McDaniels: Tebow a pocket passer who can run

Denver Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels loves working with quarterbacks. This was apparent during his time with the New England Patriots and even more so now that he selected former Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow with the No. 25 overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft.

While some question whether or not Tebow can succeed as a prototypical NFL quarterback considering he used his legs so often in college, McDaniels is confident that he will be able to do just that, seeing his running ability simply as an added benefit.

“He will function from the pocket,” McDaniels explained to a few members of the media after the second day of Broncos minicamp on Saturday. “If he can do something out of the pocket, and he deserves to be on the field, that’s the biggest thing, then maybe that would warrant us doing other things. But he is going to get trained the exact same way the other guys are going to get trained.”

“We’re just trying to get good football players that can help our team. If he rushes for two touchdowns on a Sunday at some point in his career, great, that’s super. But that’s like if you have a [running] back who can catch passes out of the backfield and somebody else has a back who can’t catch passes. They’re not going to do the same thing, right?”

After two days of working Tebow out at Denver’s Dove Valley facility, McDaniels remains confident that the former Heisman Trophy winner is just as advertised, even mentioning that he was impressed with his ability to throw into the wind.

“He’s what we thought he was,” he said. “First of all, he’s a rookie. He’s made his share of mistakes out here. But his work ethic is what we thought it was.”

Considering McDaniels is as innovative as it gets when it comes to offensive play calling, fans should not be surprised to see Tebow on the field in 2010 during certain predetermined scenarios (short yardage pick-ups, goal line carries, etc.). However, it is important to note that those appearances will be indicative of Denver utilizing the abilities of a talented player, not them pigeon-holing him with a non-pocket passer role.

Photo Credit: Associated Press