Like Rest of Us, Broncos Owner Pat Bowlen Was Surprised by Draft

It's been more than four months since Pat Bowlen fired close friend Mike Shanahan. The subsequent search to replace the man who gave Denver 14 years and two Super Bowls was, at times, bumpy. It got bumpier after Bowlen settled on 32-year-old Josh McDaniels.

A fresh-faced Bill Belichick protégé, McDaniels had coordinated up the most explosive offense in NFL history: the 2007 New England Patriots. As often happens when coaches relocate, McDaniels wanted to bring in his "his" players to run "his" system. Hours into free agency, the Broncos inked former Pats wideout Jabar Gaffney. And then, after Denver tried to acquire Matt Cassel, incumbent Pro Bowl quarterback Jay Cutler demanded a trade, things got messy, and, ultimately, the Broncos ended up with a couple first-round picks, Kyle Orton and a lot of questions.

After the obvious: "Can Orton ably handle the job?" (Answer: probably), the most pressing concern was, "How will Denver fix that defense?" Two first-rounders would certainly help, but that assumed the Broncos actually drafted defenders.

On Sunday, the Denver Post's Woody Paige asked Bowlen about last week's draft haul:

Bowlen is pleased with the quarterback, Kyle Orton, and the draft picks the Broncos got in return from Chicago, but when told many were puzzled why McDaniels didn't choose more defensive players in the recent draft, Bowlen replied:

"Me, too."

But, he backed the draft plan of his coach and general manager Brian Xanders. "I hired them to do their jobs," he said. "I believe in them. It's not my role to evaluate players and make those draft decisions. I'm not qualified to do it."

To be fair, four of the team's first six picks were defenders. The problem, however, is how the Broncos went about drafting them. With needs at most defensive positions, Denver selected running back Knowshon Moreno 12th overall. They added defensive end Robert Ayers six picks later. Then things got weird.

The Broncos traded away their 2010 first-rounder to move up in the second round to take cornerback Alphonso Smith. If the Broncos thought Smith was a first-round talent, fine. It's just that there had to be better ways to work the draft board.

As Josh Alper pointed out last week: "That kind of doubling down also negates some of the value of Knowshon Moreno. The 12th overall pick is a terrific running back, but the Broncos signed three running backs as free agents already. You need depth in the backfield, but the Broncos are looking at a Marianas trench while too many other positions are left high and dry."

Yes, Moreno could be a franchise back, but Shananan showed that you can just as easily find a 1,000-yard rusher in the seventh round as the second. The Patriots knew that, too; Laurence Maroney, New England's '06 first-rounder, has had a disappointing career. Meanwhile, guys like Kevin Faulk, Sammy Morris and BenJarvus Green-Ellis -- a second-rounder, a fifth-rounder, and an undrafted free agent -- capably handled the job.

It's easy to dismiss McDaniels as in over his head, but we'll have to wait a couple years to see how this plays out. (Although it won't stop us from immediately pronouncing him an idiot.) Good news: Bowlen sounds both patient and realistic:

"Win the Super Bowl? Probably not. But if we lose our first two games - and that's a possibility - I'm not going to panic. I'm in this to win Super Bowls, and we're going to get back (there). I'm more patient than I used to be, but I'm going to give Josh an opportunity to succeed."

Wow. Bowlen has really set the bar high. The Broncos' first two games are against the Bengals and Browns, two outfits that combined to win eight times (and one tie!) last season.