Sports - Pancake Blocks: What we learned: Broncos Minicamp

Is Rod Smith nearing the end?

Just because he can, Mike Shanahan held his only mandatory minicamp in the middle of July. He cut it short by a day, but we still learned quite a bit in two days.

1. Brandon Marshall is a riskier bet than expected

When we included Marshall on our magazine sleeper list, we knew he was a boom-or-bust pick. Great physical skills, terrific opportunity, little track record. Now he looks even shakier. Marshall couldn't make it through two days of workouts without re-injuring his thigh. Jay Cutler said Marshall looked overweight after missing all of June.

There have been questions about Marshall's professionalism in the past, and he still may be too immature to handle a big role. He may work his way back into shape slowly. The injuries could be a problem this season.

2. Rod Smith and Tony Scheffler behind schedule?

Rod Smith may not be ready for the season after hip surgery, which isn't a huge surprise. The PUP list is a possibility. Retirement is another. Scheffler, the promising backup tight end, may not be recovered from a broken foot in time for camp. He should be ready for the season, but Daniel Graham is going to take a lot of his targets.

3. Cecil Sapp is on the radar

Sapp, former fullback, has been taking second-team snaps in some situations. Mike Bell has in others. We wrote Denver Post columnist Mike Klis and he believes Bell will remain the backup. Still, it's an unexpected battle. We were going to write a longer "projecting change" post about this, but Bell needs to be taken down a few notches from our RB41 ranking because of the uncertainty. It's the second negative thing we've heard about him in a month.

Sapp is certainly going to rise from our current RB81 ranking. He'd hardly be the first random running back in Denver to rise to prominence. We projected Bell with 115 carries, Sapp with 30 before. We'll add about twenty carries to Sapp. He's an option to be drafted in deep leagues.

4. Brandon Stokley has a chance

The only good injury news Denver got this week was with Brandon Stokley. He performed individual drills Monday, did 7-on-7 work Tuesday, and the Broncos think he'll be ready for camp. We'll see if he's the same guy, though. A torn Achilles' tendon is one of the worst injuries in football. Players like Takeo Spikes and Julian Peterson are two examples of players who were healthy enough to play the following season after their injuries, but weren't nearly the same player. Peterson was much more explosive two years removed from the surgery.

Stokley doesn't have that sort of time. He's a small, aging speed threat. Those types of players don't age well. I read Matt Berry in ESPN the Magazine (fast becoming a guilty pleasure) tout Stokley as a sleeper. The hard-working guys at Fake Teams also wrote about him this week.

I just don't see Stokley adapting well to life away from Peyton Manning, but I'll admit he has a great opportunity. Rod Smith, Brandon Marshall, and Tony Scheffler are question marks. There is a void to be filled. The tight ends could benefit if Stokley doesn't step up.