Eventually, the Broncos will become acquainted with rookie center Kory Lichtensteiger.
But first, it might behoove Lichtensteiger to study up on the Broncos.
After the Broncos opened Day 2 of the NFL draft by selecting Lichtensteiger with the first of their two fourth-round picks Sunday, the Bowling Green product was asked what he knew about Tom Nalen.
“Don Nehlen?” Lichtensteiger said.
OK, an honest mistake. Nehlen coached at Bowling Green from 1968-76, so Lichtensteiger may have heard the name. The question, through shaky conference call reception, was repeated. Tom Nalen, the Broncos’ starting center for going on 14 seasons?
“I don’t know much about him,” Lichtensteiger said.
Luckily for Lichtensteiger, he’s 6-feet-3, 310 pounds. He’ll need every pound to absorb the razzing. He will also need patience because if all goes well for the Broncos in 2008, Lichtensteiger will never see the field.
Nalen, 36, and Casey Wiegmann, 34, should have the center position handled.
If all goes well with the Broncos’ draft, they will have picked up enough good players to improve on their 7-9 record last season.
How to recap the Broncos’ nine-pick draft? It lacked glitz. It lacked action. It lacked pot smokers and Maurice Clarett.
It did not lack purpose.
“We have a better team, no question about it,” Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said at his postdraft press conference. “No. 1, you have Ryan Clady starting off as our left tackle.”
Clady was an imposing sight at his introductory news conference Sunday. Very large at 6-6 and weighing close to 320 pounds, he wore long-braided hair, a dark, pinstripe suit and a smile that spread from here to Boise, Idaho.
There were good reasons for his good mood. One, as the No. 12 overall pick, he can expect a six-year contract with a minimum $11 million guarantee. Two, he has already been anointed the replacement to longtime offensive tackle starter Matt Lepsis, who retired minutes after the 2007 season.
“Matt didn’t have one of his best years last year,” Shanahan said. “Coming off an injury, he didn’t play at the level he normally played at. So with Ryan coming in with his type of ability, I think we might have improvement there, regardless of him being a rookie.”
Shanahan added that second-round pick Eddie Royal automatically improves the Broncos’ return game.
“To get these two guys in the first two rounds, and those were the two guys we were hoping we would get, that happens zero times in my NFL career,” Shanahan said. “So we feel very fortunate.”
Then, in the same breath, Shanahan remembered the primary reason why his first two preferences were there for the taking.
“Hopefully, we’re not taking the 12th pick very often,” he said.
From their seven, second-day picks Sunday, the Broncos’ two fifth-round selections — running back Ryan Torain and defensive tackle Carlton Powell — have the best chance to make rookie contributions.
Day 2 of the Broncos’ draft was all about saying thanks to former players. In the fourth round, the Broncos turned a trade for receiver Ashley Lelie into a fourth-round selection of Kent State cornerback Jack Williams.
Former defensive tackle Gerard Warren led to Torain, a 222-pound back from Arizona State. Later, the Broncos drafted one of Torain’s teammates, safety Josh Barrett.
The sixth-round pick received for guard/center Chris Myers was used on Spencer Larsen, a 24-year-old middle linebacker who could get work at fullback.
And in exchange for retired quarterback Jake Plummer, the Broncos selected Arkansas fullback Peyton Hillis in the seventh round.
And to think people said Jake could never equal Peyton.
Mike Klis: 303-954-1055 or mklis@denverpost.com
Broncos’ second-day picks
Round 4 (108th overall pick)
C Kory Lichtensteiger
Bowling Green, 6-feet-3, 310 pounds
Round 4 (119th)
CB Jack Williams
Kent State, 5-9, 186
Round 5 (139th)
TB Ryan Torain
Arizona State, 6-1, 222
Round 5 (148th)
DT Carlton Powell
Virginia Tech, 6-3, 300
Round 6 (183rd)
MLB-FB Spencer Larsen
Arizona, 6-2, 243
Round 7 (220th)
FS Josh Barrett
Arizona State, 6-2, 223
Round 7 (227th)
FB Peyton Hillis
Arkansas, 6-1, 240
