You wouldn’t have known it from the scoreboard, but the Broncos absorbed their share of big hits from the Chiefs on Sunday afternoon.
Take Brandon Marshall. He didn’t just dole out punishment on those Kansas City defensive backs. He took some, too.
“Man, I’m sore,” Marshall said.
Could have been worse.
“I’m glad I’m not a running back carrying that thing 20 times.”
For the record, the Broncos are glad he’s not a running back, too. Marshall happens to be the best second-year wide receiver in the league.
Of course, that’s just an opinion, but he does have some numbers to back it up. Marshall has caught 75 passes for 1,000-plus yards and six touchdowns, and ranks among the league leaders in yardage after the catch.
Not bad for the 16th wideout selected in the 2006 draft. The real story, though, wasn’t that Marshall lasted until the fourth round. The story was that the Broncos grabbed him with the 119th pick, then followed seven selections later, in the same round, with defensive end Elvis Dumervil.
Talk about a pair to draw to. Marshall leads the team in every receiving category in the book. Dumervil, meanwhile, has 11 sacks, putting him on course to reach his preseason goal of 12 to 15.
So where would Marshall go if the 2006 draft were held again today?
“What do you think?” Marshall responded. “I just hope it would be first day somewhere.”
On second thought, he said, “it doesn’t matter. It’s not where your start, it’s where you finish. A guy like me, it probably helped me out a lot knowing I’m not set financially or on the field. I’m still hungry, and I’m going to continue to be hungry once everything is established for me.”
It’s interesting, the similarities and contrasts between Marshall and Dumervil. Marshall, at 6-feet-5, 230 pounds, had great size, but was a relative unknown from a small school (Central Florida). Dumervil was undersized at 5-11, 250, but was a former Big East defensive player of the year at Louisville.
“We’re just diamonds in the rough,” Marshall said. “Elvis was a guy who had a lot of publicity in college, but people passed on him because of his size. I had the size, but I didn’t have a high profile. Everything happens for a reason. I might have gone the first day to a team that’s losing. Being with the Broncos, I’m in a better situation for the long run.”
Follow Jim Armstrong’s daily Broncos commentaries on The Jimmy Page at 7 a.m. and noon, and read his columns on Sundays and the day after Broncos games at .
He can be reached at 303-954-1269 or jmarmstrong@denverpost.com.
