Broncos president talks ownership, Hall of Fame hopes for Champ Bailey, Pat Bowlen By Nicki Jhabvala Denver Post March 27, 2018

Last season, Broncos minority owner John Bowlen announced his intention to sell his non-voting stake in the team. His oil-and-gas company in Canada filed for bankruptcy a year earlier and the time was right for him to test the market, he said.

But in the ensuing five months, the Broncos took steps to ensure multiple parties benefit from his desire to sell.

Last week The Denver Post learned the team planned to buy back a portion of John Bowlen’s interest for an undisclosed amount. Sunday, the deal was finalized.

“What went into it was the feeling that we had, as trustees, that it was really Pat’s desire to consolidate when he could,” Broncos president, CEO and controlling owner delegee Joe Ellis said. “So we followed through on that and John was very understanding and very willing and open to working with us. So we were able to construct a deal that was beneficial to both parties.”

The deal provided John Bowlen a financial gain while remaining a significant minority owner of the team. It also enlarged the total interest that would be split among Pat Bowlen’s children when and if Pat’s ownership is passed down to them. And perhaps most significantly, it kept ownership fo the team within the Bowlen family.

“I think the family itself would like to see that happen and eventually when a child is named in control of the team for the future,” Ellis said. “Certainly the transaction with that in mind, to keep the team in Pat’s family.”

Any news of the Broncos’ ownership usually draws the same what-ifs and speculation about the team’s future. But when asked again if the trust had any plans to sell the team, Ellis said flatly: “No.”

Hall hopes. The year of 2019 could be a significant one for the in Canton. Former cornerback Champ Bailey will be eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame for the first time since retiring in 2014 and Pat Bowlen could finally be inducted as a contributor.

“That’d be exciting and well-deserved for each of them,” Ellis said. “I think Champ’s going to get in. It was just a great career that he had. And it’s time for Mr. B to get in, too. His accomplishments are well- noted; we’ve been through that many times before and I hope the (selection) committee recognizes that as we get closer to that meeting for the contributors. We got our fingers crossed. This could and should be his year.”

Up to two contributors can be selected for the Hall of Fame’s Class of 2019, and the finalists are usually revealed in August.

Broncos stadium naming rights could be tied to new entertainment district By Nicki Jhabvala Denver Post March 27, 2018

The idea had been discussed for years, but last week the first steps were taken and revealed to the public.

The Denver Broncos, the Metropolitan Football Stadium District (MFSD) and the Denver Department of Community Planning and Development offered the first look at a new mixed-use development project that would replace about half of the stadium’s parking lots with bars, restaurants, housing and entertainment options.

“I think it was (Broncos chief commercial officer) Mac Freeman who said last week that it feels like the starter gun went off. And it kind of did,” team president/CEO Joe Ellis said Monday at the NFL’s annual meetings. “It’s a great opportunity for the city and county of Denver. It is one of the last pieces of untapped real estate.”

The vision is in its infancy without a developer on board yet, and the plan is long-term. Ellis, echoing earlier comments of district and city officials, said the impetus for the project is primarily two-fold, with expected benefits to the team and its 17-year-old stadium, as well as the city and neighboring districts.

The team has projected the cost of capital projects at the stadium over the next 25 years to be around $500 million to $700 million. Lease payments from the new entertainment district would ease the financial burden and would be integral to the maintenance of the stadium. But a naming rights partner is vital to carry the load.

“It’s really being done to try and make sure we’re prepared for all the various capital repair and needs that the stadium will have in the future,” Ellis said. “Because otherwise we’re going to be stuck with the building the way the team and city were stuck with Mile High Stadium, which was not a viable building at the end of its tenure. We don’t think we need to get there. We got a great stadium and if we continue to maintain it, if we continue to improve it, that’s, from our standpoint, the primary goal.

“Add on to that the city’s desire to grow in a reasonable and sensible fashion. It does make sense with two light rail stops, highway access, access to downtown, workforce requirements, housing requirements to happen to this land. As long as I said, we do it in a way that is not disruptive to the Denver Broncos and our fans.”

But the project could have even greater implications. The Broncos’ two-year search for a stadium naming rights partner could be connected to the planned entertainment district.

“Still in contact and in negotiations,” Ellis said. “I wouldn’t tell you we were close, but there’s an outside chance that this development would have some ties to the name on the building. And I don’t have a concrete explanation of what that would be at this time, but it certainly could be part of the deal long- term. It’s very important that we get the right partner — a partner that will be with us for a long period of time and not dissolve or go away or anything like that. We’re paying the tab right now that was left when Sports Authority went away. We’re going to continue to do that. It is an important piece of funding for the district in terms of capital repair, capital improvements. From that standpoint, we just have to make sure we get the right deal.”

When Sports Authority went bankrupt, the Broncos assumed the remainder of the company’s naming rights contract — about $20 million of the original $60 million deal — and the team has been making regular payments to MFSD. Ellis said doing so hasn’t hindered the team’s ability to continue to make upgrades and repairs to the stadium, but long term it isn’t feasible or efficient.

The project is expected to be rolled out in phases, and Ellis said it could take up to 10 years to complete. And the timeline, as well as well as the prolonged hunt for a naming parts partner, could be intertwined.

“It is and it isn’t,” Ellis said. “There will be some conversations where it will factor in and there will be conversations that will be standalone about just putting the name on the stadium. We’ll kind of go down two tracks with that and leave all options open.”

Joe Ellis addresses Elway performance, National Anthem, neighborhood plans, stadium name By Mike Klis 9NEWS March 27, 2018

Peyton Manning just turned 42 and he’s not coming back. Not to lift the Denver Broncos’ franchise to another unprecedented run of excellence, anyway.

So, exactly how has Broncos’ business been affected by the team’s 5-11 season?

