April 16, 2008 12:01 AM

Looking at a hands-on approach

The regulars have kept things rolling through the draft season, so we again give a nod their way as Dennis Smythe in Highlands Ranch opens with a two-fer on the Broncos wide receiver depth chart . . .

Q: Is Denver's interest in adding both Sammie Parker and Darrell Jackson to a roster that already includes Brandon Marshall, Brandon Stokley, Glenn Martinez, Keary Colbert, Taylor Jacobs, Clifford Russell and Edell Shepherd a possible sign that Marshall's injury is worse than has been reported?

A: It's not that Marshall's recovery has hit a snag -- it's still too early for any major snags beyond the severity of the injury itself -- but the Broncos are clearly of a mind that they need insurance at the position because it's easier to sign players now than if they wait until training camp.

If they wait and it's discovered Marshall does need more time, there won't be many -- if any -- receivers on the market who could come in and help much anyway. So, they've obviously chosen to make some moves now.

Even if Marshall is physically ready to come back for work early in the season, he will still have missed much of the offseason work. He will likely be limited in training camp as well, even on schedule in his recovery.

It is a serious injury -- he cut an artery, a vein, a nerve, two tendons and three muscles in his right forearm -- and that's a lot to heal before Marshall can really begin to get his range of motion and strength back in the arm.

The team doctors have given the Broncos a time frame that Marshall can be ready by the start of the season, but Mike Shanahan has said he'd like more depth at several spots on the roster, wide receiver included.

When the injuries hit at wideout last season, they didn't have enough players on hand to overcome them. Parker is a largely a downfield player, but if they finish a deal with Jackson -- and they'd like to and likely will if Jackson sees what he wants to in his expected upcoming visit -- that has some potential.

Jackson is a former 1,000-yard receiver who got lost in the 49ers offensive struggles this past season. If the Broncos signed him, they would be able to mix and match on the outside and be in a little better position to deal with any delays that might come up in Marshall's recovery.

If they sign Jackson, he would move into their top four -- Marshall, Keary Colbert, Brandon Stokley and Jackson.

Parker would be the fifth. The Broncos usually keep five or six receivers on the final roster, depending on special teams duties for the players in those fourth, fifth and sixth spots.

As we have said before, the crop of receivers in this year's draft is not all that deep in terms of every-down players. The bigger receivers don't have the speed most teams want, and the receivers with the elite speed are not all that big and carry plenty of questions about whether they could get off the jam consistently enough to be factors in an offense.

So, again, if the Broncos do look receiver in this draft it would be a player like Michigan State's Devin Thomas, a position player who is also a top returner.

It will be a surprise if they do not take a returner in this draft, almost certainly one they believe could handle both punts and kickoffs.

And Mitch Boehm is thinking about special teams . . .

Q: Can you please give me your evaluation of the top kickers and punters in this year's draft? Since Jason Elam and Todd Sauerbrun are no longer with the team, I would assume that the Broncos are going to take a serious look at both positions in the draft. I think a lot of Broncos fans are worried about special teams.

A: The fact the Broncos have already had Mitch Berger and Mike Vanderjagt in for workouts -- they also signed punter Danny Baugher on Tuesday -- would seem to indicate they are about as confident in this year's crop of rookie kickers as everybody else is at the moment.

Which is to say people see some productive players, but there aren't any who leap off the board as instant contributors.

Just nine -- four place-kickers and five punters -- were invited to the combine this year.

Oregon State's Alexis Serna was the Groza Award in '05 and eventually finished his career as the No. 2 scorer in Pac 10 history. New Mexico's John Sullivan wasn't invited to the combine, but he led the NCAA with a school record 27 field goals this past season.

At punter Mike Dragosavich of North Dakota State looks the most ready to me. He averaged at least 45 yards (gross) per punt in his last three seasons in some pretty tough weather conditions. He had 11 punts of at least 60 yards in his career and two of at least 70.

He hit one in the Senior Bowl for 69 yards and averaged 58 per punt in the game as well. He looked good in the practices I saw during that week as well, seemed to be able to kick directionally on command, which is a must for a punter to crack the lineup.

People just can't line up and boom any more; special teams coaches want the ball in a certain area on the field for the most part to help direct coverage.

