Josh McDaniels continues to waste very little time rebuilding the Broncos.  In recent weeks he has made major changes along the defensive line, bringing in Justin Bannon, Jamaal Williams and Jarvis Green.  Today McDaniels sent Peyton Hillis and a sixth round draft pick to Cleveland for Brady Quinn.  I have to say that I like this move primarily because it is very low risk.  Hillis wasn’t being used anyway (although many Broncos fans think he should have been) and Quinn is only 25.  Quinn has proven to be successful running a very similar offense at Notre Dame, so perhaps we might get to see how good Josh McDaniels really is at working with quarterbacks.  I do think that Orton will open up camp as the default starter, but Quinn will definitely get a chance to compete.  The price the Broncos paid to get him is very low for a former first round pick.

I know the easy reaction here is to be negative.  This is understandable given Quinn’s struggles in Cleveland to this point.  While this is true to an extent, Quinn also never had the confidence of the Cleveland organization and didn’t have any talent around him to speak of.  He does have a good arm and when he’s been on his game can be very accurate.  Quinn does have the tools to be a very capable quarterback in Josh McDaniels’ system if he is willing to work and does indeed benefit from a fresh start in a new place.

As for losing Peyton Hillis, part of me is disappointed about that.  I think Hillis could have been a valuable asset to the Broncos in short yardage situations last year, but for whatever reason McDaniels elected not to use him.  Given this, it is actually easy to argue that the Broncos aren’t giving up much of anything.  I know many Broncos fans are going to be upset about losing a fan favorite, but this could prove to be a good move in the long run.  If McDaniels can get Quinn to produce like a first round talent, he’ll at the very least be a major upgrade over Chris Simms (he is anyway right now), and at best he could end up running the offense efficiently and take the Broncos to the next level.  Let’s see how this develops heading into the offseason and give this a chance to see if it works.  It just might.

I think the Broncos still have a lot of questions, with the chief one being the offensive line.  I think one of the main reasons Knowshon Moreno’s numbers dipped toward the end of the year was because he had no holes to run through.  Too many times he had to dodge a defender or two before even getting to the line of scrimmage.  The Broncos need a left guard and a center (Casey Wiegmann returned to the Chiefs) and that should be their top priority going forward.  Of course I am also interested to see if Brandon Marshall stays in Denver or ends up playing elsewhere.  My money is on him remaining a Bronco because I don’t think anyone out there is willing to surrender a first round pick for a receiver with a problem reputation.  The onus is going to be on Marshall to show the correct attitude whether he plays for the Broncos next season or not.