The Broncos might want to drop the people at Teflon a line to see if they'd be interested in a sponsorship deal. Marcus Thomas was cleared of all charges related to his March 1 arrest on drug possession charges in Jacksonville. He joins Travis Henry as Broncos charged with using drugs only to find themselves exonerated after months of waiting.

Like Henry, Thomas had the full backing of his team because they did their own testing. That's a stark contrast to the situation currently going on in Chicago where Jerry Angelo has accused Cedric Benson of putting himself in position to be a victim when he was arrested. Benson is claiming harassment by the police and the case has yet to be adjuticated but it's clear that he's not getting the benefit of the doubt from his employers.

Thomas had too much to drink, by his own admission, and got a ride home with a friend. The friend had cocaine but Thomas swore it wasn't his. He tested negative for drugs, the friend said the drugs were his and the team supported him. The team could have said it was his fault for being in the wrong place but they didn't.

The Broncos earned the NFL's ire for doing their own investigation of the Henry case but they likely won themselves a lot of fans in the locker room. It wouldn't be surprising to see more teams doing their own work in the future to make sure that the punishment fits the alleged crime.

When Jay Cutler went public with his diabetes diagnosis last week, perhaps the most surprising thing was how little the disease, which caused him to lose 30 pounds during the 2007 season, affected his play. He ranked 12th in quarterback rating, threw for nearly 3500 yards and didn't have any difficulties that you wouldn't ascribe to a starter in his first full season under center.

As odd as it sounds, the diabetes diagnosis makes you feel better about Cutler's long-term prospects. He's clearly a good quarterback and now he'll be vigilant about his diet, mindful of his health and will avoid the kind of physical breakdown he went through last season. For some reason, though, Bernie Linicome of the Rocky Mountain News chooses to focus on the negatives.

Cutler is now identified by his disease, and will be until success reorders things. It is difficult enough to play quarterback in the NFL without the added weight Cutler will be forced to carry, not just the concern of diabetes and managing it, but the peripherals that come with the label.

Linicome then goes on to list athletes like Lance Armstrong, Billie Jean King and Alonzo Mourning who thrived athletically despite battling physical maladies. Those struggles are part of their story, no doubt, but not their entire story. It's for feature writers to fawn over if they succeed and, judging by Linicome, use as reason to tear them down if they fail.

When last season ended Jay Cutler weighed in at 202 pounds, 32 pounds lighter than when the campaign began. He had no explanation for the rapid weight loss so when the the games were finished he set out to find out the reason.

The quarterback was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes recently and has started taking the insulin shots he'll need to stay healthy.

"(It) definitely affected my game . . . but now we know, now we can deal with it," Cutler said in the interview, saying when he returned to the team's complex to begin offseason workouts he thought "something's not right, I'm losing all this weight, I have no strength, I can't run very much, I can't lift at all. Luckily, we figured out what it was."

The Broncos are quite confident in Cutler's long-term health. They knew of the diagnosis before last weekend's draft but didn't select a quarterback. He'll need daily doses of insulin and a closely monitored diet but several elite athletes have competed and succeeded with Type 1, or juvenile, diabetes in the past.

If Cutler wants to find out more about playing quarterback and living with diabetes, he may give Wade Wilson, the Cowboys assistant and former quarterback, a call. Wilson was also diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes during his playing career.

Denver Broncos 2008 Draft Picks:

Round 1 (12): Ryan Clady, OT, Boise State
Round 2 (42): Eddie Royal, WR, Virginia Tech
Round 4 (108): Kory Lichtensteiger, C, Bowling Green
Round 4 (119): Jack Williams, CB, Kent
Round 5 (139): Ryan Torain, RB, Arizona State
Round 5(148): Carlton Powell, DT, Virginia Tech
Round 6 (183): Spencer Larsen, LB, Arizona
Round 7 (220): Joshua Barrett, S, Arizona State
Round 7 (227): Peyton Hills, FB, Arkansas

The Good: Clady was a no-brainer when he slipped to them at 12. He'll be a starter from day one and, given the Broncos system, may be the most productive left tackle among the many selected in the first round. Clady, Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall should spend a lot of time together as the foundations of the Bronco offense. I also think the two Arizona State players, if they're healthy, could be big contributors. Injuries dropped their stock but both Torain and Barrett will get plenty of chances to help this team if they can go.

The Bad: I don't get the Royal choice at all. If you wanted to help Cutler and Marshall in the passing game, why pass on Limas Sweed? Or, if you wanted speed and return ability, why pass on DeSean Jackson? The rest of the draft doesn't do much for me either. Lichtensteiger has the last name of a mauler but the short arms and lack of athleticism of a career backup. Williams has great speed but, at 5'9", will struggle to cover in more than a nickel role.

Mike Shanahan's draft history is littered with gambles on players he thought would light up the scoreboard. Most of those gambles failed miserably, which is why the Broncos roster only has a handful of players they drafted and developed this decade and why they've consistently had to go to the free agent market to try and fill out their roster.

Give Shanahan credit for learning the folly of those ways. Ryan Clady at 12 is an incredible value for the Broncos. They can thank the Vikings for trading with the Chiefs for Jared Allen, probably, since that deal gave K.C. cover to pass on Clady at five and add an offensive lineman later in the first round. That left the second-best tackle in the draft for the Broncos.

