Five places where the impact of the Denver’s trade of wide receiver Brandon Marshall to Miami will be felt:
Brandon Marshall has caught at least 101 passes in each of the past three seasons.
The AFC East
Look at some of the big names that have entered the division this offseason. The Jets have acquired cornerback Antonio Cromartie, wide receiver Santonio Holmes and running back LaDainian Tomlinson. The Dolphins have landed Marshall and inside linebacker Karlos Dansby.
Meanwhile, the Patriots are the defending division champs and hold four of the first 53 picks in the draft, giving them ammo to trade or to stockpile young talent.
"We’ve already received calls relative to our second-round picks, so teams are interested in those," Patriots coach Bill Belichick told reporters Wednesday.
This division should be fun to watch next season. Pity the Bills, who seem to be falling further and further behind.
Denver Broncos
They wanted a first-round pick for Marshall but certainly can live with getting a second-rounder this year (No. 43 overall) and second-rounder in 2011.
Trading Marshall rids them of a player who caused many headaches for coach Josh McDaniels. Marshall, however, also made a lot of plays. He is one of the NFL’s best receivers, catching at least 101 passes in each of the past three seasons. Talent like that is not easy to find, no matter how many draft picks you have.
Since McDaniels arrived, the Broncos have traded two young offensive players, Marshall and quarterback Jay Cutler, who had the potential to be franchise cornerstones. The pressure only will increase on McDaniels to prove that dealing Cutler and Marshall will help the Broncos long term more than it will hurt.
Miami Dolphins
Finally, they have a consistent big-time threat at wide receiver. Quarterback Chad Henne must be screaming for joy. Marshall adds balance to an offense that already has a potent ground attack featuring Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, although Brown is on the trading block.
If Marshall stays healthy and out of trouble, Henne-to-Marshall should be one of the league’s most productive quarterback-receiver combos. Meanwhile, wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr., a big disappointment since being the No. 9-overall pick of the ’07 draft, becomes even more expendable.
"To me, Ted Ginn is a kick returner," NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock said Wednesday during a conference call. "He’s not a No. 1 or even a No. 2 wide receiver.”
The draft
With Marshall no longer on the trading block, the market for the top-rated wide receiver in the draft, Dez Bryant of Oklahoma State, could get extremely hot. There are character concerns about Bryant, but there are teams with high draft picks that have a need at receiver.
The Seahawks (No. 6 and No. 14 picks), Browns (No. 7) and Broncos (No. 11) surely are interested. Meanwhile, teams like the Bengals (No. 21) and Patriots (No. 22) might be willing to trade up to get Bryant.
Seattle Seahawks
Don’t be too quick to trash the Seahawks for losing out on Marshall. They brought him in for a visit last month and were genuinely interested. But they did not want to part with a first-round pick or multiple second-round picks. So the Dolphins swooped in to land Marshall.
Getting Marshall would have helped the Seahawks next season, but they are rebuilding and a long way from winning a Super Bowl. How new coach Pete Carroll fares long term will depend on drafting well and finding a young quarterback to lead the offense, whether it’s Charlie Whitehurst or somebody else.
Clifton Brown is a writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at cliftonbrown@sportingnews.com.
Five places where the impact of the Denver’s trade of wide receiver Brandon Marshall to Miami will be felt:
Brandon Marshall has caught at least 101 passes in each of the past three seasons.
The AFC East
Look at some of the big names that have entered the division this offseason. The Jets have acquired cornerback Antonio Cromartie, wide receiver Santonio Holmes and running back LaDainian Tomlinson. The Dolphins have landed Marshall and inside linebacker Karlos Dansby.
Meanwhile, the Patriots are the defending division champs and hold four of the first 53 picks in the draft, giving them ammo to trade or to stockpile young talent.
"We’ve already received calls relative to our second-round picks, so teams are interested in those," Patriots coach Bill Belichick told reporters Wednesday.
This division should be fun to watch next season. Pity the Bills, who seem to be falling further and further behind.
Denver Broncos
They wanted a first-round pick for Marshall but certainly can live with getting a second-rounder this year (No. 43 overall) and second-rounder in 2011.
Trading Marshall rids them of a player who caused many headaches for coach Josh McDaniels. Marshall, however, also made a lot of plays. He is one of the NFL’s best receivers, catching at least 101 passes in each of the past three seasons. Talent like that is not easy to find, no matter how many draft picks you have.
Since McDaniels arrived, the Broncos have traded two young offensive players, Marshall and quarterback Jay Cutler, who had the potential to be franchise cornerstones. The pressure only will increase on McDaniels to prove that dealing Cutler and Marshall will help the Broncos long term more than it will hurt.
Miami Dolphins
Finally, they have a consistent big-time threat at wide receiver. Quarterback Chad Henne must be screaming for joy. Marshall adds balance to an offense that already has a potent ground attack featuring Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, although Brown is on the trading block.
If Marshall stays healthy and out of trouble, Henne-to-Marshall should be one of the league’s most productive quarterback-receiver combos. Meanwhile, wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr., a big disappointment since being the No. 9-overall pick of the ’07 draft, becomes even more expendable.
"To me, Ted Ginn is a kick returner," NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock said Wednesday during a conference call. "He’s not a No. 1 or even a No. 2 wide receiver.”
The draft
With Marshall no longer on the trading block, the market for the top-rated wide receiver in the draft, Dez Bryant of Oklahoma State, could get extremely hot. There are character concerns about Bryant, but there are teams with high draft picks that have a need at receiver.
The Seahawks (No. 6 and No. 14 picks), Browns (No. 7) and Broncos (No. 11) surely are interested. Meanwhile, teams like the Bengals (No. 21) and Patriots (No. 22) might be willing to trade up to get Bryant.
Seattle Seahawks
Don’t be too quick to trash the Seahawks for losing out on Marshall. They brought him in for a visit last month and were genuinely interested. But they did not want to part with a first-round pick or multiple second-round picks. So the Dolphins swooped in to land Marshall.
Getting Marshall would have helped the Seahawks next season, but they are rebuilding and a long way from winning a Super Bowl. How new coach Pete Carroll fares long term will depend on drafting well and finding a young quarterback to lead the offense, whether it’s Charlie Whitehurst or somebody else.
Clifton Brown is a writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at cliftonbrown@sportingnews.com.
