Tebow Taken 25th By The Denver Broncos

Broncos pick QB Tim Tebow at No. 25 in NFL draft

By The Denver Post

Posted: 04/22/2010 08:07:26 PM MDT

The Broncos on Thursday made the biggest wave in a splashy NFL draft, selecting Florida quarterback Tim Tebow with the 25th pick.

Apparently determining that Tebow was too good to pass up, Denver gave up second-, third- and fourth-round picks to get Baltimore's pick at No. 25 to select the biggest name in college football.

"I just think I showed them I was willing to do whatever it took," Tebow said on ESPN. "I'll do whatever it takes. I want to thank everyone in the organization.

"Over last few weeks, we really hit it off. I was hoping and praying that was where I could play."

Denver twice traded down in the first round, from No. 11 to 13, after a trade with San Francisco, then to No. 24 after swapping with Philadelphia. They gained four picks in the process.

The Broncos later sent the 24th pick and a fourth-rounder to New England in exchange for the No. 22 pick, where the selected Georgia Tech wide receiver Demaryius Thomas.

And then, the Broncos sent the No. 43, No. 70 and No. 114 picks to Baltimore for the 25th spot.

But the trades were only a hint at what was to come. After trading in the offseason for quarterback Brady Quinn, and agreeing to a tender with starter Kyle Orton, the Broncos added another QB in Tebow.

The consensus best college player, if not the one with the biggest pro upside, Tebow enters the NFL with widespread questions about his ability as a big-league passer. Some of speculated Tebow would make a better slash-type player, at multiple positions, even on the defensive side.

But the Broncos want him as a quarterback.

Asked if he can run a pro-style offense after leading a college spread offense at Florida, Tebow said:

"I was asked to do something at Florida, I was asked to run a certain style of offense," Tebow said. "Now, I'm getting asked to do something different. I'm going to do everything possible to do that."

Tebow, the 2008 Heisman Trophy winner, at 6-feet-3 and 236 pounds, threw 88 touchdown passes against just 18 interceptions during a four-year career at Florida, and connected for two-thirds of his passes.

Nobody has questioned his leadership skills and toughness (2,947 yards rushing with 57 touchdowns). But with an unconventional throwing motion in college, Tebow was not expected by most experts to be picked in the first round.

Tebow has worked on his mechanics and Denver decided to take a chance, despite having acquired former Cleveland quarterback Quinn in the offseason.