Jan 27, 2013; New Orleans, LA, USA; General view of Super Bowl XLVIII logo at the media center in the Convention Center prior to Super Bowl XLVII. The Baltimore Ravens will play the San Francisco 49ers on February 3, 2013 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

  When you have Peyton Manning running things on the field and John Elway running things inside the building, it’s never too early to start thinking Super Bowl XLVIII.

  Denver Bronco fans picked up good vibes last season and are hungry for more – even though the games that really matter won’t start until after that last Christmas present is unwrapped.

  The Broncos’ 13-3 record in Manning’s first season at the controls would be the reason Denver is one of the favorites to win it all next time around – the stunning loss to Baltimore in the playoffs be damned.

  According to a variety of oddsmakers, there are four teams rated far in front of all the others:  Denver, New England, San Francisco and Seattle.

  The oddsmakers are right on.  It’ll be Denver against San Francisco in the Super Bowl and Denver will win it, 33-24.

  Here’s the script more than six months early:

  First, San Francisco, a defense-oriented  team that features a tough running game with the occasional land or air explosion from young quarterback Colin Kaepernick, will earn home-field advantage in the NFC and defeat Atlanta, then Seattle to earn its Super Bowl spot.

 San Francisco and Seattle will both be better than they were last season.  Green Bay will be an offensive force thanks to QB Aaron Rogers, but won’t have the defense to handle either the Seahawks or 49ers.  Ditto Atlanta.

  Other possible darkhorse challengers from the NFC?  Chicago, possibly Detroit, maybe the Giants.  Minnesota and Washington, playoff teams last year, will regress.  The Cowboys will still be the Cowboys.

  Now comes the easy part of the equation, the AFC.

  Denver will romp through the AFC West despite a big improvement from Kansas City.  The Chiefs have a new coach in Andy Reid, a new QB in Alex Smith and a running game second to none.  They will hop over the Chargers and Raiders, but the Broncos will still win the West by at least two games.

  The Patriots will win the East, but won’t be nearly the team we have seen recently because QB Tom Brady’s security blanket Wes Welker is now in Denver and both tight ends, Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez, will not stay healthy over the entire season.

  Pittsburgh safety Ryan Clark hit it on the head recently, saying, “I think what’s really underestimated is Wes Welker’s importance to not only the New England Patriots, but Tom Brady.  Losing him is huge. … Even when guys aren’t around (Brady), even when he’s not about to be sacked, when his clock goes off in his head that the ball should be out, we’ll see him duck, we’ll see him flinch. When you get Tom Brady doing that, the whole New England Patriots mystique goes away.”

  That Patriot mystique took a big hit last year when Baltimore physically pounded them in the playoffs.

  It will take a bigger hit this season.

  As for Baltimore, the Ravens have re-signed QB Joe Flacco and have stud running back Ray Rice, but lost wide receiver Anquan Boldin and virtually its entire defense.  Case closed.

  Perennial  power Pittsburgh will put up a fight each week, but isn’t what it was two seasons ago.

  Cincinnati is the team on the rise in the division and has added free agent and draft talent to both sides of the ball.

  In the South, Houston and upstart Indy are the teams to watch.

  The AFC playoffs will see Denver and Houston again having byes in the first round, with Denver then beating Indy at home and surprising Cincinnati – which will oust the Patriots – in the AFC Title Game.

  Then it will be two long weeks of Super hype, Manning interviews, Elway interviews … and a third Super Bowl title as Manning, Welker & Co. simply have too much for the 49ers to stop.

  There you have it:  The next NFL season in a nutshell, literally.  

Apr 26, 2013; New York, NY, USA; From left Kirby Drube , Larry Thomas , Jeanne Thomas , Rick Long , Sarah Long and Lyle Foster celebrate after the number fifty-eight overall pick to the Denver Broncos is announced during the 2013 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports

Drafting of the biggest, fastest, nastiest, absolute bestest National Football League prospects is at an end.

