Crazy Idea: Brandon Marshall Stays with Denver Broncos

Let me suggest something that all my friends in the NFL don't seem to want to explore.

What if the Denver Broncos actually decide to do something smart and keep wide receiver Brandon Marshall?

Here are my reasons for such a crazy claim.

1. He's our best playmaker by far. It seems like a simple enough reason, but everyone else seems to have their feelings in the way of what I would consider an obvious (but often overlooked) fact.

2. If we did trade Marshall away, everyone assumes we would draft wide receiver Dez Bryant of Oklahoma State.

There are a few problems with this pick (don't worry, I'm not going to talk about forgetting his cleats). However, even if he ends up being an awesome wide receiver, at best he could only hope to be as good as Marshall in a couple of years.

Josh McDaniels knows he needs to put together a team that is better than 8-8; otherwise he will have shown that he accomplished nothing since he has taken over the team.

Therefore it is better to keep Marshall, at least for another year, than trade him for unequal value.

3. We just got the quarterback McDaniels wanted. Kyle Orton started off last season very well and slipped later on.

Part of this was due to an injury suffered during the Baltimore game in Week Eight, but also a large part of it was due to the fact that teams learned how to defend us in the second half of the year.

McDaniels didn't let Orton throw downfield. I don't know if that was from what he saw in Orton during practice or some other factor, but I truly believe that "Little Napoleon" didn't trust him.

Brady Quinn, on the other hand, has come up under the New England Patriots' (angels sing and light from heaven shines down) system. He learned under Charlie Weis, and you know that McDaniels cannot wait to get him in.

That being said, he's going to need someone to pass to, and Denver will not find anyone better than Marshall.

Note: I would love to see Denver trade down and select center Maurkice Pouncey in the first round...go Denver.