ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Matt Paradis has the resume to be a center in an offense as complex as Denver's: he's intelligent, does a good job picking up blitzes and is lauded for his intangibles as much as his actual play.

The 6-foot-3, 306-pounder could be brought along slowly with Manny Ramirez and Will Montgomery on the roster, and with Ramirez under contract through 2015, he could be groomed to be a backup by that season, and perhaps pushing for a starting role thereafter.

"We really thought that he had the potential," said Executive Vice President of Football Operations and General Manager John Elway. "We had a great grade on him. The only thing that dropped that was we only thought he was 280 pounds, but when we found out he was 300 pounds or 305 pounds, we were much happier to hear that and we knew at that point in time that he was going to be high on our list."

Paradis, along with third-round pick Michael Schofield, gives the Broncos long-term flexibility on the offensive line. Schofield will begin at tackle but could be a guard; it's possible that he could be shifted to left guard by 2015 if Orlando Franklin is not re-signed.

But another long-term possibility if Franklin is not re-signed is to leave Schofield at tackle, which would then allow Ramirez to shift to left guard. That would open center to Paradis; if the sixth-round pick's development is ahead of schedule, he could then push for a first-team spot.

There are possibilities for Paradis, and they stem from the positional versatility the Broncos have all over the offensive line. That might allow Paradis to do what he does best: adeptly handle checks, calls and blitzes.

"He was just a guy that had tremendous success at Boise State and what they do up there," Elway said. "He was the quarterback of their offensive line, was very intelligent. We had him on a visit and we were all very impressed with him."