It’s been a busy couple of months at Dove Valley, and now John Elway, John Fox and the rest of the Denver Bronco staff can take a breath – a brief breath.

Free agency, at least the brunt of it, has come and gone. In March they brought in, among others, pass catcher extraordinaire Wes Welker, monster blocker Louis Vasquez and Terrance Knighton, deluxe run-stuffer.

March also brought us Faxgate, with the team losing one of the league’s best pass rushers in Elvis Dumervil. That little foul-up, however, was addressed rather quietly Saturday as the draft wound down with the free-agent signing of ex-Charger Shaun Phillips, he of nearly 70 career sacks, to become designated pass rusher on third downs from the right side in replacing Dumervil.

April’s draft also seemingly brought immediate help.

Help in the middle of the defensive line came in the large form of first-round pick Sylvester Williams. He will be in the rotation immediately. The second round produced a possible starting running back in Montee Ball, the leading touchdown scorer in the history of college football. Think he might know what he is doing running up the gut?

Later in the draft came others who will mostly help in a year or two as starters, now as special teamers.

So, where does this Bronco team stand? 

The foundation is firmly in place, starting of course with quarterback Peyton Manning. And that foundation is firmer than at any time last season when the Broncos managed a 13-3 record.

Let’s check the offensive side:

First, there is Manning of course, backed at QB by second-year man Brock Osweiler and likely seventh-round draft choice and new prospect Zac Dysert from Miami of Ohio.

At running back, there is Ball and second-year man Ronnie Hillman.  Veterans Willis McGahee and Knowshon Moreno, both coming off injuries, are officially in limbo.

At receivers (match this anybody), Demaryius Thomas, Eric Decker and Welker on the outside and four, count ‘em, respectable tight ends.

The offensive line?  Ryan Clady will be at left tackle, probably possessor of a long-term contract by season’s start.  At left guard will be either Zane Beadles or Chris Kuper.  At center will be J.D. Walton or Philip Blake. Vasquez at right guard and Orlando Franklin at right tackle provide 660-plus pounds of horsepower. And there is plenty of depth behind them in veterans Chris Clark and Manny Ramirez if needed.

That was the second-highest scoring team in the NFL last season. It will be better this season.

Let’s check the defensive side:

The foremost question for most going into the offseason was the interior line.  That was addressed with the addition of Knighton and Williams.  Defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio can now rotate those two with last year’s super rookie Derek Wolfe, who can move from end to tackle and provide pass rush from anywhere, and veterans Kevin Vickerson and Mitch Unrein.  It wouldn’t be a huge surprise if the team re-signs veteran free agent Justin Bannan as well.

The pass rush from the outside was never going to be a problem as long as Von Miller is around to play strongside linebacker and rush on passing downs.  Now, with Phillips on board, the two-headed monster is still alive and well.  Phillips will split time with Robert Ayers at defensive end, with Ayers slated to play on likely running downs.

Other returning linebackers are Wesley Woodyard, whom many thought should have earned a Pro Bowl slot last season, with Nate Irving or free-agent signee Stewart Bradley in the middle.

The secondary got a boost with the signing of Dominique Rogers-Cromartie in March, allowing Chris Harris to move to slot defender. Champ Bailey is still around to man the other corner and, yes, he can still play.

There was a thought that the team would try to upgrade at safety, but apparently Fox, Del Rio and other coaches are happy with Rahim Moore and Mike Adams. The return of former starter Quinton Carter is also obviously a factor there.

With Del Rio becoming the first defensive coordinator in almost a decade to return to the team and that added beef in the middle, we can safely say the defense will be in good hands.

One other thing not to overlook for next season would be the special team performers:  Britton Colquitt is one of the league’s best punters, Matt Prater ditto as a placekicker.  And don’t forget the return heroics of little Trindon Holliday.

Staff from Elway on down on the clock and working well together? Check.

Free agency dealt with? Check.

The draft provides help for now and the future? Check.

What’s not to like, Broncos Country?

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Feb 24, 2013; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide running back Eddie Lacy watches the workouts from the sidelines during the NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

Here’s your National Football League draft primer, everything you need to know for the annual extravaganza.

