The Denver Broncos' new head coach said Devin White, Devin Bush are no Roquan Smith.

PHOENIX — Pump the brakes, mocksters, on the Broncos taking inside linebackers Devin White or Devin Bush with their No. 10 overall draft pick.

Those players were logical assumptions based on the Broncos having a need for a three-down player at that position and new coach Vic Fangio having influence on the Chicago Bears taking inside linebacker Roquan Smith with the No. 8 overall pick last year.

There’s just one difference between White/Bush entering the draft 2019 and Smith in 2018.

“I don’t think either one is as good as Roquan at this stage in their career,’’ Fangio said here Tuesday at the NFL coaches’ breakfast. “Roquan is a special player and a special individual. It’s going to take a while to see that in those other two guys.”

It also seems unlikely the Broncos take a cornerback in the draft after they signed Kareem Jackson and Bryce Callahan in free agency. The Broncos’ four positions of needs: Interior offensive line, interior defensive line, inside linebacker and receiver.

Oh, and a young developmental quarterback.

Maybe, Fangio, a lifelong defensive assistant, will fall for one of the top quarterbacks. The Broncos are bringing in the likes of Dwayne Haskins and Drew Lock to their headquarters for pre-draft visits and they may also bring in Kyler Murray and Daniel Jones.

The Broncos have also met with Will Grier and Jarrett Stidham and are working out Clayton Thorsen.

“The first thing I said to a lot of coaches, I said, ‘Now I get to evaluate quarterbacks and I won’t make the same mistakes some of you offensive coaches have made over the years,” Fangio said with a smile.

He did admit the quarterback position is the most difficult to evaluate.

“Only because it’s the most visible,’’ Fangio said. “Everyone thinks they’re a quarterback expert and that’s the hardest position to play. It’s the most important position to play in all of sports, not just football.’’

Other topics Fangio addressed at his hour-long interview session:

*Surprisingly, but by design, he has not studied the 2018 Broncos.

“I surprised John (Elway) when I said it, and it’s held true — I have watched very little of the Denver Broncos from the 2018 season. Very little. I bet you under 150 plays.

“The only guys I’ve watched are the guys we’ve had to make decisions on. If the guy’s on our roster and he’s going to be on our roster, I want to form my own opinion. I don’t want to watch other stuff.”

*Although Fangio’s coaching expertise is on the defensive side, he’s in favor of his team’s fourth-and-15 proposal that would be in lieu of an onside kick.

“I like the rule,’’ Fangio said. “I like it better now that it has been trimmed down. You can only do it once per game. You can only do it in the fourth quarter. I like that part of the rule. To me, that might be the part that gets it passed. I have no idea whether it will or not. When they trimmed it down, I liked that.”

*Turning around the Bears’ defense. When Fangio became their defensive coordinator in 2015, he inherited a unit that was No. 30 in yards allowed, No. 31 in opponent scoring.

In his fourth and final season there in 2018, the Bears were No. 3 in yards allowed; No. 1 in opponents’ scoring.

“It was a process,’’ he said. “When we first go there, they weren’t very good. In fact, they were terrible. It took a while. The first year we got two players. We drafted Eddie Goldman in the second round and Adrian Amos in the fifth round.

Then the next year we added Leonard Floyd, Akiem Hicks and Danny Trevathan. Then in year three we added Eddie Jackson and Prince Amukamara. Then this past year we added obviously Roquan [Smith] in the draft and Khalil (Mack) with the trade right before the opener.

“It took a while, but we became very good. It was a slow building process, and when we got players like Roquan and Khalil at the end there, it put us over the top.”

*His receiver situation with the only proven veteran Emmanuel Sanders coming off Achilles surgery. The two drafted receivers last year, Courtland Sutton and DaeSean Hamilton, didn’t produce as hoped in the final quarter of last season.

“They'd better be ready to step up,’’ Fangio said. “We're counting on them. You always need reinforcements. Like I said, it's a league of receivers and DBs right now, so there's always room for improvement and to add to those groups. You never have enough of them, but I like where we're at with receivers. I think our line is better than people think it is and I like to think that if we're right with Joe Flacco, he'll have a hand in making those guys look better, too.”

*Fangio doesn’t believe his new, 34-year-old quarterback Joe Flacco is nearing the end of his career.

“I think there’s a lot left with Joe. Joe’s got an athletic body. I don’t think he’s got a body that will slowly break down. Now, that’s not to say he can’t get injured, but some bodies last longer naturally than others. I think he’s got a body that can last a long time.

“He throws the ball with ease, meaning it’s just natural. There’s not a lot of torque, so I think his arm strength has not wavered one bit since he came into the league.

“And he’s hungry. Joe wants to do well. I think a lot of players, they lose their stinger before they lose their talent, and Joe’s stinger is still sharp.”

*The sense is the quality of a team is mostly about the head coach and quarterback, but ownership is a factor.

“They do matter,’’ Fangio said. “They set the tempo for the organization. Now, all 32 teams are different. Jerry Jones is not only the (Cowboys’) owner, he’s the general manager. In Chicago, it’s a traditional ownership situation with the McCaskey family.

“There are winning ways to do it, but I think the ownership, if they’re not a hands-on, pseudo-general manager, then they need to be supportive and let the people they’ve hired do their jobs with support, but keep them well-informed to what’s going on.”

What he’s learned about Pat Bowlen’s ownership of the Broncos.