And the 2017 draft class is just purely brutal when you look back at it.

Here are the moves the Broncos made along with the very next players at the position taken. It is not pretty.

All of this happened in the 2017 draft:

OT Ryan Ramczyk was the very next tackle taken after Denver took Garett Bolles. Even at the time drafting Bolles high was considered a huge risk and the Broncos still took him with a first round pick.

Bucs WR Chris Godwin was the very next receiver drafted after Carlos Henderson.

Then the big one: NFL 100 #7 overall player George Kittle was the next tight end taken after Jake Butt. But no, it gets worse. He was the very next pick after Butt!

Imagine that offense with a half competent quarterback. And that is why drafting matters so much. That is how teams that draft well like the Patriots built a 20 year dynasty off 4th and 5th rounders while other teams have to spend crazy in free agency or do risky trades to stay above water.

Hopefully the 2021 NFL Draft is not one Elway throws away because all of the foundation is built for a potential dynastic team going forward.

wat?

What in the name of John Elway is John Elway doing?

I said it before the draft when I heard the rumors of Elway going after Osweiler, that I had no problems with that pick if it was done with a reasonable selection.  Brock Osweiler is a good enough developmental prospect, with the mobility and confidence you look for at the position.  The only problem is that the Broncos are trying to win NOW… again, how does Brock Osweiler standing on the sidelines help Peyton Manning win playoff games?  What is the thinking here?

I’m still baffled by the selection, other than the fact that Denver had nothing behind Peyton.  But was a second round pick really worth blowing on a guy that can’t help your team unless your best player goes down?  Hmmm….

Besides that, now we are hearing that Osweiler is working on his throwing motion.

“A lot of times in college, my elbow would drop below my shoulder, if you will,”

“When you do that, you lose velocity, you lose accuracy, you’re less consistent with your throws.  We basically made a huge point to bring that elbow up to a more traditional throwing motion and get it above my shoulder.”

wait… wat?!!

Didn’t the Broncos just get rid of a quarterback with a wonky ‘below the shoulder’ throwing motion?

I’m still skeptical how this pick helps the Broncos win the Super Bowl…. please prove me wrong. Please.

“The bottom line is, you want to come out with impact players,” Elway said at this morning’s news conference. “As I said last year, drafting to need is, you have a lot more misses, in my mind, when you draft to need. So we’re going to try to find the best players, in position of need, but also try to to find those impact players that are going to be able to come in and help us right away.”

Read more: Elway says Broncos will choose impact vs. position in NFL draft – The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_20460774/elway-says-broncos-will-choose-impact-vs-position?nstrack=sid:2580638|met:300|cat:0|order:1#ixzz1suFz8lHd
Read The Denver Post’s Terms of Use of its content: http://www.denverpost.com/termsofuse

With that said, I am expecting Denver to go with a running back in Doug Martin or Lamar Miller (rumor is Denver really likes Miller) or a defensive tackle if one of the elite prospects falls to 25. By elite I mean Fletcher Cox or Quinton Coples, I don’t see a huge gap between Jerel Worthy and Devon Still and don’t think they’d make as big an impact as Cox/Coples or a back would.

Look for my full Broncos mock draft, and final 2012 NFL Mock Draft in the next few days.

Peyton Manning will become the next quarterback of the Denver Broncos, barring unexpected snag in contract talks.

Adam Schefter ‏ @AdamSchefter

The funny thing is that writers like Woody Paige have said time after time that the Broncos had a 0% shot at signing the Hall of Fame QB.  Now these guys are backpedaling faster than Darrelle Revis in man to man coverage.  If you’re that much of a Tebow homer you really should follow him to his next team.

The Broncos will look to trade Tebow as soon as possible.  This is a double WIN-WIN for the Broncos.  No more Tebowmania and his fans and they get one of the greatest QBs of all time.  As a fan I cannot be happier. Peyton Manning brings legitimacy to the QB spot that’s been lacking since the day Josh McDaniels used a first round pick on the quarterback that couldn’t pass.

Thank you Peyton. You made a wise decision. Can’t wait for the 2012 season!

I am one of the few people who remember the facts that the Broncos (my favorite team don’t get it twisted) actually backed in the playoffs with a loss. The final five games of the season the Broncos went 1-4, and Tebow finished the season with 12 fumbles making him a very quiet turnover machine.

That’s not to say that Tebow is a bad person or he can’t play in the NFL. There is no shame in being a very good backup QB. A lot of guys have made a lot of money doing just that.

With that said, there is no confusion that John Elway is ready to upgrade the position with Peyton Manning and trade Tim Tebow:

According to PFT’s Mike Florio, Tebow has every right to be rattled. Florio wrote that according to a source with knowledge of the situation, the Broncos would most likely not keep Tebow and have him learn the finer points of the position from Manning — more likely, Tebow would be traded. Or, at least the attempt would be made

Somewhere Skip Bayless and the rest of Tebow Nation are “Tebowing” in hopes that a trade doesn’t happen. Either way, the Broncos braintrust have made their point loud and clear- they WILL acquire a better Quarterback than Tim Tebow in the near future.

It has been regurgitated 1,000,000 times. Some people believe Tebow is the reason for the Broncos succes, others believe it is all the defense. And realists like me, see that it is primarily a commitment to running the ball, which easily could have happened under Kyle Orton, that was the main driver to the team’s success. Had the Broncos ran the ball as much as they did with Tebow with Kyle Orton, and actually had the passing threat of Kyle Orton and Brandon Lloyd this team could have easily won 10 games with the way the schedule folded when Tebow got the snaps.