“We work harder to try and maintain our relationships with people,’’ Joe Ellis, the Broncos’ chief executive officer and president, said here Monday at the NFL owners meetings. “We do more to keep those in place.

“But we have very, very, very loyal season-ticket members, fans. Our metrics are still tracking very, very highly. I’ve got to say I’m amazed by the support.

“Now, they’re voicing their opinions and their displeasure. You can’t trick them. They know what happened last year. We were not a very competitive team, 5-11 being 5-11. We were out of a lot of games early and lost by big margins so they know what they’re looking at. They’re smart, they’re well informed … we know what we’ve got to do to satisfy them and we’ve got a long way to go, there’s no question about it.

“But I’m optimistic that we can start to rebound and get back on the right track here soon.’’

In a wide-ranging interview with 9News, Ellis addressed the team’s involvement with a neighborhood development around their stadium, the stadium’s unknown name, the National Anthem, how general manager John Elway is doing this offseason in his attempt to improve the team’s roster that performed so poorly in 2017, the team’s purchase of a percentage of minority shares from John Bowlen, and realistic expectations for the Broncos in 2018.

*The National Anthem

The topic was raised during these league meetings, although no formal policy was acted upon.

Should teams mandate their players to stand during the playing of the Star Spangled Banner?

“I’m not going to reveal where I stand today,’’ Ellis said (in terms of what the NFL should do about the National Anthem). “I’d like all our players to stand. That’s just where I stand, but I respect some of their feelings and their beliefs and what they stand for. I don’t think fans come to games to witness protests or witness that. They want to be entertained and get away from some of the political aspects of life.

“But players have their rights and they have their beliefs and some of them are very strong-felt and I respect that.’’

*Elway's offseason job performance

General manager John Elway added quarterback Case Keenum, right tackle Jared Veldheer, defensive lineman Clinton McDonald and cornerback Tramaine Brock from free agency. Elway traded away star cornerback Aqib Talib and there are nine draft picks to use. Ellis' assessment of Elway's performance?

“Good. Real pleased,'' Ellis said. "Been talking to a lot of the players who have been strolling in, getting ready for the offseason, coming up here in April, and I think the level of enthusiasm and excitement over Case Keenum has been terrific. It’s good to see. Gets a little energy into the building.

“Chipping away at it. Lot of draft picks coming up. Got to keep developing the younger players. We’ve got to improve, we’ve got to get better and get back to where we used to be.’’

*Neighborhood development

It’s not enough the Broncos have a stadium. Now they want want to help develop a new neighborhood/entertainment district on the south side of the stadium with restaurants, bars, multi-unit housing projects, a park and other recreational venues.

“I’m not sure it’s going that quickly,’’ Ellis said. “There was the starter’s gun (announcement last week) and everybody thinks the race is about to end. But it’s a long race. It’ll take somewhere, could be anywhere up to 10 years to come to completion.

“Now there are steps that are currently on-going. The city’s excited, we’re excited. We’ve got a great partner in the Metropolitan Stadium District to work with. We need to do something like this that is kind of a development, we collectively with the city and with the district so that we can get some funds to keep our stadium upgraded and keep it up to speed.

“And then modernize down the road. We don’t want to go back in 10 or 15 or 20 years and have to start all over again.’’

Major League Baseball got the jump on the NFL in redeveloping areas around their ballparks into vibrant sections of downtown. Coors Field and LoDo is an example.

More recently, the NFL has caught on with similar projects around the stadiums for the , and Stan Kroenke’s new venue for the and Chargers.

“From our standpoint it’s a natural extension of downtown Denver with two light-rail stations right there,’’ Ellis said. “It’s untapped acreage. But we use it. We use it for parking and we use it on game day. It’s a big part of our game day experience so one of the key things for us moving forward is to make sure that as we go down the road on these projects that it not be disruptive to the 10 to 12 times our fans come to games. That’s really critical for us.’’

*Stadium name

In 2016, the Broncos home was referred to as “soon-to-be-renamed Sports Authority Field at Mile High,’’ by 9News after Sports Authority went out of business.

When the Broncos carried the bankrupt name into a second season, it became, “eventually-to-be- renamed Sports Authority Field.”

At long last, the Broncos have dropped the “Sports Authority” portion of the stadium’s moniker. So, what will we call the place in 2018?

“Not sure yet,’’ Ellis said. “By the time training camp comes around we’ll have an answer as to what it will be called.’’

Broncos Stadium at Mile High seems to be the most logical temporary name. The Broncos’ first choice, though, is to secure a naming-rights sponsor.

“We still have lots of discussions,’’ Ellis said. “Some of them entertain the notion that the partner could be involved in some way with this development that have been revealed here over the last week. Some don’t. Some are stand alone, just put your name on the building.

“But we’ve got to get the right deal. We’ve got to get the right partner. It’s got to be a long deal, a good deal, solid deal where there’s not going to be any disruption along the way. That’s kind of our goal. Not kind of, it is our goal. So, I’m hopeful, I’m optimistic, but as I said we’ve got to just be patient.

“We’re still making the payments. It’s an important part of capital maintenance and capital improvement in terms of budgeting. Hopefully sooner rather than later we’ll have a name and you can stop asking me this question.’’

*Buying percentage of John Bowlen's minority interest

The Pat Bowlen Trust already held 100 percent of controlling interest in the Broncos. Why did the team buy up a portion of brother John Bowlen’s minority interest that has zero voting rights?

“I think John had indicated to you all in the media and to us back in October 2017 that he was interested in selling,’’ Ellis said. “So, he was the seller and if that’s the case, Pat Bowlen always wanted to consolidate his own ownership and so we as trustees felt it was the right thing to do to enter into some discussions with John whereby we might be able to strike a deal.

“And we were able to do that. I’m not going to go into the terms or the percentages or anything like that but we worked out a deal that was good for both parties and it does accomplish what Pat wanted to accomplish which was consolidation of his ownership within his family.’’

