When the Broncos traded from the fringes of the top ten into the twenties on Thursday night, Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times turned around and said they’re trying to get Tebow. And though the Broncos ultimately traded back into round one to get him after grabbing receiver Demaryius Thomas with the 22nd overall pick, the Broncos made it happen.
As Lindsay Jones of the Denver Post points out, the eventual marriage was sparked by a 15-minute session at the Scouting Combine, when Tebow met with coach Josh McDaniels and other members of the Broncos’ contingent.
“I was jacked leaving that room,” Tebow said. “I didn’t even want to visit another room. It was not enough time. We were excited, we were enthusiastic. There was passion. It was just intense, and it was ball, and it was juice. The juice level in that room was high, and it was awesome.”
McDaniels agreed. “We left [the Combine] saying, ‘Boy, that’s pretty unique, what he has and his passion for this game and for winning.’ He’s been a winner, and you could see why.”
Tebow has a plan for winning the affection of the rest of the organization. “I’m going to have one goal and that goal is to earn the respect of my teammates and coaches,” Tebow said. “That’s the only goal I have. It’s not to be the starting quarterback right now, it is to earn their respect, because when you earn respect from people, then they begin to like you, and then they believe in you, and then they begin to love you, and then you have a team that is united and cares about each other more than anything else.
“Then you go out there and you play for each other, you play for your coaches and you win championships.”
Whether the last part happens remains to be seen. But we’re not ready to bet against the Broncos, or against Tebow.