The gospel according to Mike, Denver Post article 31/3/03
Time now for No. 1s to sparkle
Shanahan's hopes high for team's top choices
By Adam Schefter
Denver Post Sports Writer
PALM BEACH, Fla. - During the next 25 days, the Broncos' football focus will be on whom they might draft in the first round.
During an hour-long breakfast with Broncos coach Mike Shanahan on Tuesday, the focus fell on five former first-round picks.
Shanahan expressed optimism his team will be able to trade wide receiver-cornerback Deltha O'Neal before or during the April 24-25 draft, revealed injured linebacker John Mobley has not been cleared to play, penciled George Foster into the right tackle job, challenged wide receiver Ashley Lelie to become more consistent and sounded confident cornerback Willie Middlebrooks will contribute to the team's secondary.
All are former first-round picks. Each is subject to scrutiny.
The player facing the most scrutiny from other teams is O'Neal, a 2001 Pro Bowl selection at cornerback who played his way on to the bench. In return for O'Neal, the Broncos are seeking a third-round pick or a chance to move higher in one of the early rounds. At least six teams have discussed a deal with Denver, though O'Neal's agent, Carl Poston, said 12 teams are vying for his client.
"They see him as a Pro Bowl player," Shana- han said. "They saw how he played in a few games this year. Against the Raiders (in September), he had an exceptional game. The first few games of the season, he played exceptional. People see that type of ability and they know the type of talent he has, that's one of the reasons a number of teams are interested."
In the unlikely scenario Denver retains O'Neal, it would shift him to wide receiver, a move the player strongly opposes.
"I think Deltha could be a Pro Bowl wide receiver. That's how much talent I think he has," Shanahan said. "But a guy's got to want to do it. ... Deltha can do anything he wants to do. He just has to put his mind to it. Maybe being in a different location may help him out."
Another player the defense could be without is Mobley, who suffered a bruised spinal cord in October during a loss in Baltimore. The time frame for the linebacker's recovery was five to six months.
Though Mobley is determined to return, Shanahan said doctors must clear him. Mobley will not be allowed to participate in the team's offseason conditioning program that begins Monday until he passes a physical. When that will be is as uncertain as when he will play again.
"You always keep your fingers crossed, but you don't know until he's approved," Shanahan said of his first first-round pick as Denver's head coach.
Unable to count on Mobley and unlikely to re-sign free-agent linebacker Ian Gold, the Broncos are planning to shift last year's second-round pick, Terry Pierce, to outside linebacker. With Pierce, Jashon Sykes and Donnie Spragan, the Broncos said they believe they have the outside linebackers they need heading into the draft.
Shanahan thinks the team is set at offensive tackle with Matt Lepsis manning the left side and Foster the right. The Broncos decided, ultimately, that the athletic Lepsis would be better suited for matching up against the game's speediest right defensive ends, while Foster is better suited against the power players who usually line up at left defensive end.
Though neither player has started an NFL game at his new position, Shanahan has few doubts they will succeed. Shanahan even thinks the 6-foot-5, 338-pound Foster has the potential to be a standout.
"We feel like if George would have come out a year later, this year after playing his senior year, he would have been a top-10 pick easily," Shanahan said. "We felt very fortunate to be able to get George, and I think you'll see he'll be a pretty good player this year."
Another player Denver is counting on heavily is Lelie, whose role will be expanded now that Ed McCaffrey has retired. The Broncos pegged Lelie for stardom when they drafted him in 2002. He has demonstrated only flashes.
"Ashley's got to play like he played at the beginning of last season and the end of the season," Shanahan said. "He had a lull in between and didn't play at the level he's capable of playing at. For what reason, I can't say. We have to get him to play more consistent. The good part about it is, if he plays at that level, he'll be in the Pro Bowl."
The Broncos are not counting on Middlebrooks for the Pro Bowl, but they are counting on a more significant contribution.
Since Denver drafted him in 2001, Middlebrooks has had foot problems. But in November against San Diego, after becoming a special-teams fixture, Middlebrooks played his first defensive play and posted two tackles. Two weeks later at Oakland, Middlebrooks broke up his first NFL pass before playing extensively during Denver's regular-season finale at Green Bay.
Asked if Middlebrooks figured into the Broncos' defensive playing rotation this season, even with the additions of Champ Bailey and John Lynch in Denver's secondary, Shanahan said: "Oh, there's no question. Last year was his first year healthy. He made big improvements."
