How about Doom & Gloom & Boom!

With a touch of Zoom.

The Broncos should pick Alabama linebacker Dont’a Hightower in the first round.

Then they should select Oregon running back LaMichael James, Connecticut defensive lineman Kendall Reyes, Arizona quarterback Nick Foles, Iowa State cornerback Leonard Johnson and Colorado guard Ryan Miller.

Now, that’s a draft.

All six players would become Broncos starters sooner or later.

Drafting a defensive tackle — as everyone wants, and presumes the Broncos will do on April 26 — would be a mistake.

In the five NFL drafts from 2007-11, 17 interior linemen were taken in the opening round and only one, B.J. Raji, made the Pro Bowl roster in the past two seasons. But he’s a nose tackle in a 3-4 defense, and the Broncos emphasize a 4-3 scheme.

Last year at this time, when the Broncos, with the No. 2 pick overall, could pick anyone in the entire world other than Cam Newton, the consensus outside the organization was that the tackle-deficient team had to decide between Marcell Dareus and Nick Fairley. They preferred neither. Fairley fell to 13th, and played in only 10 games with the Lions.

Dareus went third to the Bills, started 15-of-16 games and had an exceptional season, contributing 43 tackles, with 5½ sacks.

The Broncos instead grabbed a linebacker — Von “Gloom” Miller, who was named defensive rookie of the year, was voted to the Pro Bowl and united with Elvis “Doom” Dumervil.

Chosing another impact linebacker — Hightower — would be in order at No. 25.

Hightower has the size, the athleticism, the character, the intelligence, the background with the national champions and the leadership to become an immediate quality starter and a potential Pro Bowler.

And he’s a fundamentally sound, brutal tackler.

Boom.

Hightower is 6-foot-2, 265 pounds and ran a 4.62 40 at the NFL combine. He was a two-time captain of the Crimson Tide and the best defensive player on the best defensive team.

There’s only one problem. The Steelers, who own the 24th pick, just before the Broncos, brought Hightower to Pittsburgh on Thursday. The Broncos may have to leap the Steelers by exchanging positions with the Lions (at 23) for a seventh-round pick.

Middle linebackers are born; defensive tackles are made.

So, who will play tackle? The Broncos have just re-signed Justin Bannan, who was released (for salary reasons) last year. Have you forgotten about Kevin Vickerson, who was the starter until an ankle injury forced him on injured reserve in October, and Ty Warren, who was out all season with a partially torn triceps? Maybe both will return.

Ryan McBean could be back after his six-game suspension, and free agent Marcus Thomas, a starter much of last season, shouldn’t leave now that it’s getting good.

The strange case of defensive lineman Lt. Ben Garland, the Air Force Academy graduate who was impressive in Broncos camp two years ago, also is in place. He had to report in 2010 to active duty and was placed on military/reserve. Later, Garland decided not to become a pilot, was given a press relations position and will finish his active duty this year. He could be a rookie again.

In a perfect world, the Broncos would get the versatile big-play-making James at No. 57. The Ducks running back not only complements Willis McGahee, but adds another target out of the backfield for Peyton Manning, and returns punts. He’s the Zoom.

The Broncos should hope that defensive tackles Reyes or Clemson’s Brandon Thompson slip into the third round. Foles will be available in the fourth round, Johnson in the fifth.

Foles is 6-5, 243, with a powerful arm. He is a pocket passer who will need to understudy Manning for a few years and develop his mental and physical approach to the pro game.

Finally, the Broncos have to select Miller, the 6-7, 321-pound guard at CU. He was an All-American at Columbine and a second-team All-American in Boulder, and he will become a starter in the NFL.

If James is snatched away, two other running backs they should consider are Ronnie Hillman of San Diego State — a LaMichael Lite — and Utah State’s Robert Turbin.

And if Foles is gone, the Broncos should seize the moment and Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore, whose stock isn’t very high. Yet, he can play and he has a will to win. Vroom.

Woody Paige: 303-954-1095 or wpaige@denverpost.com