As rookies, the Broncos’ draft class of 2007 had to wait. As second-year players in 2008, those same players have to wait some more.
In the Broncos’ base defense, none of the kids are playing with the first team.
Jarvis Moss, Tim Crowder, Marcus Thomas and Steven Harris line up with the second team. They must stay patient while veterans John Engelberger, Alvin McKinley, Dewayne Robertson and Elvis Dumervil take their reps with the first team.
“We know we’re the young guys and we’ve got to work to improve,” said Moss, the Broncos’ first-round draft pick in 2007 who is coming back from ankle and leg injuries that forced him to miss the second half of his rookie season. “We know nothing is going to be given to us. They’ve got us there on No. 2 base, but whether we’re second string or first string, we’ve got to work.”
It’s only June. There’s still eight mini-camp sessions, all of training camp and the entire preseason before the final depth chart is set. Besides, Broncos defensive coordinator Bob Slowik says teams defer to veterans this time of year.
“Always,” Slowik said. “They always get the first opportunity. But everybody out here also knows that every drill we do; everything that is done out here is evaluated, documented.”
But Ryan Clady is a rookie, and he’s playing with the first-team offense at left tackle. And to watch him handle his own against veteran starting defensive ends Dumervil and Engelberger is to understand why.
Moss and Crowder each got just one start last year, and that was at Indianapolis when the Broncos tried a gimmick, four-end defensive line against Peyton Manning. Those two will have to outplay a veteran before they get their second start this year.
The pass-rushing Moss does come in at left defensive end, with Dumervil shifting to right end, on the Broncos’ No. 1 nickel package.
“I feel more and more comfortable every day,” Moss said. “I’m definitely less winded, so I’m going to be there.”
Footnotes.
The Broncos will start negotiating next week with each of their nine draft picks. Co-assistant general manager Brian Xanders will be the point man in negotiations with Clady’s agent Pat Dye. The other Broncos assistant GM, Jeff Goodman, will lead talks with Todd France, who represents No. 2 pick Eddie Royal. . . . The Mike Shanahan Golf Classic will be held Monday at the Omni Interlocken Golf Club in Broomfield. Most players and all coaches will attend the event, which benefits the multipurpose playing fields at the new John Venezia Park in northern Colorado Springs. . . . Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler will host a three-day golf outing and benefit for Dedicated to Diabetes from June 17-19. The celebrity golf classic will be held June 19 at the Pinery Country Club.
Mike Klis, The Denver Post
