The 2000 Liars Club/ Draft makes Broncos coach cloak intentions

Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Apr 9, 2000 by John Branch

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Gazette will be tracking the NFL draft by unit next week, starting with receivers on Monday.

DENVER - Walking around for weeks wearing a metal bracelet engraved "W.W.D.D?" (What Would Denver Do?) isn't the trick.

Calling Dionne Warwick (no relation to Peter Warrick) doesn't do any good.

And simply asking the Denver Broncos who they might pick Saturday in the NFL's annual Player Selection Meeting - better known as the draft - doesn't get anywhere.

The Broncos have eight people who do nothing but evaluate college talent. All year. Full time. The team spends millions of dollars annually doing it. And, as New York Giants general manager Ernie Accorsi asked rhetorically recently, "And then... we're going to tell everyone everything we've found?"

But such swift dismissal of prognosticating takes all the fun out of the NFL draft. Face it: The draft is like the Super Bowl, or prom, or maybe winning a Tiger Beat magazine date with 'N Sync.

It sounds great. But the event can't compete with the hype. The lasting image of last year's draft was Mike Ditka donning dreadlocks. And for this we get excited?

But this, Bronco fans, is about as good as it gets (or as bad as it gets, depending upon your perspective). For just the second time since 1983, Denver has a top-10 pick.

Of course, the other time was in 1991, when the Broncos selected linebacker Mike Croel with the fourth selection. Ah, but don't let that kill your buzz.

The Broncos have two choices (and this is where things get really complicated): 1) Use the pick, or 2) trade it.

Use it

The 10th position is a 'tweener spot. It sits just outside the high-rent district, in that well-groomed neighborhood where every few houses lives someone who inexplicably parks his car on the front- yard grass, if you know what we're saying.

There are no sure things, and there are few stars. Want proof? The past four No. 10 picks have been defensive backs Chris McAlister and Duane Starks, former Colorado guard Chris Naeole and tackle Willie Anderson.

Nice, but no one is subscribing to DirecTV to watch them play.

But franchises such as the Broncos don't get this opportunity often. And they have some serious needs that could be filled in a hurry with a 10th pick.

Take wide receiver, Denver's biggest need. Peter Warrick will be gone by 10. Two others are likely to go within a few picks either side of No. 10. One is Plaxico Burress, a 6-foot-5, 225-pound wild card from Michigan State who has climbed and fallen down the charts more often than the Bee Gees. Another is Florida's Travis Taylor.

But after the failures of Marcus Nash and Travis McGriff, think the Broncos will bank on another Southeastern Conference receiver?

Somewhere midway through the first round, a rash of other quality receivers will be snapped up. But taking any of them at No.10 is a reach.

One rumor has Denver interested in Marshall quarterback Chad Pennington - a rumor sparked by coach Mike Shana-han's glowing comments about him a couple weeks ago. Shanahan doesn't talk about people he might draft, but he throws out more smokescreens than the Batmobile.

Taking a quarterback with a pick that high would mean Shanahan has given up on Brian Griese, and doesn't hold out much hope for Gus Frerotte, who is only 28. Doubtful. A quarterback may be chosen by Denver, but not in the first round.

The Broncos love the "best available athlete" approach. A year ago, Denver drafted linebacker Al Wilson in the first round, and linebacker wasn't considered a weakness.

So the Broncos may be looking at a menu that includes linebackers such as New Mexico's Brian Urlacher, Michigan State's Julian Peterson and South Carolina's John Abraham; Miami tight end Daniel Franks; Wisconsin offensive tackle Chris McIntosh; defensive ends Shaun Ellis of Tennessee and Darren Howard of Kansas State, and a slew of solid running backs. That's if the commercial scouting services have evaluated the talent the same way Denver has. And they probably haven't.

Trade it

Shanahan has pulled off a draft-day trade in each of his five drafts as Broncos coach. But none has involved a first- or second- rounder. Then again, he's never had a top-10 pick.

Swapping up just a couple of spots - say, to grab Urlacher before the Arizona Cardinals, Pittsburgh Steelers or Chicago Bears - probably would cost a second-round choice.

Those teams, however, haven't said they would consider trading down as Cincinnati (No. 4), Baltimore (No. 5) and Philadelphia (No. 6) have. In that case, Denver would have to send a young, sure-fire star (Olandis Gary caliber, though it wouldn't be Gary), or a combination of picks, probably including Denver's first-round choice next year.

A steep price, but if the Broncos covet someone like Warrick, it's the only way they'll get him.

It's just as likely that the Broncos will trade down. History shows there is little difference in picking 10th and picking in the mid-teens (the 16th pick the past four years has mined Jevon Kearse, Kevin Dyson, Reidel Anthony and Duane Clemons), and swapping picks with someone in the mid-teens would probably garner at least an extra second-round choice.