Evans: If Broncos in ‘win-now mode,’ they must pursue Antonio Brown

Mike Evans said that if he was building a team “from scratch,” like he believes the Denver Broncos are primed to do, “going after, drafting high, or paying high for a wide receiver” would be “way down” on his list of priorities.

But since the vibe coming from Dove Valley is one not willing to rebuild but instead reboot, the “Schlereth and Evans” co-host said on Monday, the Broncos have to pursue a talent like Antonio Brown.

“You can’t have it both ways. You’ve got to decide what you are. Are we rebuilding and we make our moves accordingly or we’re here to win now and we make our moves accordingly?” Evans said. “If you’re here to win now, you go after Antonio Brown.”

Evans said that with a quarterback and an offense that is “really lacking sizzle, really lacking talent,” then Brown is the type to breathe life into Denver.

“If Antonio Brown is available and all it costs is a second-round pick and he can come in here and possibly inject some life into your offense, you’ve got to do it,” Evans said.

However, Evans’ co-host, Mark Schlereth, said if the Broncos think they’re only an “Antonio Brown away” from competing, “then everybody over there needs to get fired.”

“Talent can be a liar,” Schlereth said. “And if you think you’re one receiver away from all of a sudden competing in this division, then I don’t think you’re assessing your team very well.”

Schlereth added that just donning the orange and blue, having John Elway as the general manager, or having a coach with a no-nonsense philosophy won’t fix the off-field drama Brown brings to the table.

“This is classic you get googly-eyed over talent,” Schlereth said. “And you preach one thing from a cultural standpoint about what we’re going to be, and then you circumvent that or you trump what you’ve preached. And you just become even more dysfunctional than you already are.”

Among other things, Brown has landed in this position of being shipped out of Pittsburgh by the Steelers because of behind-the-scenes drama that led to him being inactive in the final game of the regular season.

For “Stokley and Zach” co-host Brandon Stokley, in the end, Brown is a “great player” but not a “good fit” with where the Broncos are currently.

“For me, I don’t love it, not in this situation with this football team,” Stokley said. “It’s not like this team is really close and you just need one player to get you over the hump. You don’t even have a quarterback.”

Luckily for Schlereth and Stokley, however, reports that the Broncos were expected to be “one of many teams interested” in Brown’s services, they appear to be premature.

“I’m sure there’ll be teams interested in Antonio Brown. I have not heard that Denver is one,” said ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter on with Big Al and DMac on Monday.

Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @JohnnyHart7.