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ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — The Denver Broncos entered the weekend with check marks up and down John Elway’s to-do list: pocket crasher, bruising back, speedy cornerback. Yet, still no replacement for Elvis Dumervil. Elway addressed that last major need Saturday by drafting one pass rusher and signing another in free agency. The Broncos selected defensive end Quanterus Smith of Western Kentucky in the fifth round after agreeing to terms on a one-year deal with free agent linebacker Shaun Phillips, the former Chargers star and longtime Broncos tormentor who has collected 69 1/2 sacks in nine seasons, all in San Diego, including 9 1/2 last year. “I think it’s going to be fun,” said Phillips, who was thrilled when the Broncos bypassed the highly touted defensive ends in the first round and went with defensive tackle Sylvester Williams instead. “I mean, that’s how life is. Sometimes you may grow up rooting for one team, and you find a reason to start rooting for another team.” The questions facing the Broncos now are how quickly Phillips, who turns 32 soon, can adjust to his new team and how fast can Smith get on the field to start offsetting the departure of Dumervil. “I’ll be ready to go by training camp,” said Smith, who tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in November and missed the last two games. “I’m going through the rehab right now. I feel real good on it, confident on it, so I’m excited and I’ll be ready for training camp.” At the time he went down, Smith was tied with Texas A&M’s Damontre Moore for the national lead with 12 1/2 sacks and was first in sacks per game (1.25). “He went to Western Kentucky but one of his best games was against two really good tackles at Alabama,” Elway said. “So, he’s got the unique ability to duck and a great feel to rush the passer.” Smith said his three-sack game against national champion Alabama “was a big game for me. … I think it helped my draft stock out a lot due to the fact I couldn’t perform in the postseason, the combine and the All-Star game. So, it helped me in a big way.” The Broncos’ other fifth-round pick, wide receiver Tavarres King from the University of Georgia, also had a monster game against the Crimson Tide, piling up 142 yards when he faced them last season. King had 136 receptions for 2,602 yards and 21 touchdowns in his college career. He enters a crowded corps of receivers led by starters Wes Welker, Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker. “I can do it all,” said the speedy, 6-foot, 189-pounder who lacks not for confidence. “I can do anything they need me to do. Wherever I can fit in and help the team is where I’ll be. Anything that I can do to help is what I’ll do.” Smith was the 2012 Sun Belt Player of the Year after finishing his college career with two dozen sacks. The Broncos acquired the pick they used on Smith — 146th overall — from Green Bay when they traded out of the fourth round for the Packers’ fifth- and sixth-round selections. The Broncos came into the weekend still needing a pass-rusher following the free agency departure of Dumervil to the Baltimore Ravens, a move that followed a deadline-fueled fax fiasco last month. On Friday night, Elway noted finding a gem in the later rounds wasn’t the same as 2011, when he grabbed Von Miller with the second overall pick. Phillips will switch from outside linebacker in the 3-4 alignment to defensive end in Denver’s 4-3 scheme, but he insisted he’s played enough snaps with a hand on the ground that it won’t be an issue. “I’m a natural defensive end that they moved to outside linebacker,” he said. “So, it’s like going back home for me.” While the Broncos are replacing Dumervil with a rotation of Robert Ayers, Smith and Phillips, it almost certainly will be Miller who actually takes over his old position on third downs at weakside defensive end, sliding over from the strong side linebacker spot to torment left tackles. The 2011 Defensive Rookie of the Year set a franchise record with 18 1/2 sacks last season, which culminated with All-Pro honors and his second trip to the Pro Bowl. Phillips played the strong side on passing downs for years with Shawne Merriman in San Diego. “We haven’t gone into details of how I will be used or how I will not be used,” Phillips said. “If they want me to hand the ball off to Peyton (Manning), I’ll do that.” The signing of Phillips and the drafting of Smith all but closes the door on free agent defensive end Dwight Freeney coming to Denver. “We never stop looking, but I would say we’re pretty happy with where we are,” Elway said. The Broncos had defensive ends John Abraham and Freeney in for visits after losing Dumervil, but Phillips gives them a 250-pounder with more flexibility to cover the tight end or rush the passer, coach John Fox said. “He’s Quanterus Smith as a veteran, as a rusher, you know, 6-3, 6-4, 250-pound guy who’s got skins on the wall. I mean, he’s done it in this league. And then also he can stand over a tight end, cover them and fit on run support. So, that’s valuable,” Fox said. Phillips is renowned for his trash talk. His most famous interaction with the Broncos took place in 2009, when then-Denver coach Josh McDaniels exchanged pregame taunts with Phillips, whose sack and strip that day of Chris Simms on his first dropback set the tone for a 32-6 win by San Diego. “It was more fun than anything,” Phillips said Saturday. The Broncos added tackle Vinston Painter of Virginia Tech in the sixth round and Miami (Ohio) quarterback Zac Dysert in the seventh. He’ll serve as the third QB behind Manning and Brock Osweiler. “You never get everything you want,” Elway said, “but when you talk about fulfilling the needs we had, we were able to do that and get the guys we wanted. Now, we turn them over to the coaches and see what they can do.” (© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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Broncos Address Pass-Rusher In Draft, Free Agency

