Jim Saccomano

The recently concluded 2009 National Football League Draft found the Denver Broncos adding 10 new players to the team’s roster, increasing the talent level and adding to the level of competition at all positions.

But people are mistaken if they believe that the draft was the end all — the last step to adding players to Denver’s or any other team’s roster for the coming year.

The most aggressive team in free agency this year was Denver, and the Broncos jumped into the college free agent pool in a big way as well, signing 17 undrafted players in the days immediately following the draft.

These young men will get just a few lines of press in the major newspapers, their signings being perceived as far less significant than the draft choices.

However, players come from a lot of places, and building a roster never ends.

I was very impressed by the comments of Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin in his press conference on the Monday after the Super Bowl.

One of the things he said that really resonated with me was while acknowledging the great accomplishment of his Pittsburgh team in winning its sixth world championship for the franchise, he emphasized that this was the accomplishment of the 2008 team. It had no bearing on what would happen in 2009.

I was reminded of that in a recent interview which Broncos Head Coach Josh McDaniels did.

When asked to comment on the recently announced 2009 schedule, Josh said he liked it and looked forward to competing every week.

But Josh made a great comment, I thought, in noting that fans look at each year’s schedule within the mental context of what last year’s team was.

So 32 teams are being judged and evaluated with a completely new schedule, but based on what the previous year’s team was.

And that could not be more irrelevant. Last year is not this year.

One of the most exciting parts of the National Football League year is the annual draft, this year to be held on Saturday and Sunday, April 25-26.

The anticipation by fans is great, and in my capacity with the Broncos I have long felt that the draft weekend is the equivalent of a major game weekend for the team in terms of publicity, passion and interest.

With the recent Chicago trade included the Broncos at this time go into the draft with 10 selections, including two number one picks for the first time in franchise history. This only serves to increase the already staggering degree of interest in the 2009 selection process.

The Broncos have chosen more players from the University of Florida than any other school, 17, followed closely by the 14 players taken from the University of Colorado.

Many Denver Broncos fans by now are familiar with last week’s announcement at the National Football League annual meeting relative to the celebration of the 50th year of play by the eight original American Football League teams this year.

I was in elementary school when the AFL and Broncos started playing, at that time unaware that I would be fortunate to ultimately have a career spanning four decades with this new franchise.

One of the pivotal elements of this celebration is that each of the eight teams will wear a throwback uniform, with the Broncos opting for their original threads.

If you are not sitting down, you might want to.