This screen capture was done immediately following ESPN showing Tebow on the phone with Denver and rocking the Broncos hat.
It is safe to assume that Jackson, the former Broncos great, was not pleased by the selection. If you continued to watch as I did, while Jon Gruden was “bathwaterslurping” Tebow, you could actually see the steam coming out of Jackson’s ears.
With that being said, the past is in the past and the reality of the situation is that it doesn’t matter where you are picked (well, it matters financially, but I digress) – you still have to perform on the field no matter if you were drafted #1 or you are Mr. Irrelevant.
With both Kyle Orton and Brady Quinn in Denver it is highly unlikely that Tebow takes the field in anything more than some gimmick formations in his first year in the league.
The expectations will be low and that might be the best thing for him at this present moment. If he truly wants to become a quality starter in the NFL he will need one to two years of learning how to be a quarterback – a real quarterback, not a gimmick one.
His “Halo” got him drafted in the 1st round, but his NFL quarterbacking skills will be the only determining factor if he is a success in the NFL or giving sermons in a few years.
The Broncos, who had the luxury of extra picks thanks to the Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall trades, could afford to take a risk but let’s not fool ourselves, they didn’t draft Tebow just to sit around forever.
By year two or three he is going to be the starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos, for better or worse.
Josh McDaniels’ career will be defined by what happens with Tebow. If he turns Tebow into an All-Pro his name will be “gold” in the coaching ranks, but if Tebow fails to become a productive and winning quarterback in the NFL all I can say is:
GOD BLESS HIM.