The idea is still to keep it in the family?

“Yes. No plans to sell.’’

One of the children, Brittany Bowlen, appears to be working towards meeting the criteria set forth in the trust for eventually replacing her father.

“Look, there’s seven children, several of them have aspirations,’’ Ellis said. “The hope is that one of these children, one of the adult children, will be able to earn the right and sit in their father’s chair some day and I think that’ll be a good thing for the Broncos, a good thing for the city of Denver, Denver Broncos fans moving forward.’’

*Broncos in 2018

The boss’ realistic expectations for the Broncos in 2018 after coming off that miserable 5-11 season?

“I don’t make predictions,’’ Ellis said. “You know that, I never have, I wouldn’t do that. I’m expecting and hoping for substantial improvement. We’ve got to be competitive. We’ve got to learn how to win games when we are competitive again. You want to get back to where you have the aspirations that we had for Super Bowls, but you also must be realistic and understand that we’ve got a long way to go to get there.

“But this is the NFL and you have a chance every year and you have a chance every year to turn your team around. And so, it’s incumbent upon Vance and his staff and all of our players – John Elway said this – to do a better job. And John put himself in that category, I put myself in that category.

“I’m hopeful that we’ll see enough improvement to get fans excited and be there in December with a chance to go to the tournament and once you get in you’ll see where you go from there.’’

Joseph: "We don't want anyone to feel safe after year we had" By Mike Klis 9NEWS March 27, 2018

By itself, it was no big deal.

The Broncos signed a (Christian Kuntz) and kicker (Taylor Bertolet) last week.

What was significant, though, is even Casey Kreiter now has competition as a long snapper. Even Brandon McManus has competition as a kicker.

Last year, even in the offseason, Kreiter was the only snapper, McManus was the only kicker, Riley Dixon was the only punter.

Don’t be surprised if the Broncos add punter in the next month.

“At every position we want competition,’’ said Broncos head coach Vance Joseph. “We don’t want anyone to feel like they’re safe after the year we had. Including myself. Everyone’s got to get better. Everyone’s got to compete and grind and earn their way. That’s the way I want it. Again, including myself.’’

The message is clear: If the Broncos are to be better in 2018, it’s not about Case Keenum or Jared Veldheer, players they added. It’s not about Aqib Talib or Virgil Green, players they lost.

It’s about the players they kept playing better than they did in 2017.

Vance Joseph evaluates the Big Four quarterbacks By Mike Klis 9NEWS March 27, 2018

Among NFL coaches and executives, Vance Joseph may know the Big Four as well as anyone.

The Big Four: Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen, Josh Allen and Baker Mayfield.

Joseph spent nearly a week coaching Mayfield and Allen for the Senior Bowl North team in Mobile, Alabama, and attended the Pro Day workouts for Mayfield at Oklahoma and Rosen at UCLA.

He sat in on the 15-minute, interviews with each of the Big Four during the NFL Combine earlier this month in Indianapolis. More is to come with the Broncos holding a private workout for Darnold in early April.

The Broncos may, or may not take one of the Big Four with their No. 5 overall draft selection in late- April. At least two of the Big Four will be taken by the with either their No. 1 or 4 picks, and with their No. 3 selection before the Broncos are on the clock at No. 5.

And it would make sense for the to take a quarterback with their No. 2 pick so he can groom for a season behind 37-year-old Eli Manning.

The Broncos will have done their homework on the one or two quarterbacks who will be available by the time they draft. Just in case.

Joseph’s take on the Big Four:

Baker Mayfield: He’s the shortest at 6-foot-1, but he’s also the Heisman Trophy winner.

“Well, Baker we had in the Senior Bowl so as a person, he’s right,’’ Joseph said. “As a quarterback with his football IQ, he’s right. For a smaller guy, he can throw the ball like a big man. He can throw the ball with great pace. He can throw the ball long. And he’s played the most football. He’s the most experienced out of all four, even though he’s the smaller guy.

“His competitive nature, his knack to win games is special.’’

Sam Darnold: A redshirt, two-year starter at USC, Darnold is nearly perfectly sized at 6-3, 221 and he doesn’t turn 21 until June. He is the youngest of the Big Four and the consensus is he’s the No. 1 quarterback.

“As I watch all four guys, Darnold is a guy who’s played in big games,’’ Joseph said. “Who has come up big in those games. Not so much last year but the year before that. He’s played against great competition. He’s played well.

“He has great arm talent, he can move. He’s a big man, he’s played in a pro-style offense his entire career so I can see why some folks think he’s the top guy.’’

Josh Rosen: He is the best pure, pocket passer in the group. Thin in the hips at 6-foot-4, 226 and the least athletic of the Big Four but he also may be the most NFL-ready.

“When you press play on this guy’s tape, it looks like an NFL quarterback,’’ Joseph said. “The footwork, the release, the ball placement -- the stuff is right.

“Meeting the kid for the first time – I should say young man – at the combine, his football IQ is high. He went through all the rumors about his personality -- I didn’t see that. He’s a confident guy. You want your quarterback to be confident. He’s got a high football IQ and his natural ability as far as throwing the football is special.’’

Josh Allen: The most physically gifted prospect in two or three decades, much less the Big Four. He is 6- foot-5, 237 pounds with athleticism and a cannon, but accuracy and ability to process quickly under pressure are in question.

“His arm talent is rare,’’ Joseph said. “I haven’t seen a guy with his kind of arm in a long time. But he’s also a good athlete. His combine workout was really, really good because he cleaned some things up from the Senior Bowl and from the previous tape. His footwork, his ball placement was excellent.

“I watched his Pro Day on Friday before I flew out to the owners’ meeting, he was excellent. He has come a long way fast. And that’s a good sign for a young quarterback that he can improve fast. So, by the fall he may be ready to play for you but his arm talent is rare.’’

