Tebow to Denver: Mile High Mistake

So, the mystery is solved and the NFL draftniks can take a breath: Tim Tebow is a first-round selection of the Denver Broncos. While I'm not surprised he went 25th overall, I am shocked that he was picked by Denver. The Broncos' biggest weakness last season was stopping the run, an issue they "solved" by acquiring 34 year-old Jamal Williams. While they clearly needed to try to replace Brandon Marshall's huge productivity at wide receiver (and I commend their selection of Demaryius Thomas), they had traded their way into an opportunity to take either Dan Williams or Jason Odrick, defensive tackles that would have shored up their porous run defense, with the 25th pick. Instead, they Tebowed themselves in the foot.

Denver coach Josh McDaniels has traded for two quarterbacks in his short tenure there: first, Kyle Orton in the Jay Cutler trade last year and then Brady Quinn this year. I don't happen to believe that either quarterback is going to help Denver win a Super Bowl, but McDaniels must believe that, otherwise he wouldn't have bothered acquiring them. Yes, Tebow gives the quarterback position in Denver a different dynamic, but it's not necessarily one they need. Running back Knowshon Moreno was a successful ground gainer in his rookie year, including in short yardage situations. He converted on 64.7% of third-and-short plays, and was third in the league in touchdown percentage near the goal-line, busting into the end zone 5 out of the 7 opportunities he had from inside the 3 yard line. Tebow's ability to succeed on short-yardage run plays gives the Broncos another option, but it's not worth a first round pick, especially with the payroll department taking on another first round salary with Thomas.