But drafting kickers is a quirky business. Look at last year's draft. Mason Crosby, almost inexplicably, was the third kicker off the board -- not until the end of the sixth round -- and he led all kickers in scoring this past season with 141 points kicking in a difficult place.

And, also in light of kickers, a few folks had a request for a review on the Elam situation, so I offer it up here . . .

The Broncos were working under a now-or-next year-assumption about Elam's future and their kicking needs after talking to Elam's representatives in the negotiations.

In short, they wanted, because of a salary cap ramifications as far as potential future dead money against the cap, Elam to sign a multiyear deal with the intention he would play two or three more years.

And by the contract Elam signed, compared to the one the Broncos quietly say he turned away, it appears Elam's intention is to play just one more season. The total amount of the deal was roughly the same between the two teams, but the Falcons deal had $900,000 more of that money in the first year.

So, Elam signed in Atlanta. And because of that, the Broncos took that as an indication he intends to only play one more season -- his 16th -- in the league. The Broncos also believe that means they would have had to deal with replacing him next year, so that they might as well do it now and try to maintain the fiscal approach they have elected to take this year.

And to conclude, Allen Harrison spoke for many with a post on the draft . . .

I'm sure you'll do a mock draft next week, but if you were trying to offer the Broncos the benefit of your advice, rather than predict what they will do, who would you suggest they take at No. 12? Let me give you four names I think they can choose from: Clady, Williams, Mendenhall or (Troy cornerback/returner) Leodis McKelvin. The more I look at this, the more convinced I am that there is very little separation between picks No. 10 and No. 75. I'd love to see the Broncos trade down and, ideally, pick up another second-round choice or at minimum, try to get a third-rounder. That's where the depth seems to be in this draft, and I think they could get starters at middle linebacker, safety, wide receiver, defensive tackle, tackle, or guard in those rounds. Do you have a sense of whether the Broncos are leaning that way? And, are there any players the Broncos might package in a trade, like Foxworth?

A: After years of working the draft, looking at the draft, talking to folks in the league about the draft and evaluating players in the draft, I've discovered the most difficult thing about the draft is predicting the draft.

Partly because teams, after months of evaluation in making their boards, sometimes simply drift from the straight and narrow on draft day, based on gut feeling, circumstances, or even a little sprinkle of panic because they are afraid they won't fill the gaps they want to.

Some just want to make some moves, try for the home run, instead of simply grinding it out.

I've said it many times in this space, but early on in the draft, teams should always take the best player on the board, no matter their team needs. If that player fills an immediate team need, great, but for teams in the top 20 the best player on the board should be clear.

It's better to draft for need later when large groups of players may have the same grade so teams are not leaving value on the board by drafting for need in a spot.

My sense of things right now is there a chance -- a small one, but a chance -- one player in the grouping of Ellis, McKelvin or Clady - could fall to the 12th spot. All would be good value picks for the Broncos, with McKelvin, the best returner on the board, also filling one of their biggest needs.

However, that said, there is also a big chance the draft simply holds form, everybody plays it straight and none of those three players fall. In that scenario, the Broncos almost certainly will have a chance at an offensive tackle, a running back or one of the top defensive ends.

Tackle is the deepest position in the draft, in terms of starter quality players who are available, so the Broncos could conceivably wait and get a potential starter later. The Broncos would certainly give a player like Vanderbilt's Chris Williams plenty of consideration, though some teams think 12th is slightly too early for Williams.

But most teams don't play the Broncos scheme up front so they wouldn't have a similar grade on him at the position.

As far as trades, most teams will take a look, with the idea to add a pick or two in the middle rounds. But the price is high because teams are hesitant to make moves unless they can sell it publicly as a clear "win'' on the trade.

"Even'' trades are usually not enough for many teams worried about perception or personnel guys worried about their jobs. And the teams trying to move down always outnumbers the teams trying to move up, so usually the team moving up can get a better deal because it has more suitors to shop around with who looking to move down.

The biggest thing that has to happen, where the Broncos are drafting, is a top 10 player has to fall cause people to want move up and move up fast to get the guy, then a nice deal can be made, if the player is not one the Broncos have among their top 10.

If he is, they should take him too and not move down.

That's it, and thanks.

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