With that No. 5 overall pick, the Broncos may take defensive end Bradley Chubb, running back Saquon Barkley, defensive back or guard Quenton Nelson.

But they will have a good read on the Big Four if they want to take one of them.

Broncos need more receiving targets for Case Keenum By Jeff Legwold ESPN.com March 27, 2018

The Denver Broncos’ offensive woes of 2017 can essentially be boiled down to three major issues: too many turnovers by the quarterbacks in an ill-fitting offense, too little pass protection for those quarterbacks and not enough viable targets for those quarterbacks to throw to.

In the first two weeks of free agency, the team tried to solve two of those issues by signing Case Keenum to be its starting quarterback and by trading for tackle Jared Veldheer. However, that third item -- the whole viable targets thing -- is still largely unaddressed.

In fact, the Broncos decided to let two of the four wide receivers who had touchdown catches last season -- Bennie Fowler and Cody Latimer -- move on in free agency. And of the nine players overall who had at least one touchdown reception last season, four are no longer on the team.

Coach Vance Joseph has called it all “a work in progress" and has said “we’ve got time," but the Broncos made the rather painful discovery last season that Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders won’t have enough room to work if the Broncos don’t force defenses to worry about somebody else running pass patterns. Yes, they believe Keenum’s accuracy will fix some of their woes. And yes, they believe a more concerted effort to fit their playcalling to their personnel under offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave will help as well.

“[Keenum] is the right person for our locker room," Joseph said. “He’s a guy who has been through a lot of ups and downs in his football career, and he’s hardened to it. It won’t be too big for him to be a Denver Broncos quarterback, which is a big task. It won’t be too big for him to lead [Thomas] and Emmanuel and those names that we have here. He’s excited about that."

But the Broncos still need a third target, somewhere in the formation, to take some of the attention away from Thomas and Sanders. And unless they believe Carlos Henderson (zero receptions in 2017) and Isaiah McKenzie (four) can take on major roles in 2018, they’ve still got some work to do.

Henderson missed all of 2017 with a fractured thumb he suffered in the preseason and then had a marijuana arrest earlier this offseason. McKenzie was benched multiple times and struggled to carve out playing time on offense.

As a result, beyond Thomas and Sanders, Jordan Taylor is the returning wide receiver with the most catches last season, with just 13. For his part, Keenum said he did his due diligence before he signed with the Broncos and thinks by the time training camp rolls around, the Broncos will have options.

“We did a lot of homework on every team that was a possibility that might want a quarterback," Keenum said. “Every team that we compared them to, the Denver Broncos were by far and away the best option."

However, the issue for the Broncos, especially if Henderson and McKenzie don’t make historically big jumps between their rookie and sophomore seasons, is the market in free agency has been picked fairly clean. Also, history has shown around the league that wide receiver can be one of the most difficult positions for a team to get immediate help in the draft, as players transitioning from college to the pros consistently struggle with the more physical play at the line of scrimmage.

There are still two unsigned wide receivers in free agency who finished 2017 with at least 50 receptions: Kendall Wright and Eric Decker. But Wright visited the Chiefs this past week, and there were some hard feelings when Decker left the Broncos in free agency in 2014.

Of the receivers still available, Jeremy Maclin had 40 receptions last season and Jordan Matthews had three seasons with at least 67 catches with the Eagles before he finished with 25 last season with the .

And for the wide receivers in the draft, many personnel evaluators in the league would give consideration to just six or seven among the draft's top 50 players: Alabama’s Calvin Ridley, Texas A&M's Christian Kirk, Maryland’s D.J. Moore, SMU’s Courtland Sutton, LSU’s D.J. Clark, UCLA's Jordan Lasley and Oklahoma State’s James Washington. And those players haven’t faced man coverage like they will in the NFL, which will be the most difficult part of their transition.

The Broncos do believe tight end Jake Butt will help their cause as he moves into his second season. But finding help for Thomas and Sanders just might be the team's biggest piece of unfinished business with the most limited number of potential solutions.

Jared Veldheer, Connor McGovern key decisions in another line makeover By Jeff Legwold ESPN.com March 27, 2018

At the moment, the Denver Broncos' ability to block better on offense hinges on two items.

First, that Jared Veldheer can leave his past two injury-shorted seasons behind and be the steady, reliable presence at tackle he was for much of his first six seasons in the NFL; he played in 16 games in five of those years.

And second, Connor McGovern is ready to be a starter.

“We think we have some options," is how president of football operations/general manager John Elway has put it. "... We’re still working through some things, but we can get where we need to be."

The Broncos made a trade for Veldheer -- for a sixth-round pick -- late last week as a fairly shallow pool of tackles in free agency dried up quickly, led by Nate Solder’s $62 million deal with the New York Giants. While Veldheer has been a left tackle for 81 of his 91 career NFL starts, he can, and will almost certainly, play right tackle for the Broncos.

He has made nine career starts at right tackle and even one at center, but his arrival should help the Broncos settle what has been a difficult job for them to fill in recent seasons. Last March, the Broncos signed Menelik Watson, who had never played in more than 12 games in any of his NFL seasons, to be the right tackle.

The Broncos had hoped a plan to improve Watson’s flexibility in workouts would help him stay on the field, but he then missed nine games with a lower leg injury and put the Broncos on the hunt for a solution once again. Veldheer also could help left tackle Garett Bolles smooth out some of the roller coaster his rookie season was in 2017.

Bolles didn’t always rebound from mistakes and didn’t always take the advice some of his teammates tried to give him. Veldheer gives Bolles a veteran sounding board.

In the end, the projection that could mean the most for the Broncos is McGovern’s. If McGovern can be the solution at right guard -- and Elway has tossed Watson’s name out as a possibility there, as well -- it would allow the Broncos to move Ron Leary back to left guard.

