John Elway taught us an important lesson this week

You did it, didn’t you?

For a second, you doubted John Elway’s leadership of the Denver Broncos.

For a second, you thought the shine had worn off, that Elway may not be able to build a winner like he used to.

For a second, you imagined a Denver Broncos without No. 7 calling the shots.

I’ll admit it. For a second, I did.

As high-level free agents came and went with the Broncos only nabbing one, quarterback Case Keenum—especially with Keenum being the second-place prize—it was easy to wonder what the heck was going on over there. Could they just not attract big names anymore? Was that cap space freed up by Von Miller a move for the future? Was Elway’s hard-bargain reputation catching up with him?

None of that mattered. Whether any of it holds any truth or not, the Broncos’ general manager was not going to go away quietly.

Last Friday, Elway executed a trade that brought in seasoned offensive tackle Jared Veldheer—for the measly price of a sixth-round pick—to fill the team’s gaping hole on the right side of the line.

On Wednesday, just five days later, Elway executed another trade. This time for former second-round pick and supremely talented linebacker-safety hybrid Su’a Cravens, presumably aiding the team’s struggles in defending the tight end over the last couple years.

Suddenly, the Broncos offseason has gone from concerning to exciting.

If you were to rank the Broncos’ biggest problems over the last two seasons, you could easily make an argument for quarterback, right tackle and tight-end defense, in any order, without much pushback from anyone. Elway has now made additions to the roster that project to improve all three areas.

Sure, you could make the argument that none of the three pickups are “splash” moves, and you can absolutely make the argument that all of the players have question marks. But keep this in mind: Keenum’s ceiling is higher than Trevor Siemian’s, Veldheer’s ceiling is higher than Menelik Watson’s and Cravens’ ceiling is definitely higher than any other plan the Broncos had to cover the tight end. It’s very fair to expect measurable improvement in all three areas.

Even more interesting, a lot of these moves have a Belichickian feel to them.

The Patriots love bringing in successful veterans in need of a change of scenery (See: Chris Long, Martellus Bennett, LaGarrette Blount and many more) and additions like Veldheer, Tramaine Brock and Clinton McDonald fit that mold.

The Patriots also have shown a propensity to make a trade for a young, high draft pick like Cravens when the value is right (See: Phillip Dorsett) and talented players with off-the-field questions (See: Aqib Talib). New England also made a trade for another former first-round pick this offseason when they acquired Cordarrelle Patterson and a sixth-rounder from Oakland for a fifth-rounder.

There is one other thing, though, that Belichick and the Patriots have done consistently—they’ve found stars in the draft. Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman, Nate Solder, the list goes on. During the Pats’ incredible run of dominance, their core has been built in April and they’ve filled the gaps in March.

John Elway has accomplished step one, he filled in the gaps in March. Now, with two picks in the top 40, five picks in the top 106 and a total of seven picks, all in the first five rounds, he has a chance to turn a solid offseason into a great offseason and get his stars.

Just over a week ago, Elway was on his own two-yard line down seven with just over five minutes to go. Now, with just under 40 seconds on the clock, Elway has driven his team 93 yards. Mark Jackson is out there, all he has to do is find him.

Who ya got?