Today’s questions about the Broncos come from James in Pennsylvania. To submit a question for consideration, send an e-mail to The Denver Post’s Jeff Legwold.

Q: As a longtime Broncos fan in the heart of Steelers country … I was wondering, how is Brock Osweiler looking in practices? And do you think he could play right now if he had to?

A: James, here locally there is still plenty of chatter over whether the Broncos’ selection of Osweiler in the second round of the 2012 draft was a “wasted” draft pick or not.

Virtually all of that talk is misguided. Many of the people making the argument against the Broncos using a draft pick on a quarterback with Peyton Manning behind center will also admit that QB is the most important spot on an NFL team’s depth chart.

So, the notion that a team should only have one option at the most important spot on the depth chart is borderline ridiculous. And the notion that a team shouldn’t always be developing a player at the most important spot on the roster is also ridiculous.

And when you look at the draft board from this past April, there wasn’t a quarterback on the board who the Broncos would have had graded more highly than Osweiler. So, had they not picked him a year ago because they liked what he had to offer, they would now be heading to their third draft — in May 2014 — without a homegrown quarterback prospect who could potentially play if Manning was injured or was no longer playing for the team.

That would be bad management. A team, at least the good ones, always has to balance the win-now demands of the coaches and players with the long-term health of the roster.

Draft-built teams stay in the hunt, year after year, but there aren’t more of them because it takes discipline as well as some patience and fortitude to be one. Teams that break the bank in free agency are usually trying to repair draft mistakes.

The Eagles, for example, went on a two-year spending binge in free agency. Why? In the 2010 and 2011 drafts, they made 24 picks combined.

Of those 24 picks, just two are projected to be starters in the coming season; one of those is the kicker. And in a world where everybody demands discipline of the players on the practice field and on game day, many teams show very little of it when they are acquiring those players.

It’s my favorite statistic for the why-draft-a-quarterback crowd, but when Ron Wolf essentially laid the groundwork for a Packers personnel department that has put together two Super Bowl winners as well as teams that have won at least 10 games 13 times in the last 18 seasons, he used at least a second-day pick on a quarterback seven times in an eight-year span with Brett Favre behind center.

And Osweiler, who was the youngest quarterback on the board in 2012, has not only worked hard since his selection, but has also shown the benefits of working smart. He has long since repaired his throwing motion, taking out the sidearm action he had in his early workouts with the Broncos. He now sports a smooth over-the-top release.

Because he is 6-foot-8, he could always sort of get away with dropping his arm down in college, lowering his release point. But his current motion has improved his accuracy. He has a power arm as well, so if his accuracy is on, he is a high-quality prospect with the ability to work the whole field.

By all accounts, he continues to have the right demeanor about working behind a player like Manning. That’s a high-speed, demanding work environment, but Manning seems to have done his part as well as a rare resource for a player like Osweiler.

And while the real tale won’t be told until everybody sees Osweiler work in some of the preseason games, or even in some of the 11-on-11 drills against the starting defense in training camp — when he gets the chance — he looks far more decisive this spring.

The ball is coming out quickly. He’s making quicker decisions. And he has the ability to get people moved around before the snap when he has to. So, developmentally speaking, he has shown exactly why you take a quarterback in the draft long before you need him to be the starter.

Because the toughest thing about being a starting quarterback in the league is simply dealing with everything that comes with the job, on and off the field. The job eats those who aren’t ready like Cheez-Its.

The Broncos believe Osweiler could function in the offense now and that when it is his time to step forward to be the starter he will be ready to handle everything that comes with it.

Jeff Legwold: jlegwold@denverpost.com or twitter.com/jeff_legwold