Leary has done his best work at left guard, but the Broncos elected to move him to right guard last season when Max Garcia struggled there. McGovern spent the offseason at center last year because Matt Paradis was coming back from surgery on both hips, otherwise McGovern might have been able to win the right guard spot a year ago.

When Leary went on injured reserve in December, the Broncos got a preview of McGovern at right guard. And unless the Broncos add a high-profile guard in the draft or sign a veteran free agent, he would be projected into the offseason program as a starter.

In the season’s final weeks, offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave said McGovern had played “great, really good."

The Broncos do have nine draft picks -- all in the first five rounds -- and the offensive line figures to get some attention with some of those selections. In Elway’s tenure as the Broncos' chief football decision- maker, he has taken at least one offensive lineman in each draft class, with Bolles' selection in the first round last April to go with McGovern's selection in the fifth round in 2016.

No one knows what the Broncos will do with the 5th draft pick By Troy Renck KMGH March 27, 2018

In the draft, which is a month away, the Broncos, with the fifth pick, will select . . .

Who knows? I don’t know. You don’t know. Mel Kiper Jr. doesn’t know. All the yak jockeys don’t know. The Broncos’ Boss, John Elway, said over the weekend at the league meetings he doesn’t know, and I believe him.

Nobody is even sure that the Broncos will select anybody at No. 5 because they could trade the choice.

Here’s what we do know: If the Broncos hold onto their pick, they can draft a quarterback.

How could that be? There’s supposedly the Fab Four: They are (in alphabetical order) Josh Allen, Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield and Josh Rosen. However, Lamar Jackson also is available, and he did win a Heisman Trophy before Mayfield. Vance Joseph, at the meetings, offered a glowing evaluation about Jackson until the coach said he thought the quarterback would be very good in three or four years. No team will draft a quarterback if the top five if it has to wait that long for a quarterback to develop.

On the surface, it would appear the Broncos could draft a quarterback at the fifth spot because the Browns own two picks (Nos. 1 and 4) before them, and surely wouldn’t draft two players at the same position. The Browns most likely will draft a quarterback (Allen or Darnold) and running back Saquon Barkley, or they could trade the fourth pick to a team such as the Bills, who dearly want a young quarterback – despite the signing of AJ McCarron – or the Cardinals.

Is it possible that three New York teams – it’s generally forgotten that Buffalo is in the state of New York, too – could wind up picking quarterbacks back-to-back-to back? The Giants possess the No. 2 overall, and the Jets traded with the Colts to move up from sixth to third. If the Bills got the fourth, the top four picks could be Allen, Darnold, Rosen and Mayfield.

And the Broncos would get the pick of the litter (not litter, as trash) of the rest of all the players at other positions.

Then they could choose Barkley, pass-rushing defensive end Bradley Chubb, guard Quinton Nelson or versatile defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick. Or they could a deal with the Cardinals for their first three picks in the draft (15th in each round).

I think that the Broncos won’t actually know until they pick – because of all the possibilities in the four spots ahead of theirs. That’s the reason they’ll be bringing the top four quarterbacks to Dove Valley for pre-draft meetings.

Overall, the Broncos are permitted, by league rule, to bring a maximum of 30 players to their headquarters (but not for testing) before the draft.

Last year the Broncos had close to the max (27 players) visit. They’ve already interviewed approximately 40 players at the East-West Game, the Senior Bowl (coached by the Broncos), the NFL combine and Pro Days. Interestingly, they did talk to Barkley at the combine, but not Chubb, Nelson or Fitzpatrick.

Another aspect to consider is that the Broncos list only three running backs on their current off-season roster. Elway admitted he doesn’t know the future of C.J. Anderson, and the only other two with the Broncos are Devontae Booker and De’Angelo Henderson.

We do know these things:

The Broncos have nine picks, all in the first five rounds. (They owned eight in the first five rounds in 2009, and managed to get only three – Knowshon Moreno, Robert Ayers and David Bruton – who eventually contributed to the team. Ayers, a first-rounder was not much.)

The Broncos probably will draft (in no certain order) a tight end, a running back, a wide receiver, an offensive guard, a defensive end, an inside linebacker, an outside linebacker, a safety and a cornerback.

But, after daily debate for months, they might not draft even one quarterback.

Elway continues to talk in a positive way about the future of Paxton Lynch, and Chad Kelly, after a redshirt year, could contend to stay on the roster.

And the Broncos, of course, did sign Case Keenum to a two-year contract.

As Elway says, the Broncos have a month to sort it all out. Then, three more days of the draft.

Last year a prominent draft analyst with NFL.com, Chad Reuter, did not predict correctly any of the eight Broncos picks. Yet, he did have the Broncos taking tackle Ryan Ramczyk and running back Alvin Kamara in the first two rounds. They could have chosen both – who had better seasons with the Saints than Garett Bolles and DeMarcus Walker did with the Broncos. Kamara was the offensive rookie of the year.

Reuter has the Broncos taking Baker Mayfield with the fifth pick.

Broncos' John Elway keeps options open with fifth pick overall By Troy Renck KMGH March 27, 2018

John Elway cackles at time.

As a player, he did his best work when alarms were blaring and the clock was ticking toward expiration.

As a general manager, he refuses to make moves until he has to. It has left him with a reputation as a shrewd negotiator, as someone who is not afraid to scribble a line in the sand and walk away. This offseason he has exercised patience -- with the exception of the primary goal -- in targeting needs.

The Broncos moved swiftly on quarterback Case Keenum, recognizing Kirk Cousins would not make sense when compared to Keenum's willingness to sign a two-year contract with $25 million guaranteed. While fans' angst grew, Elway plotted more methodically in free agency after the Keenum deal. He added nickelback Tramaine Brock, defensive tackle Clinton McDonald and right tackle Jared Veldheer, while on multiple occasions, challenging the team's top players -- Von Miller, Demaryius Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders, Brandon Marshall, etc -- to improve.