Jay Cutler will be happy to have him protecting his blind side. Clady's got a ton of experience as a pass blocker in Boise State's wide-open offense. That offense, esoteric as it is, also gives Clady a good background for picking up the zone blocking scheme Denver employs for the running game. It was a safe pick, yes, but that's too often a euphemism for a bad pick. Clady was the smart pick.

That's the second good sign for Shanahan the GM in the last week. The Dewayne Robertson trade may not end up costing the team a thing and now he's added Clady. That's two starters and two upgrades for the Broncos.

Remember the great Statue of Liberty play that sealed Boise State's 2007 Fiesta Bowl upset of Oklahoma? Of course you do. But you may not realize that the key block was thrown by left tackle Ryan Clady, whom the Broncos chose with the 12th pick in today's draft.

Offensive tackles don't get a lot of attention, but Clady was by far the most talented player on that Boise State team. He's big -- 6-foot-6, 316 pounds -- but when I saw him at the scouting combine I was struck by how he looks like he could stand to gain some weight. He could play comfortably at 335 pounds or so, and if he bulks up that high he can become an overpowering drive blocker in addition to his natural talents as a pass blocker.

The question, of course, is whether Clady has played enough against top-notch competition to get him ready for the NFL. Although Clady isn't quite as NFL-ready as Jake Long, I absolutely believe he'll be a starter as a rookie, and one of the top offensive linemen in the league some day.

Previously on FanHouse:
Denver Post Argues Mike Shanahan Should Put Guts Before Brains On Draft Day
FanHouse Mock Draft: Denver Broncos Select OL Chris Williams No. 12
Should The Broncos Take a Running Back Early in the Draft?
Woody Paige Knows Exactly What the Broncos Should Do This Offseason

The Jets had an awfully hard time finding a trade partner for Dewayne Robertson before finally sending him to the Denver Broncos on Thursday. Robertson's combination of a massive salary and knees that couldn't pass a physical kept the return pretty low, a 2009 conditional draft choice, but the point was getting his contract off the books not on a massive bounty.

That's good, since that pick may never actually come to fruition. The Denver Post reports that the Jets will only receive a pick from Denver if Robertson plays more that 65% of the defensive snaps during the 2008 season. Elvis Dumervil was the only Bronco lineman to reach that plateau in 2007 and, given the way Mike Shanahan stockpiles linemen, it's not hard to see them getting good production from Robertson and giving up nothing to the Jets.

In spite of his knee problems, Robertson has never missed a game with the Jets and has crossed the playing time threshold each year so there's still a chance the Jets could get a payoff. Even if the Broncos do have to hand over a pick, Shanahan gets high marks for pulling off this deal. Robertson's contract has been restructured and he fills a big lead in the middle of the defensive line and it cost the team relatively little, if anything.

Adam Schefter of NFL Network is reporting that after months of trying, the Jets have finally found a trading partner for defensive tackle Dewayne Robertson, sending him to the Broncos for a conditional 2009 draft pick.

Robertson, who was the fourth overall pick of the 2003 draft, was hard to trade because his current contract calls for him to make $8 million this year. The Broncos will, one would assume, restructure Robertson's contract to lessen his cap hit.

The 6-foot-1, 310-pound Robertson is a talented athlete who showed flashes of the talent that made him a high draft pick, but he was never nearly as productive as the Jets thought he'd be when they drafted him, and he was a bad fit for the 3-4 defense that Jets coach Eric Mangini prefers.

In Denver, Robertson should be a better fit for the defensive scheme, and he's expected to earn a spot in the starting lineup from Day 1.

HoustonTexans.com recently posted the above video of Texans coach Gary Kubiak talking about his draft philosophy. As with every interview talking about his team, he refers to his players as "kids." I find it funny hearing a coach refer to guys in their 20s and 30s as kids, but it something that drives some fans a little nuts.

Nothing particularly new in the interview but it is pretty much a good summary of the Texans draft philosophy. (A written transcript can be found here). Thought it is interesting hearing him talk about first round running backs. He says that there is nothing in the Denver offensive philosophy that means that you can't take a running back in the first round. It's just the way things have worked out in particular drafts.

It's not true that the Broncos only pick running backs in the later rounds, though they have been effective with lower round backs. The highest that Denver has taken a running back with Mike Shanahan as coach is Clinton Portis with the 51st pick of the second round of the 2002 draft and Tatum Bell with the 41st pick of the second round of the 2004 draft.

One sentence paragraphs? Check. Use of the phrase geeks to describe people who disagree? Check. Borderline stupid move described as the gutsy thing to do? Check. Smells like a local columnist is up to his tricks. It's Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post and the subject is the NFL Draft.

If Mike Shanahan has any guts, he will make a gamble in the NFL draft that shocks Broncomaniacs and causes Roger Goodell to stammer in disbelief.

Imagine Goodell stepping to the microphone to announce: "With the 12th pick in the 2008 NFL draft, the Denver Broncos select . . . running back Jonathan Stewart of Oregon?"

Say what? The Broncos have not taken a running back in the first round since 1985.

But Denver needs to make some noise.

It's fair enough to argue that the Broncos should take a running back early in the NFL Draft. I'm not sold on the Travis Henry-Selvin Young combination either. Kiszla's suggestion of Stewart at 12, though, is inane. The worst thing you can do on draft day is reach for a player that you could get later on because it costs you both money and the chance to pick up an extra pick or two by trading down. Stewart, coming off of toe surgery, isn't going to go that early and, almost certainly, won't be the best available player.