But we’ll never know. But what we do know is that Tebow has the worst completion rate of any quarterback this side of Akili Smith, and John Elway himself has said as recently as THIS WEEK that “the passing game is not where it needs to be.” Yes, John is probably as excited as the #1 Tebowmaniac to win a playoff game but even he doesn’t have the wool over his eyes. Nor should you for that matter.

Here is the fact of the matter of the situation. When the Broncos get a chance to acquire a passer better than Tebow they simply will. It’s that simple. No hate, no hyperbole, no excuses needed. Tebow simply is not good enough, and that’s John Elway’s words not mine. Now whether that QB is Matt Flynn, Jason Campbell, Nick Foles, Darron Thomas, Brock Osweiler, or Robert Griffin III is yet to be seen.

What do I think will happen? One of two scenarios:

1. The Broncos draft a quarterback in the second or third round, and allow Tebow to start the season while the rookie gets acclimated and ultimately replaces him.

In this scenario John simply lets Tebow play himself out of the job. After 5 or so more 46% passing days and a losing record the fans will start to rumble. The Tebowmania will calm down and the rookie (Nick Foles, Kellen Moore, whoever) will ease in and take the job.

2. The Broncos bring in a veteran who they know will beat Tebow outright in camp.

This is the more volatile move as Tebowmania will still be loud and vocal that “Tebow get a chance” and that “Tebow is a gamer” who “just wins.” Lord forbid that veteran (Jason Campbell, Matt Flynn, etc.) starts the season 2-3 or worse. Tebowmania will back booing in the first quarter, distracting the team, then we have a complete repeat of the beginning of 2011.

If you had to make me guess. I’d say the Broncos will go the rookie route and let Tebow play himself down the depth chart. It lets John Elway save face, dies down Tebowmania, and puts the least amount of pressure on Tebow’s replacement.

In an interview with the Denver Post Elway was asked about what he wanted in a franchise quarterback and responded:

“You need the guy to win you a championship from the pocket, to be a leader, to make it go. And you’re looking for the athlete at the position who can operate from the pocket and get out when he needs to.”

The moves that Elway and Fox make say one thing very clear about Tebow. Neither is ready to pin their future to #15, and with good reason. He was “offensive genius” Josh McDaniels’ pet project and with no more McDaniels it is only a matter of time before Tebow becomes the next out of McDaniels high profile draft picks to no longer be with the team. Knowshon Moreno, Demariyus Thomas, and Robert Ayers are the other survivors for those counting.

I have absolutely no problem with cutting ties with Tim Tebow and Tebow nation ASAP. There are many reasons to do so, and the main one being Tim is just not that consistent throwing the ball. You need pin point accuracy from a franchise QB and that is a trait many believe one has to be born with to a certain degree. Tebow is an Urban Meyer spread QB and it is what it is. Nothing personal against the guy, but when the G.O.A.T. of QBs doesn’t believe in you I’m pretty much siding with him.

If the Broncos earn a top five draft pick they are leaving the 2012 draft with Andrew Luck. You can “Book it!”

If you are one of those people don’t read this post.

I’m serious. Click the little red [x] and leave. You aren’t going to like this post.

Now that the Broncos have decided to keep Kyle Orton as the starter for 2011, the Broncos fans are starting to separate themselves from the Tebow fans parading around as Broncos fans at an extremely fast rate. Those Tebow fans claim that the Broncos have given the job to Tebow and that is a foregone conclusion that Kyle Orton will be traded quicker than I can complete this sentence.

Here is what we know. Before the Broncos opened camp they intended on Tim Tebow being the unquestioned #1 QB. Kyle Orton was on the trade block, but the Broncos were not prepared to just GIVE him away. Remember they have no idea if Tebow can even play. We will get back to that subject later. The Miami Dolphins low-balled the Broncos, and the Broncos felt that it was worth it to retain Orton and pay him well over $9 million dollars this season.

Then training camp broke. The date to pay Orton’s roster bonus got closer and closer. Tim Tebow played so underwhelming in camp that reporters started reporting that Brady Quinn was more competition to Orton than Tebow, and it wasn’t even close. John Fox and Brian Xanders must have felt this way as well, because Orton’s roster bous was paid and he was quickly taken off the block for the near future.

Broncos veteran WR Brandon Lloyd took to the media, doing his best impression of Terrell Owens. Lloyd claimed he was putting all his energy into getting Tebow ready, and that the Broncos were planning on trading Orton to avoid dealing with “the Tebow thing.”

The Tebow thing. What’s that? Its overblown expectations of a player that was drafted at least 30 picks than he should have went in the NFL Draft. Overblown expectations for a player that the Broncos blew three draft picks to trade up for. Overblown expectations of a Quarterback that the coach that drafted him only used him in gimmick running packages. And now John Fox has to inherit THESE expectations in this Quarterback who simply doesn’t have it.

That’s the fact of the matter.

If Tebow was the prospect that Josh McDaniels and Tebow Nation think he is, then Kyle Orton would have taken his talent to South Beach with Reggie Bush and Lebron James.

Instead, Orton is back in Denver on a one-year $9 million plus deal as the unquestioned starter according to Adam Schefter and several other trusted media outlets. You don’t pay $9 million dollars to anyone to sit on the bench, not when you can trade him. Brandon Lloyd can work the media all he wants. Everyone at Invesco can wear their #15 jerseys. It will not matter if Tebow doesn’t have the goods.

I don’t hate Tim Tebow. I’ve even said publicly that he would be a very good player if he were to switch positions. That still doesn’t take away the fact that there is a mountain of hype and false expectations for the guy.

Tim has all August to prove us critics wrong and win the job. But he is on an uphill battle against Kyle Orton, Brady Quinn, and that mountain of expectations.