The Broncos did not finish 5-11 by accident. They require multiple upgrades. The next big moment this spring arrives in the draft. The Broncos hold the No. 5 pick overall. Elway, willing to show discipline, remains open to all possibilities from a quarterback to a trade.

"It's funny everyone thinks they know what we are taking -- I don't know what we are taking yet," Elway told the team's website from the NFL owners' meetings in Florida. "We still have to do all our homework and ultimately look at all the different situations that could come up whether it be a trade back or a possible trade up. We have to look at all those and see where it falls. Plus, go through all the scenarios. If this happens, we will do this. And if that happens, we will do that. We are getting busy on that. We will have a good plan in place."

The decision whether to take a quarterback continues to percolate, agitate and excite Broncos Country. The Broncos have not selected this high in the draft since nabbing Miller in 2011. With Keenum's contract, Denver is dating, not married to him. So the Broncos can say with a straight face that a quarterback is a possibility. However, the rookie quarterback will make $18 million and, in an ideal world, will not play next season, learning as a backup. That makes a lot of sense for 2019. It seems counterintuitive to helping the Broncos end their two-year playoff drought next season.

Denver insists it believes in backup Paxton Lynch. Listening to Elway talk about this year's draft, however, suggests the Broncos are looking for something different if they select another young arm.

"Any quarterback who plays in this league is very talented physically because you have to be able to throw the football, be athletic and be tough. It's always hard to find out what they are made of, the inside. Half the quarterback position is really about heart and being able to stand in there in tough situations and take the beating that you take not only on the field but off the field," Elway said. "Trying to figure that out, and who can handle that the best is the most difficult thing."

The Broncos' issues go beyond quarterback. It motivated Denver to add McDonald and Veldheer last week. They represent veterans who have served as team captains in the past.

"We are excited about both of them. Clinton is a guy we like because we feel like he can add some pass rush from the inside, which we need. He had played very well for the Bucs," said Elway of McDonald, who signed a two-year, $7 million deal with $4 million guaranteed. "Jared is obviously going to come in and play right tackle for us. It's been a hole for us. He's had a great eight-year career. He's a vet with a lot of experience who has played very well. So we are excited to at least plug that hole for a little bit."

Footnotes

Running back C.J. Anderson's future remains uncertain with the Broncos. The team will consider adding a running back in the draft from a deep class. It creates the possibility Anderson could traded on draft day -- see Kapri Bibbs last year -- or return as the veteran anchor. Again, the Broncos have not made a decision because they do not have to yet. ... Outside linebacker Shane Ray posted a recent workout video on Twitter showing what I have been saying on 104.3 The Fan. He is adding weight after being unable to lift a year ago because of his left wrist injury. DeMarcus Walker is also putting the pounds back on as he shifts back to defensive end.

John Elway, Vance Joseph's look at Baker Mayfield, Josh Rosen on Pro Days 'reaffirms' evaluations By Andrew Mason DenverBroncos.com March 27, 2018

From Indianapolis to Oklahoma to Los Angeles and on to central Florida, the March travelogue for President of Football Operations/General Manager John Elway and Head Coach Vance Joseph looks a bit like one of the maps from the Indiana Jones movies showing the daredevil archaeologist's globe-trotting trek in search of antiquities and adventure.

No trips captured more attention than the ones to Norman, Oklahoma, and Southern California, largely because of the players they were there to see: quarterback prospects Baker Mayfield of Oklahoma and Josh Rosen of UCLA.

Those visits are only part of the voluminous research the Broncos have conducted on players expected to go in the first few picks of the draft. That work will continue in April, when the Broncos host a maximum of 30 players for in-person visits at UCHealth Training Center.

"It just kind of reaffirms things," Elway said Monday. "We saw Mayfield throw down at the Senior Bowl. We saw Rosen throw at the Combine, so you get to see him throw to some of his [teammates], and he was a little more comfortable. He had a better Pro Day [than Combine workout] as far as throwing the football.

"But all it does is reconfirm what you see on tape. They can all throw it."

Rosen's precision stood out, Joseph said, and reflected what was apparent from his on-field work the last three seasons, in which he completed 60.9 percent of his passes and averaged 311.4 yards per game.

"With Rosen, when you press 'play' on the tape, it's what we saw at his Pro Day -- a very, very accurate passer," Joseph said. "He's a guy that's really polished for a young guy. As you watch more tape on him, he's ready to go from a physical perspective, not knowing how he's going to react to NFL defenses, but physically, he's a talented passer of the football."

Denver's view of Mayfield's Pro Day performance was enhanced by its coaches' work with him at the Senior Bowl.

"It was good to have an up-close look as far as his football IQ and football talents," Joseph said of Mayfield's Senior Bowl work. "But watching his Pro Day, it was much of what we saw during the season - - he's a very, very accurate passer. For a smaller guy, he can throw the football a long ways. He can make every throw that you ask quarterbacks to make in this league, so it was very exciting to watch him perform."

On-field work, of course, is just part of the picture for quarterbacks. Leadership counts. Personality matters.

"I think that's a lot of it, especially at the quarterback position," Elway said. "More than any position, a lot of it -- if not half of it -- is coming from the inside. How they handle situations as far as media, in- game situations, pressure situations -- all those type of things that you really can't quantify with a grade or anything else, you just try to spend time around them and learn what type of people they are.

"Hopefully they're going to be able to handle the situation -- and what goes along with it -- when they're a quarterback in the NFL."

Through all of their work and traveling, the Broncos' goal is to find out whether these quarterbacks can.

