Broncos are in no rush to sign a center

Denver Broncos General Manager John Elway spoke to the Denver Post's Mike Klis and said that the Broncos are in no rush to sign a veteran center.

Elway indicated that the Broncos will sign a center to compete with last year's sixth-round pick Matt Paradis, but the signing will not happen anytime soon.

"There's plenty of guys out there and there's plenty of time," Elway said. "Hopefully, Paradis is the answer. Obviously, he's young.

Paradis spent the 2014 season on the Broncos practice squad, but it appears Broncos are hoping he can make a big step in 2015. The Broncos coaching staff want to see what they have in Paradis before signing a veteran.

I like the chances of Paradis. He has everything you look for in a zone-blocking center. He's intelligent, hard-working, undersized, good footwork, a balanced blocker, and has all the intangibles you want in an NFL player. He fits the mold of late-round centers who have had success in Gary Kubiak's offense.

Kubiak spoke highly of Paradis last month, and in a way compared him to former Denver Broncos center Tom Nalen.

"I know there are some good young players on the team that they think a lot of, and we'll see what happens. Like the young center, Paradis, I think a lot of him. I visited with him the other day," Kubiak said. "I remember coming to Denver in 1995 as offensive coordinator and there was a guy on the practice squad in Tommy Nalen.

We can only hope that Paradis's career even comes close to mirroring the great Tom Nalen's career.

Now as I said above, the Broncos plan on signing a veteran center but want to see what they have in their young guys. Head coach Gary Kubiak mentioned four veteran players to Klis who he and Elway have discussed. Those players being Will Montgomery, Chris Myers, Scott Wells and Samson Satele.

"Those are guys we've talked about, but at the same time John (Elway, the Broncos' general manager) really likes some of our young players," Kubiak said. "I think (Matt) Paradis has a chance. Shelley (Smith) has played both center and a guard. And there are good players in the draft.The bottom line here is we need to go to work. Somebody has to earn that spot."

Montgomery spent last season as the Broncos center and played well while out there. He has experience in a zone-blocking scheme as well. Chris Myers is a former Broncos draft choice and spent the majority of his career in Houston with Kubiak. Scott Wells was released by the St. Louis Rams, and Samson Satele is a good run blocker who spent last season with the Indianapolis Colts.

"There's plenty of guys out there and there's plenty of time," Elway said. "Hopefully, Paradis is the answer. Obviously, he's young.

What you have to keep in mind is we think we're going to get 10 (draft) picks and we only have 53 (roster) slots. So it's hard to bring these guys in and give them a lot of money up front to compete because what do you do if one of those young guys prove they're ready? We'll do something. We're just not in a rush."

At the end of the day, it appears Elway and the Broncos want/hope Paradis is the guy at center for the Broncos. Hopefully Kubiak and the Broncos coaches can work their magic on Paradis and turn him into the next Nalen.