In Mike Shanahan’s last year as Head Coach and Ted Sundquist’s as General Manager of the Denver Broncos, they had the twelfth pick overall in the 2008 NFL Draft.
Long-time left tackle Matt Lepsis, who suffered season ending injuries in 2006 and 2007, had retired from the Broncos after 10 seasons with the team in February of 2008. Replacing a two-time Super Bowl champion and a veteran of 150 games in the National Football League was priority number one for the team to protect up-and-coming quarterback Jay Cutler.
After Jake Long went first overall to the Miami Dolphins, Shanahan and Sundquist waited as other players came off the board.