National Football League

Broncos rookies making their mark

Published Oct. 19, 2010 1:14 a.m. ET

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Despite their 2-4 start, the Denver Broncos are feeling good about their future. Not only have they yet to play a game in the middling AFC West, but their 2010 draft class is making an immediate impact.

The Broncos found some silver linings to their 24-20 loss to the Jets on Sunday that turned on a pass interference call in the closing minutes that moved the ball half the football field and led to the winning TD.

Their two first-rounders came up big in a big game.

Top draft pick Demaryius Thomas, the first wide receiver selected in the draft, returned from a concussion a week earlier to catch a 17-yard touchdown pass over star cornerback Darrelle Revis, and quarterback Tim Tebow scored his first NFL touchdown on a 5-yard scamper.

Thomas' touchdown was his first since he burst onto the NFL scene in Week 2 with eight catches for 97 yards and a score in limited duty against Seattle.

In Tebow and Thomas, the Broncos might have found the solutions to their red zone struggles.

At 6-3 and 230 pounds, Thomas is the only receiver on the roster who can present matchup problems, and Tebow's bruising style could be the answer to Denver's dismal short-yardage results inside the 20.

Tebow's TD was the highlight of his half dozen runs for 23 yards in his first action since a cameo appearance in the opener at Jacksonville, his hometown, and might prove a breakthrough for the former Heisman Trophy winner who rushed for 57 touchdowns at Florida but hadn't been able to get on the field for a month.

''He showed that he can do some things to help us,'' coach Josh McDaniels said. ''And I think that was the big thing for us. I think our team now sees that we can be productive in that mode and I think that they believe that he's definitely going to be able to play a role to help our football team going forward.

''Demaryius went in there, made a big play. I think he's proven to himself and to everybody else that he can do that,'' McDaniels added. ''I think his big thing now is we've got to keep him out there six, eight, 10 straight weeks in a row as best we can and hopefully that means he's healthy and then continue to build off of some of the good things he has already done this season.

''But I think both guys have confidence that they can help us.''

Wide receiver Brandon Lloyd knows getting Tebow's athleticism on the field can only help.

''That guy's a really good athlete, talking about Tim, and as many times as we can get him on the field and get him to be productive for the offense, great,'' Lloyd said.

The Broncos, however, will have to gussy up their Tebow package. He has yet to throw a single NFL pass and opponents know to expect a run whenever he trots onto the field.

''We'll probably continue to tinker with it, including his ability to throw the ball, too,'' McDaniels said.

So, why was Tebow Time on hold for a month?

McDaniels said it just hasn't been the right situation for it, either because the momentum or score didn't dictate he get in or he didn't want to break quarterback Kyle Orton's rhythm.

''Sometimes you take that into consideration. I know it's not much different than having him hand the ball off, but in some ways it is different,'' McDaniels said. ''And Kyle's played pretty doggone well this year and I think that's kind of factored into the whole thing, as well.

''But we're going to continue to push that a little bit and see what happens with it. Now, everybody's kind of seen us do different things from it and we've got to try to find a way to be creative and see how far we can take it and continue to make it productive,'' McDaniels said.

The Broncos would love for Thomas to stay on the field more, but he's had a bothersome left foot and was knocked from the game last week at Baltimore after sustaining a concussion on a kickoff return.

''I think the more he can practice and the more he's out there on a regular basis with us getting the work that he needs, the better he's going to be,'' McDaniels said.

Tebow and Thomas weren't the only rookies with memorable plays Sunday. Seventh-rounder Syd'Quan Thompson picked off his first pass as a pro.

Zane Beadles replaced the banged-up Ryan Harris at right tackle and played well against the Jets' blitz-heavy defense and wide receiver Eric Decker played plenty on special teams and from scrimmage when Eddie Royal (groin) got hurt.

It wasn't all rosy for the rookies, however.

Center J.D. Walton's botched snap in the final minute cost the Broncos a chance for the comeback, and cornerback Perrish Cox held up well again in place of injured starter Andre' Goodman but bit on a stutter-go by Santonio Holmes on the game's decisive play in which safety Renaldo Hill was flagged for pass interference at the 2.

That put a damper on the draft class' coming out party.

''Should've been bigger,'' Cox said. ''We could've came out on top, we should've came out on top.''

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