The Broncos are not going to let the upcoming draft pass without making a serious evaluation of Mark Sanchez.

According to an NFL source, Broncos coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Brian Xanders have scheduled a private workout with the USC quarterback for next Tuesday.

The Broncos have the No. 12 and 18 picks in the first round, plus an extra third-round selection if they want to move up to select Sanchez, who figures to go somewhere in the top 10.

The source said the private workout doesn’t necessarily mean the Broncos have identified Sanchez as their primary target in the NFL draft that will commence next Saturday. Instead, the Broncos are merely playing catch up in scouting a position that wasn’t considered a strong need until they felt forced to grant Jay Cutler’s trade request earlier this month.

Cutler, the Broncos’ starting quarterback dating back to late in the 2006 season, was dealt along with a fifth-round pick earlier this month to the Chicago Bears in exchange for quarterback Kyle Orton, the No. 18 pick in this year’s draft, a third-round pick, and a first-round pick in 2010.

The Broncos’ held their first veteran minicamp session today with Orton and Chris Simms as their only quarterbacks. That means even if it’s not Sanchez in the first round, there is a good chance the Broncos will come away with a quarterback from this draft.

“We’ve evaluated all the quarterbacks in this draft and there’s more than a handful that are pretty good players and would fit in and play well in this league and for our team,” McDaniels said today after the team’s minicamp practice. “If it fit right where we had to draft a player, then we would be interested in drafting a quarterback if that would help us.”

Mike Klis: 303-954-1055 or mklis@denverpost.com.