Today’s Broncos question comes from Robert Johnson in Kilmichael, Miss.:
Q: If the Broncos’ first-round pick from the Bears winds up being a top 10 pick, do you think the Broncos will trade down in the first round to save some money, since they have several free agents like Brandon Marshall and Elvis Dumervil who will cost a lot of money to re-sign?
A: Broncos coach Josh McDaniels took plenty of heat in the days and weeks following the draft for trading the Broncos’ first-round pick to Seattle to trade up and get Alphonso Smith in the second round instead of using the first-round pick the Broncos got from the Bears as part of the Jay Cutler deal.
The general thought was the Bears would compete for the playoff spot and the Broncos would be rebuilding, so the Broncos’ first-rounder would be better. However, that has not come to pass with the Bears — and Cutler — struggling this season.
Chicago is 5-8. Seven teams have fewer than five wins, and five teams, including the Bears, have five wins. So the pick would be top 12 at the moment and could get better if the Bears continue their malaise over the final three weeks of the season.
Certainly the Broncos, facing the issues they do in free agency in terms of players like Dumervil, Marshall, quarterback Kyle Orton, guard Chris Kuper and tight end Tony Scheffler, will always listen to any and all trade proposals, with McDaniels calling the shots.
His football mentor, Bill Belichick, traded out of the first round this past April, traded out of the second round in 2007 and 2004 and traded a third-round pick in 2005. That’s prime real estate in the draft and Belichick preferred to use the picks to secure other options.
McDaniels has shown he works that way as well, having made several trades in his first draft with the Broncos.
So trades will be part of the Broncos’ draft-day business.
Also, the Broncos are not considered one of the cash-rich organizations in the league. They are one of the more valuable franchises overall and have one of the most loyal fan bases, but in terms of cash on hand, the Broncos aren’t in the same league as Dallas, Washington and Seattle.
So, to pay a pile of up-front, guaranteed money to a bunch of different players is likely not in the plan. Also, there is uncertainty around the league about what the landscape will look like if the 2010 season is played without a salary cap, because no extension for the collective bargaining agreement is in place.
While many people think this will bring a wild spending spree overall, it likely will only be that for a just few teams. Because while the salary cap does limit what teams can spend, there is also a provision in it that puts a minimum amount in place as well that isn’t talked about much.
If the cap is gone for 2010, it will indeed lift the restriction at the top, but it also takes away the minimum as well. So, a lot more teams may be headed down in payroll instead of up because they won’t be required to spend their way up to a certain amount.
The Broncos would have to decide where they want to be on that scale, and that may be dictated by how close they really believe they are to being a team that goes deep in the postseason.
Broncos owner Pat Bowlen is heavily involved with the league’s labor matters so he will have a good feel of where things stand when the Broncos have to make their football decisions in the coming year.
Jeff Legwold: 303-954-2359 or jlegwold@denverpost.com
