2012 NFL Draft Rumors: Broncos Targeting Brock Osweiler at 36?

I read an interesting nugget after the dust settled from last night over at ESPN’s rumor central, which you can only view as an Insider, but it mentioned something about the Broncos moving down and out of the first round to get the quarterback they covet:

For the past few weeks, we’ve been hearing about the Broncos’ plans to target a developmental QB at some point during the draft process — possibly Arizona St.’s Brock Osweiler. So could this be their plan at 31? We’ll find out soon enough. (And if they don’t, expect one of the second-rounders to be used for that purpose).

Wow, that’s a pretty scary thought for Broncos fans who really don’t want the Broncos even sniffing the quarterback position until the third round. Now, it looks like their might be a good chance Denver takes its QB of the future before Peyton Manning even steps onto the field. If the Broncos believe that Manning has three years left, taking a quarterback high in next year’s draft makes sense.

However, the Broncos are extremely interested in Arizona State’s Brock Osweiler, and he could certainly be “their guy” on the second day of the draft. Don’t get me wrong, I like Osweiler and I think he has great potential, but I’m not so sure the Broncos are going to be able to use him in 2012, and they are in “win now” mode.

The Broncos felt like they could get the same players at 36 that they could have gotten at 25 or even 31 last night, and sadly they were only able to pick up an additional fourth round pick in their entire process of moving down 11 spots and out of the first round entirely. That kind of value makes me wonder what the Broncos’ front office is thinking, but they obviously have had a plan in place and are staying disciplined to it, above all else, regardless of the value they receive in return.

This is a team that has quite a few needs despite winning a playoff game last year and adding Peyton Manning and some new targets for him.  Here’s to hoping the Broncos snap back to reality and get this team some good value on day two of the draft with three picks remaining.