First, the nuts and bolts: It starts Thursday with the first round, with the ESPN and NFL Network to do the broadcast, ESPN with live coverage of all the picks and the assorted fillers, the NFL Network to add the feature flavor.

The broadcast will start at 6 p.m. (MDT) Thursday. The second and third rounds will be shown Friday starting at 4:30 p.m., with the fourth though seventh rounds to be shown Saturday starting at 10 a.m.

You will be in charge of determining how large a couch potato you become.

Now, some helpful hints for the psychos out there who, like me, will take breaks from the action just long enough to avoid divorce or similar disaster:

If you are a Denver Bronco fan, you are probably thinking John Elway, John Fox and their massive supporting staff will be a minor player in the early going of the telecast. Based on each team having a maximum of 10 minutes in the first round to pick and the Broncos having the 28^th pick, my math tells me that Denver would pick 280 minutes after the opening salvo, meaning somewhere around 10:30 p.m.

Of course, not every team will take 10 minutes to pick, so you’d better be in your comfort zone by 9 p.m.

I’m thinking, however, that the Broncos will not select with that 28^th pick. They will trade down in similar fashion to what they did last year.

Why? For answers, let’s check out Todd McShay’s tier system of ranking draft prospects.

McShay and ESPN’s Scouts Inc. grade NFL prospects on a scale of 1-100. Players graded in the 90s are rare prospects who create mismatches and individually impact games. They are thought to become Pro Bowl caliber. Any player graded 70 or higher is thought to be capable of becoming a career NFL starter.

McShay has only three players in Tier 1 with grades of 96 or higher this season as opposed to six last year. He has five players listed in Tier 2 with grades of 95 as opposed to nine players last season.

So, how does this system impact the Broncos and their 28^th selection? This year’s draft is loaded with second-day talent, with 109 players graded at 70 or above, compared to 94 in 2012.

As they sit now, Denver would have Picks 28, 58 and 90 in the first three rounds. They also have picks in the fourth (125), fifth (161) and seventh rounds (234).

If Denver picks 28^th, they will pick up a player who will help in certain situations this season, third-down pass rusher, the defensive line rotation, fifth or sixth defensive back, maybe offensive line depth. The only full-time starter I could see at No. 28 is Alabama running back Eddie Lacy.

That’s why we need to break out our handy-dandy draft trading calculator that most NFL GMs use when talking trades, first published by ESPN in 2004 and now used en masse by NFL staffs.

The No. 28 pick is worth 660 points, according to the chart.  Let’s say because of the perceived depth of the draft, Elway and his staff seek a team that is loaded with draft picks – like San Francisco, which has 11 picks and a roster that has very few holes to fill.

The Broncos trade their 28^th pick to the 49ers – the Vikings also have 11 picks, but far more holes to fill – for the 50^th pick (400 points), the 80^th pick (190 points) and the 110^th pick (74 points).

That’s 660 points traded for 664, one pick for three likely future starters. With that trade, Denver would have two second-round picks, two third-rounders and two in the fourth.

So who might be available from No. 50 up to No. 110?

  Again, according to McShay’s tiers, defensive linemen like Brandon Williams of Missouri Southern (330 pounds) and Johnathan Hankins of Ohio State (320 pounds) should be there.  Either or both would help clog up the middle of the field.

  Defensive backs like like D.j. Swearinger from South Carolina, Johnthan Banks of Mississippi State, defensive end Sam Montgomery of LSU and linebacker Arthur Brown of Kansas State could be had.  All have been mentioned as late first-round picks in various mock drafts.

  And running backs like Wisconsin’s Montee Ball or Michigan State’s Le’veon Bell should be available and would seemingly fit into Denver’s plans.

  Those prospects and others stashed away in McShay’s fourth through seventh tiers are reasons the Broncos will trade out of the first round again this year – unless, of course, Lacy is still sitting there when Denver comes upon that 28^th pick around 10 o’clock Thursday night.

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