With needs filled, Broncos turn to draft possibilities By Andrew Mason DenverBroncos.com March 27, 2018

Before President of Football Operations/General Manager John Elway and Head Coach Vance Joseph arrived in Orlando for the NFL Annual League Meeting, they made sure they left behind a lineup without a glaring hole that needs to be filled with immediate draft help.

This leaves the Broncos with myriad options -- not only with the No. 5 overall pick, but throughout the rest of the draft. It gives them the flexibility to continue to make deals like the one that netted offensive tackle Jared Veldheer for a sixth-round pick.

It also allows the Broncos to keep the world guessing as to what they will do.

"It's funny how everyone thinks into what we're taking. I don't know what we're taking yet," Elway said. "I think we still have to do all our homework and ultimately look at all the different decisions that could come up, whether it be a trade back or a possible trade up, and kind of look at all those and just see what falls. Plus, you go through all those scenarios -- that if this happens we'll do that, and if that happens we'll do this.

"By the time we get to the draft, we'll have a good plan in place."

This week helped set the foundation for the Broncos to go into the draft with options, as they signed defensive end Clinton McDonald and traded for right tackle Veldheer. Both are expected to stabilize their positions. But both also bring leadership, having served as team captains with the Buccaneers and Cardinals, respectively.

"I think John understands that we have to add more experienced guys who are going to do it the right way," Joseph said. "The best teams win, so we're trying to build a football team that we can compete with every Sunday, but also have guys that can help lead us.

"That was a void [last] year that we had in our locker room."

Both also filled specific on-field needs.

"Clinton's a guy that we like, because we feel like he can add some pass rush inside, which we need," Elway said. "We think that he adds that depth, plus that pass rush inside.

"Jared, obviously, is going to come in and play right tackle for us. It's been a hole for us. He's had a great eight-year career ... he's a vet that's got a lot of experience. We expect him to plug that hole for a little bit."

With the first two waves of free agency complete, this week's meeting allows Elway the chance to have face-to-face conversations with other general managers. Some of those chats could lay the groundwork for possible trades near the draft.

"There'll be some conversation here to get a feel for what some people want to do, so it's a good time to get caught up," Elway said. "Obviously, we're in meetings a lot, so not a whole lot of time, but there'll be a couple of meetings that I have, too."

When Elway and Joseph return to Denver, the focus turns squarely to the draft. Joseph said the Broncos are still in the "research" portion of their work, which involves having scouts and other representatives of the team's football-operations department at many Pro Days around the country.

What they do know is that they have a draft that is deep at some key positions -- starting with quarterback.

"There's a lot of defensive backs, and there's some good wide receivers and running backs, it's a deep class of running backs, and obviously, it's a deep quarterback draft, too," Elway said. "There'll be a lot of good football players available for us."

And with six picks in the first 109 selections, the Broncos have plenty of opportunities and draft capital, giving them a slew of paths to a productive draft.

NFL's Players Coalition members may be giving up protests, but activism, advocacy continue By Nancy Armour USA Today March 27, 2018

Some have called members of the Players Coalition sellouts. I call them shrewd.

The ignorance and arrogance of owner Bob McNair has renewed skepticism of the Coalition’s deal with the NFL for a social justice campaign, an agreement that prompted some players to say they would end protests that have become a lightning rod across the country. The way critics see it, the players abandoned their principles, getting little more than lip service in return for their silence.

But it’s easy to be outraged. Anyone can do that. What’s harder is to channel that rage into action, programs and policies that will address the issues that prompted the protests in the first place.

“All the work we need to be doing is off the field and in the communities,” Patriots safety Devin McCourty, who has emerged as one of the Coalition’s visible leaders, told USA TODAY Sports.

“That was a vehicle that we used to draw attention,” McCourty said of the player demonstrations. “But doing some type of protest on the field every week is not going to stop an unarmed black kid from getting killed, or fix a criminal justice system in another state.”

Members of the Coalition remain every bit as angry and heartbroken as they were when they began taking a knee and raising their fists, joining the protest started by Colin Kaepernick in 2016. People of color continue to be killed by law-enforcement officers. The judicial system remains stacked against minorities, children in particular. The opportunities that education affords have as much to do with a person’s zip code as his or her intellect.

But the players are also seeing small signs of progress — progress that goes further with the league’s involvement.

Last Thursday, McCourty was with current and former players at the Massachusetts statehouse, where legislators had finally reached agreement on a criminal justice bill that includes a provision barring children younger than 12 from being prosecuted and prohibits kids from being punished criminally for disruptive behavior in school.

The package, which still must be passed by the full Massachusetts House and Senate and signed by the governor, had been slow to develop after being bogged down for months in the legislative process. But when NFL players and Patriots owner Robert Kraft and his son Jonathan began lobbying for it, it raised both the profile of the issue and the urgency to get something done.

Friday, McCourty was joined by Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins, Saints linebacker Demario Davis and retired receiver Anquan Boldin for a daylong symposium at Harvard on criminal justice reform.

“Not a lot of people are reading about what’s going on in the criminal justice system space. So if we can use our celebrity and the spotlight and just turn it to the issues that are going on, people are like, `Oh, I didn’t realize that was happening,’” Davis told USA TODAY Sports.

“The people who are trying to do bad things in these spaces? They don’t want the light shined on them. When that light is shined on them, they’re under pressure, and they have to change,” he added. “I think that’s the power this platform gives us, that we can use some of that media space and some of that spotlight that’s on us and shine it on the issues. It’s simply us turning the camera.”

And sometimes, it’s work outside the camera’s view.

While the Coalition now has about 100 members, triple what it started with, the group's leaders are all too aware what the price of activism can be. Kaepernick and Eric Reid remain unemployed while numerous players with lesser skills and thinner resumes have jobs.

To protect its members, the Coalition established a tier system: players with more job security — veterans, Pro Bowlers, champs — are the visible, vocal leaders. Others operate below the radar but can still lend their names to op-eds or letters to legislators or help educate fellow players and community members on the legal system and why a race for, say, the district attorney or attorney general is every bit as critical as the one for president.

