Throughout the entirety of the off-season thus far, Denver has remained steadfast in their demand for a first round pick in return for wide receiver Brandon Marshall. Several teams have shown interest, but have backed off as of late, believing the Broncos asking price to be too high.

That isn’t likely to change after the trade of wide receiver Santonio Holmes from Pittsburgh to New York late last night, as the Steelers only received a fifth round pick in return for a player coming off a career year in receptions and yards. Obviously, Holmes’ off the field issues played a major role in his value being that low, but Marshall isn’t that much better in that regard, so logic would seem to indicate that the Broncos would be wise to tone down their expectations and accept a lesser offer if it comes around.

ESPN’s Mike Sando put forward a similar musing earlier this morning, even going so far as to say that it will be “an upset if Seattle pays more than a second-rounder for Marshall unless additional teams show interest.” Sando makes several solid points in his piece, clearly showing the trade market for receivers isn’t what many feel it should be, and as such the Broncos aren’t likely to get what they really want for Marshall’s services.

That said, it’s not likely that Denver sends Marshall packing for anything less than a second round pick, as he isn’t facing a suspension like Holmes is, and has demonstrated a definite ability to be the number one receiver week in and week out. That could be problematic for the Seahawks, as they already swapped a more valuable 40th overall pick for the 6oth overall pick trading for Charlie Whitehurst, but the longer this process plays out and the closer we get to the draft commencing, the potential for a creative deal to come together goes up.

As always, we’ll keep you posted.

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