For the long-term, the Denver Broncos will have an intriguing backfield of Montee Ball and Ronnie Hillman. But for the short term, the two will be pa…

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Ball gives Denver another dimension

Where will Matt Barkley and the other big names fall in the second round of tonight’s draft?

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Round Two Mock

The Buffalo Bills have selected Florida State QB E.J. Manuel with the 16th overall pick in the 2013 NFL draft. Pros: Excellent play-action and boot-action quarterback with good touch on first-read screens and slants out of simple rollouts. Sells playfakes very well, especially on reverse boot rollouts. Smooth and elusive runner for his size who gains acceleration the longer he’s carrying the ball. Will keep his eyes downfield even as he’s running (a must for any option quarterback who can actually throw the ball). Can run to break pressure when the pocket collapses, but this is not a run-first guy who sees the pass as an afterthought. Good pocket presence and movement — will slide around out of pressure without losing his bearings and can shift out of the pocket and still make accurate downfield throws. Reads blitzes and pressure well and can adapt on the fly. Practiced at stepping up in the pocket and driving the ball. Has a quick, efficient, overhead delivery for the most part — doesn’t revert to sandlot stuff, and you can tell that he’s trying to keep technique in mind. Cons: Though Manuel will scan the field and find second and third receivers, he is primarily a “see it/throw it” passer in an offense designed for quick and easy first reads. That’s common in college and more prevalent in the NFL these days (it’s basically what Tim Tebow did for the Denver Broncos in 2011), but Manuel will have to develop the multi-read aspect of his game. Will occasionally get too fine with his delivery, try to over-finesse throws, and lose his bearings for a few snaps at a time. What he brings to the team: A lot of potential. When I first saw Colin Kaepernick at Nevada a few years back, I wondered if a guy with an elongated “pizza delivery” throwing motion, a gangly running style, and a primary role in one specific style of offense (the Pistol under Chris Ault, the man who invented it), I wondered if he could become a legitimate NFL quarterback. Jim Harbaugh saw what a lot of other people didn’t, took Kaepernick in the second round of the 2011 NFL draft, and built a perfect weapon for his run-heavy/deep-passing offense. Similarly, I think that E.J. Manuel is a willing student under the right kind of teacher, and that became apparent to me during Senior Bowl week. Working with new coaches (the Detroit Lions’ staff) and a bunch of receivers he’d never timed before, Manuel looked to grasp a system he’d had little time to prepare for. Was it the right pick?