“Those aren’t controversial and nobody gets upset when you start telling people what a district attorney does. But those are impactful ways to actually make a change,” Jenkins told USA TODAY Sports. “There’s plenty of room and work to be passed around, and we’re organizing to facilitate that.”

Which brings us back to that partnership with the NFL.

It’s clear from McNair’s comments Sunday that not everyone in the league understands the issues that sparked the protests or cares to see them addressed. But there are owners who do, whether they’re out in front like or working quietly with Coalition members on local issues that don’t draw as much attention.

The money the NFL has promised — about $89 million over seven years — can be transformative to grass-roots efforts.

“If we can just continue to spread this awareness and spread these stories — not spotlight us as players, but spotlight individual stories or policies that need to be changed — I truly believe people in their hearts are good, and they’ll want to change those things and make them better,” McCourty said.

“But I think we have to continue to push that and put it out in front so people can see it.”

History has shown that change occurs in many forms, and there’s no one right way to accomplish it. Some members of the Players Coalition might be giving up their protests, but they are not giving up their voice.

NFL weighing changes to catch rule By Barry Wilner Associated Press March 27, 2018

That's a catch.

Mention the names Calvin Johnson, Dez Bryant, Zach Miller and Jesse James , and what looked, sounded and felt like a catch wasn't one. If NFL owners pass a proposal from the powerful competition committee, those will be receptions in the future.

According to committee chairman Rich McKay and league officiating director Al Riveron, it's time.

"We want to take these great catches and make them into catches," Riveron said Monday at the NFL meetings, where the owners likely will vote Tuesday on the adjustments to the catch rule.

Such phrases as "slight movement of the ball" and "surviving the ground" will disappear, and fans, players and coaches will get the fulfilment of knowing what they were sure was a reception actually is.

The committee looked at dozens of plays dozens of times. They discovered that the previous attempts to clarify what is a catch only confused the issue. So much so that the language of the rules was getting in the way of making the proper call.

"Every time, we tried to add language to cure a situation," said McKay, president of the "and that did not serve us well.

"We felt like the word slight was getting people caught up. It's really loss of control. If you lose control of the ball, then you haven't satisfied (the process). If you have movement of the ball but haven't lost control of it, then you still have it."

Added Riveron: "If we see total loss of control, that's the way we're going to rule it. But we understand there are situations where the ball is going to move. We have to see loss of control."

McKay pointed to touchdown receptions by Alshon Jeffery and Corey Clement in the Super Bowl. In both cases, the ball moved a bit in the receiver's hands. In both cases, though, on-field officials, then Riveron handling the video review, determined there was possession throughout.

"Those are catches," he said, noting that under current language in the rules, "the ground trumped everything. It didn't make a lot of sense."

The committee examined plays back to the 1990s and early 2000s, including a pass to the Jets' Wayne Chrebet in which McKay said the film was "so grainy you could barely make it out." He mentioned Bert Emanuel's non-reception in the 1999 NFC title game when the tip of the ball touched the ground even though Emanuel had it in his clutches.

The major emphasis on re-examining the rule stems from Bryant's non-catch in a playoff game at Green Bay. Reconstructing that play through video, Riveron explained how the proposed change will seize logic — in other words, make what should have been a catch into a real catch.

"I think the Dez Bryant was the start of us realizing something needs to change," McKay said.

Each year, there have been similar examples that made everyone from the guys throwing the ball to the coaches on the sideline to the fans in the stands and on their mobile devices wondering what was going on. When James' apparent winning touchdown reception against New England was overturned even though the Steelers tight end made a football move to extend the ball over the goal line, it prompted Commissioner Roger Goodell to forcefully endorse seeking adjustments to the rule.

The competition committee heeded such instructions.

So, a receiver must:

—have control of the ball;

—get two feet down or another body part;

—make a football move: taking a third step or extending the ball or something similar.

Gone, Riveron emphatically said, is surviving the ground.

"That's out," he said. "No mas."

There will, however, be more emphasis on the on-field officiating calls. McKay reminded that game officials overwhelmingly get the calls correct at full speed.

"The rule is a lot cleaner, so the answer is yes," Riveron said, adding that game officials were consulted as the committee worked on the language of the proposal.

Of course, with more catches, there could be more fumbles as receivers try to extend plays and get extra yardage. Riveron has no problem with that.

"If we end up with 10 more fumbles but five of the most exciting plays of the year," McKay said, "it's a trade we'd make any day."

Notes: No proposals were made nor votes taken regarding the national anthem before games. The owners did focus on implementing the social justice platform with the players and unanimously approved a local matching funds program. Each of the teams will match fundraising proceeds of the players and teams and its players will work together to determine where to allocate the funds in a local market. The anthem discussions will resume and be a main focus of May's meeting in Atlanta.

Mayor angling for an NFL franchise and a Super Bowl in London By Michael David Smith Pro Football Talk March 27, 2018

The NFL is continuing to push for a presence in London, and the mayor is only to happy to have America’s most popular sport.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan told Talksport that he’s eager to see the NFL expand its presence in his city, and he believes there could be a franchise based in London full-time, and a Super Bowl in London.

“I’ve been saying since the first day I became Mayor my ambition is to have more games in London and ultimately for there to be a franchise there and, dare I say it, even the Super Bowl,” Khan said. “I met recently one of the owners of the , Shahid Khan. I’ve met the NFL commissioner on a number of occasions, most recently at the game at Twickenham this year and my team is working very closely with the NFL.”

The NFL appears to be a long way off from figuring out the logistics for a team in London, and a Super Bowl in London is probably even a longer way off. But the league is serious about making London a major football town, so the NFL will surely welcome the mayor’s comments.