Denver Broncos G.M. Brian Xanders is back on the radio circuit - I know he was on 104.3 The Fan yesterday - with Xanders appearing on Vic and Gary this morning. Of course, the main topic of conversation was Champ Bailey, but the 10 minute chat also looked at the Scouting Combine and the NFL Draft. Here is a breakdown of the important points Xanders covered:
First, on the Champ Bailey signing, Xanders talked about how, once the new coaching staff was finalized, they got down to the business of what to do at corner:
"Once new coaching staff was hired, we looked at all the FA corners, and when we looked at what the guarantees would need to be, we knew we weren't that far away from getting a deal done with Champ, so we added more guaranteed money to 2012 and got it done"
That seems to be the key to all of this, the guarantees in 2012. When the Broncos sweetened the pot, Champ was in.
Xanders was also asked about the Josh McDaniels comment that Champ made during his conference call last night. Here is the full quote from the transcript, when Champ was asked about the mid-season negotiations being 'paused' last year(emphasis mine):
"I was back and forth. I really didn’t know. I didn’t worry about it, and as you could probably tell on the field, it didn’t affect me whatsoever. I had a job to do and that’s all I concentrated on. I knew if I took care of my business on the field the rest would take care of itself. I knew once Josh McDaniels left things were going to change a lot. As I said, I took care of business and let (the process) play itself out."
When asked about whether or not he felt a deal would have gotten done with Champ if Josh McDaniels, Xanders was diplomatic:
"I don't know, but I will say this. John Fox met with Champ for 45 minutes and came out of the room all smiles. It was a good meeting. Fox let Champ know that he came to Denver looking to win and win immediately."
Sure, every coach is going to say that, but Fox has this type of rebuild on his resume already.
The rest of the interview was your typical stuff. When asked about the NFL Scouting Combine, Xanders admitted that the Broncos draft based on the football tape but look for athleticism during the Combine. He also spoke of the importance of the player interviews at the Combine, using them to get deeper into the personal character of a player.
As for the 2011 NFL Draft, Xanders was, of course, very vanilla with his answers. Here are a couple of key points:
- The Broncos like their receiving corps, despite the injuries to Eddie Royal and Demaryius Thomas.
- Xanders described both Da'Quan Bowers and Nick Fairley as 'special' when asked which the Broncos might prefer.
- Xanders said the Broncos would be 'open to anything' once they are on the clock with the #2 pick, but mentioned that the choice is a hard one to deal - it's been 11 years since the #2 pick in the Draft has been traded.
That's it. Give your thoughts in the comments!