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Buffalo Bills select Florida State QB E.J. Manuel with the 16th overall pick (Shutdown Corner)

With the 2013 NFL draft right around the corner, it’s time to project, select, and open myself up to ridicule with my final mock draft of the year. This is one of the most unusual drafts I can remember. Not only are there no “sexy” picks at the top as there were last year, but you can even pick the guys at the top apart if you look long and hard enough. The primary position of need for many of the teams at the top of any draft is quarterback, but the talent at that position this year is questionable, at best. You’ve seen how some of those teams have responded — the Chiefs picked up Alex Smith, the Raiders got Matt Flynn, the Cardinals acquired Carson Palmer, and the Bills nabbed Kevin Kolb. None of these players really excite a fan base, but many of them have the potential to act as bridge starters for two different scenarios: Either their new teams will select developmental quarterbacks later in the draft, or they’ll shine it on to 2014 and hope someone pops out as an elite prospect. As a result, and despite the fact that quarterbacks are overdrafted all the time, I am projecting just one quarterback taken in the first round — West Virginia’s Geno Smith, who in my mind is the only player at the position currently worthy of a first-round grade. From there, things get very interesting positionally. I don’t remember a draft class in which so many safeties could go in the first round as legitimate game-changers, and that reflects current defensive trends in the NFL. More and more teams are playing nickel and dime as their base packages very frequently, which has them looking at players that would once be called fringe defenders as functional starters. In addition, those multi-positional playmakers who were once thought to be jacks of all trades and masters of none are now highly valued precisely because of their full-field versatility. And with all that said, this draft is strongest in the two most fundamentally important parts of any NFL team. If you’re looking to improve on either side of the line, this is the draft for you. Here is the draft for me, based more on player value than what I think teams will actually do, though that does factor in. One thing I’m not doing is projecting trades, though I could easily see several of them happening in the first round. 1. Kansas City Chiefs: Eric Fisher, OT, Central Michigan While Luke Joeckel would also be a very solid pick here, the Chiefs would be wise to go with the player with the most pure athletic upside, and that may well be Fisher. Mauling as a run blocker and with a great deal of potential as a pass-protector, Fisher could be the best overall player in this draft class. 2. Jacksonville Jaguars: Ezekiel Ansah, DE, BYU The former track star from Ghana has done a lot in a football sense in a very short time. He still needs a lot of developmental work, but new head coach Gus Bradley needs an anchor-point pass-rusher who can also move inside and play tackle. Gap versatility is an underrated part of Ansah’s game, and he fits Bradley’s prototype. 3. Oakland Raiders: Sharrif Floyd, DT, Florida The Raiders are in need of … well, just about everything, but what could really benefit their defense is the kind of versatile disruptor Richard Seymour once was. Floyd has similar traits to Seymour when Seymour came out of Georgia, and the upside for Floyd could land him in similarly rarefied air over time. 4. Philadelphia Eagles: Luke Joeckel, OT, Texas A&M The Eagles’ pass protection issues have been clear and obvious as Jason Peters’ body has been breaking down, and in Chip Kelly’s high-volume offense, they’ll be in need of a multi-faceted blocker who can not only hold up in a high-volume offense, but establish physical dominance at the point. 5. Detroit Lions: Lane Johnson, OT, Oklahoma The Lions throw the ball more than any other NFL team, and with Jeff Backus retired, Matthew Stafford needs consistent protection on his blind side. Johnson still needs some technique work, but he’s the most purely athletic tackle I’ve seen since Joe Thomas came out of Wisconsin, and he fits a fast, multiple offense the Lions would like to create over time. 6. Cleveland Browns: Dee Milliner, CB, Alabama New Browns defensive coordinator Ray Horton loves physical defensive backs, and Milliner fits the bill. He’s not the best pure pass defender at the position this year (that honor goes to Houston’s D.J. Hayden), but he’s the most well-rounded player. And in the tough AFC North, Milliner’s ability to jack people up in the run game is an important attribute. 7. Arizona Cardinals: Geno Smith, QB, West Virginia

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The Shutdown Corner Mock Draft (Final Cut) (Shutdown Corner)