If the idea was to get a marketing magnet, the Denver Broncos' stunning defiance of conventional draft wisdom last April was a huge success.
Tim Tebow is the biggest thing to hit the Mile High City since John Elway. He makes fans scream. He makes them buy jerseys. He makes their necks stretch and turn just to get a glimpse of him.
"I haven't ever seen anything like this," Broncos linebacker Elvis Dumervil said. "He's kind of re-charged the community, and he's a great kid."
The football benefit of the Broncos' "crazy" investment of a first-round pick in Tebow isn't nearly as easy to assess. He seems to have so much developing to do -- even by rookie standards -- that several long-time NFL observers are unwilling to venture a guess as to if, let alone when, he'll be ready to start in the league.
Among the most prominent critics is former Broncos tight end Shannon Sharpe. As far as he is concerned, Tebow's marketing impact doesn't make up for his not being a starter this year -- and possibly next year -- and perhaps even in 2012.
"Maybe in college that works for you, but in the National Football League, you need guys that can play," said Sharpe, who works as a CBS analyst. "If you trade up in the draft to take a guy, you think this guy can play and can help you this year. You don't trade up to take a guy and say, 'Two years or three years down the road, he's going to be able to help us win ballgames.' You trade up to get a guy (in the first round), he's supposed to help you this year.
"Now he's sitting on the bench. How's he helping you win? How's he gotten better? A great smile, never been in trouble, reads the Bible -- that's all well and good, and I don't have a problem with any of that. But at the end of the day, you're in the winning business. And when he's not helping you win football games, that smile, that Bible, and the cuddly guy that you can bring home to your mom, it's not going to help then."
Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Fouts called the left-handed Tebow "an interesting project." Translation: Don't hold your breath expecting him to be the dominant force in the NFL that he was at the University of Florida.
"I don't see him as a starter," Fouts said. "But I see him as guy that you can put in (in certain situations)."
That's consistent with the plan the Broncos presumably put in place on Aug. 19 when they signed Kyle Orton to a one-year, $9-million contract extension. The deal keeps Orton -- who clearly demonstrated this summer that he is the best quarterback the Broncos have -- in the fold through at least 2011, meaning he will start this year and probably next, while Tebow mostly watches and learns how to be an NFL passer.
If Tebow sees the field within the next two seasons, it will likely be in special situations and formations, such as the Wildcat, that take advantage of his exceptional running ability, extraordinary size (6-foot-3, 245 pounds) and strength for a quarterback.
But what happens if Orton struggles this year? What happens if the Broncos do the opposite of '09 and have a bad start and a great finish? For that matter, what happens if they collapse down the stretch again?
All of those people who have been treating Tebow like a rock star since his arrival in Denver are going to be calling for second-year coach Josh McDaniels, who is already feeling a great deal of heat for showing the door to quarterback Jay Cutler and wide receiver Brandon Marshall, to put their hero under center. Not simply in gimmick formations, but full-time.
They won't care about the work Tebow needs to continue to do on his throwing mechanics. They won't care about how much more he has to learn about the Broncos' offense and reading defenses and making proper adjustments.
They'll expect Tebow to perform the way he did in establishing himself as arguably the greatest player in college football history. They'll expect McDaniels to trust the rookie that he saw fit to choose much higher than most draft analysts believed he should be selected.
"(Tebow's) got the No. 1 selling jersey in the league," former Pittsburgh Steelers coach and CBS studio analyst Bill Cowher said. "But if that No. 1 selling jersey isn't dressing on Sundays, (the questions McDaniels will hear are), 'Why not, Coach? How are we going to use him, Coach? How are we going to do this?'
"I think it's very important for Josh to make sure that he kind of suppresses maybe some of the expectation that people are having. (Tebow) was taken with the very high expectations as a No. 1. I don't know if he's ready to make that transition that the No. 1 pick, a lot of times, is expected to make. He's going to take some time to develop. It's going to take some time getting acclimated to the speed, not just the position and some of the mechanical changes he may be going through. I think, if Josh can suppress the expectation, then that's going to be a big part of how successful (Tebow) can become."
One school of thought among league observers is that Tebow's specialty role with the Broncos could end up being permanent. They cite the NFL's desire to expand the regular season from 16 to 18 games by 2012, and the likelihood that rosters also would be expanded to help accommodate the added physical toll on players.
"I'm not so sure that there wasn't a thought process put into the expanded roster," Cowher said. "And he could end up being one of those special quarterbacks (exclusively used) in a special package."
McDaniels' history of knowing how to bring out the best in quarterbacks is seen as a reason to believe the Broncos did the right thing by taking on the Tebow project. After all, during his time as an assistant with the New England Patriots, McDaniels had a hand in the molding of Tom Brady's brilliant career. He also did plenty to help Matt Cassel have remarkable success while replacing the injured Brady for virtually all of the 2008 season.
Tebow has demonstrated throughout the offseason and training camp that he has the smarts and the willingness to put in the considerable work necessary to elevate his game.
"I think they're going to continue to develop his footwork and his mechanics and decision-making, anticipation, getting the ball out, his understanding of the system, so that when they do put him out there, he'll be able to have some success," former NFL quarterback and CBS game analyst Rich Gannon said.
Then there are those in league circles who don't see Tebow succeeding regardless of how much development he has.
"I just don't see it," Sharpe said. "From everything that I've read, (prognosticators) had the guy going possibly between (rounds) three and six. And you trade up to get this guy when you had Jay Cutler. So basically, you're saying Kyle Orton and Tim Tebow are better than Jay Cutler."
The rib injury that Tebow suffered while diving for a touchdown on the final play of his preseason debut against Cincinnati is widely viewed as a sign of just how far he needs to go to make it as a professional. As most quarterbacks find, running doesn't work nearly as well in the NFL as it did in college.
"You break ribs when you go head-first to try to get in the end zone," Fouts said. "Whether he can do the passing part of it is yet to be seen. It's a long process for everybody. It's the same process for (Sam) Bradford and for (Jimmy) Clausen and all these young guys that are coming out. The NFL is tough."
It could prove to be even tougher for Tebow, and the Broncos, if he's forced to play before he's ready -- or if, as some suspect, that time never comes.