Zac

Dysert

A favorite of Rotoworld draft guru Josh Norris, Dysert was a four-year starter at Miami (OH). Dysert was hurt by a lot of dropped passes and poor line play as a Redhawk, but he’s cool under pressure and has a strong-enough arm. He could eventually push Brock Osweiler for No. 2 duties with the Broncos.

Dysert suffered the injury on Monday. It’s a tough blow for a late-round prospect whose athleticism is part of his appeal. Dysert reportedly plans to throw at the RedHawks’ Pro Day on March 21. He’ll need to impress after an underwhelming Senior Bowl week.

Rotoworld draft guru Josh Norris is also a fan of Dysert. “He’s a better arm talent than Matt Barkley,” Cosell said of Dysert. “Now he’s a little scattershot, and that’s a problem -- all these quarterbacks have flaws. Now he ran a spread offense, so you don’t see a lot of downfield throws. But if you look hard enough, you watch a lot of games -- which I have -- you do see some downfield throws. He has enough arm to make those throws.”

Fellow free agent Charlie Batch, 38, is expected to return on a one-year deal and hold down the fort until a younger, developmental quarterback is in place. One name that the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette mentions as a possibility in the middle rounds of the draft is Miami of Ohio’s Zac Dysert.

Dysert (6-3, 231) was Rotoworld draft guru Josh Norris’ No. 3 quarterback, behind only Geno Smith and Tyler Wilson. A four-year starter and 63.8-percent career passer, Dysert posted a 48:23 TD:INT ratio over his final two seasons. An aggressive downfield thrower who stands firm in the pocket, Dysert’s development was stunted as a senior when the Redhawks installed a shotgun-spread offense to compensate for poor line play. He appeared far more comfortable as a junior, playing under center. Dysert has enough arm strength to make vertical throws, but his short-to-intermediate placement can be puzzlingly scattershot. He could eventually push Brock Osweiler for No. 2 duties in Denver.

The class lacks an Andrew Luck or RG3, but many prospects have starter tools with one or two flaws that may or may not prevent them from becoming franchise QBs. “Believe it or not,” said Caldwell, “the quarterback group is better top to bottom than it has been in years past.” Added Jaguars OC Jedd Fisch, “There are good quarterbacks out there. Take away last year because of the amount of guys that ended up starting and it’s going to be a quarterback class like most.”

The Broncos will roll with only Peyton Manning and the rapidly improving Brock Osweiler on the active roster. Dysert hasn’t even played in either of the last two exhibition games.

Ideally, the Broncos would have tried to slide Dysert onto their practice squad. But that would have exposed the seventh-round rookie to waivers. “We thought it was in our best interests to protect him,” said John Elway. Denver will be one of the few teams to carry three quarterbacks on the active roster Week 1.

It’s a sign Carson Palmer will be good to go against the Jets.

This is a sign Carson Palmer (concussion) won’t play Thursday night.