Why the Broncos may have made a huge mistake by drafting Tim Tebow in the 1st round!

While trolling through the murky world that is the internet and looking back at the NFL draft that made some decent splashes, I am already seeing some resentment brewing in NFL locker rooms regarding "Tebow-mania" that would make it a bit tougher for the former Florida Gators quarterback to gain acceptance from his new teammates -- no matter where he ended up playing. And while it's often a challenge for even the typical NFL rookie to gain the acceptance of some NFL veterans, imagine the disdain that some of the Broncos players will likely have for the distractions and media circus that Tebow's charismatic presence causes every time he appears in public.

To make matters worse, Denver's going to have to pony up some big-time bucks for the spirited quarterback since they picked him in the first round -- even though it may take two to three years (at least) before he's ready to be an NFL starter.

So picture this. The season progresses and Broncos veterans are banging heads with opponents, getting muddy and bloodied in the process. Do you think they might become increasingly disgruntled when they glance over at the Golden Boy in the baseball cap and clean uniform on the sidelines whose paycheck has more zeroes on the end of it than the ones that they're cashing? (The NFL rookie contracts are way out of whack, another subject for another time) And even though starting quarterback Kyle Orton is playing under a one-year, $2.6 million dollar deal this year, he'll likely feel like he got the team's loose change from under the sofa cushion after he sees the first-round, multi-year deal that Tebow receives.

Then there's Brady Quinn, who undoubtedly believed that he would have a legitimate shot at becoming the Broncos' starter by next year when Orton's contract expired. After finally making a clean escape from Cleveland to what appeared to be greener pastures in Denver, Quinn may now be looking at his new situation with a certain level of incredulity and disgust, despite what he may say publicly. And that's not going to be good for the team's chemistry either.

It seems McDaniels has been drinking the coolaid for sometime with young Tebow. In a press release after the draft, McDaniels was quoted saying this:

"There's no mystery about the Wildcat becoming more in vogue, and having a player who may be able to both run and pass the ball gives you another option, I won't deny that he doesn't give you an opportunity to create some un-game-planned production -- similar to Ben Roethlisberger or a Donovan McNabb or someone like that -- where you draw the play up there on the board and all of a sudden it doesn't necessarily look as pretty as I thought it would, but then he makes it work some other way. There is an element to his game like that." Ooooookkkkk coach, if you say so....

While I admire the bold direction that McDaniels has taken with his team, clearing out attitude problems and replacing them with hard-working, talented players, he'll have to be careful that his fascination with Tebow doesn't create even more discord in his locker room than the first-round slotting of the quarterback may have already done.

We'll see if he's a boon or bust in the years to come, but the coach has cornered himself into a situation that maybe be too tough to escape from, it's boom or bust in Denver next year I'll gurantee you that!

Blog – 1 year, 9 months ago by Megatron to Football. 762 views, 3 comments.