Sione Fua, right, tries to shed the block of C.J. Davis, left, at the NFL football team's training camp in Spartanburg, S.C., Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2011. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

Name: C.J. Davis
Pos: Guard
Ht, Wt: 6’2″, 308
Age: 25
Exp: 3
College: Pittsburgh

C.J. Davis was an undrafted rookie John Fox brought to Carolina in 2009, and after signing a reserve/future contract with the Broncos following the 2011 season, Fox’s investment in Davis continues. Davis spent two seasons with the Panthers, in a manner of speaking, but successive injuries kept him from reaching his potential. He was placed on injured reserve his rookie season out of training camp (ankle), then waived/injured a year later out of training camp again (concussion). Later he was signed to the practice squad, then the active roster, and ultimately played in seven games in 2010 (reserve guard and special teams). In 2011 he was waived/injured by the Panthers again out of camp (right knee) and spent the season out of football.

Analysis: Davis offers versatility in that he can play center in a pinch, and his injuries only occurred at the professional level — he had started in over 40 games at left guard at Pittsburgh and was a first-team All-Big East conference selection as a senior. He has good quickness and instincts, he just hasn’t had the opportunity to show them off at the pro level.

Contract Status: Signed a reserve/future contract through 2012.

2012 Outlook: Roster bubble. Davis is a camp body who will have to return to 2008 (collegiate) form to break the roster.

As always, we invite you, the readers, to participate. Can Davis reach his potential in 2012?

We hope you enjoy these posts as BroncoTalk continues to develop the first fan-powered Denver Broncos roster on the web.