If the Broncos don’t consider drafting Dak “The Quarterbak” Prescott at the end of the second round, the decision will be made for a specific reason.

But it won’t be because he recently was charged with DUI, or because he is a mediocre quarterback.

Prescott auspiciously, or suspiciously, is compared to Tim Tebow.

John Elway doesn’t want another Tebow in tow and town. Once was enough.

Conversely, though, Elway and the Broncos are very intrigued with the greatest quarterback in Mississippi State history, and could pick him.

They should.

Prescott is Tebow 2.0. He is the new, improved Timmy.

He can pass.

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You like the name “Montana” for a quarterback? How about “Dakota”?

Oh, sure, everyone in the Rocky Mountains would like the Broncos to trade way up in the first round and get Carson Wentz (from North “Dakota” State). Not happening. Elway is not about to send the Tennessee Titans a king’s ransom of three first-rounders and a second-rounder (which is what St. Louis received from Washington for the right to draft Robert Griffin III). How did that work out in D.C.?

Dream on. How about Jared Goff? A Lawrence Welk deal (a one, a two and a three) likely wouldn’t suffice. Paxton Lynch will be gone to the Rams or Chiefs before the Broncos take a player at 31.

Forget Connor Cook. He couldn’t be named team captain or homecoming king at Michigan State.

Rayne Dakota Prescott is the right choice.

What about this comparison instead: Russell Wilson, whom the Broncos loved in 2012?

RG3 wanted to play for the Broncos, but they didn’t want him. Ryan Fitzpatrick is too expensive and not too special. Colin Kaepernick is a question, not a solution, and certainly not worthy of almost $12 million when he is recovering from three injuries and two awful seasons.

OK, let’s address the DUI. Just after his pro day in Starkville, Miss., Prescott was stopped for speeding. Two breathalyzer tests were “inconclusive,” but Dak was arrested. He did a stupid, nonsensical act. He took full responsibility, as he should. Prescott is not a serial bad guy. In his senior year, Dak became the first Mississippi State player to earn the national CLASS Award for being a student-athlete who exemplifies “achievements in the classroom, community, character and competition.”

The Broncos are forgiving. Last year they drafted Shane Ray soon after he was stopped for speeding and cited for marijuana possession.

On the field Prescott set 38 school records. In four seasons he threw for 9,376 yards (62.8 percent) and ran for 2,521 yards (4.7 average). As a senior he passed for 29 touchdowns and only five interceptions. He completed two-thirds of his attempts. He ran for 10 TDs.

Even before the Senior Bowl the Broncos’ staff was highly impressed and put the 6-foot-2, 226-pounder on their radar scope. He was named the most outstanding player in the game. The Broncos were among 30 scouts who attended his pro day, where Prescott, who had been a spread-offense shotgun quarterback, scripted only three- and five-step drops from under center and had the Cowboys, the Steelers, the Eagles, the Bills and the Cardinals drooling and inviting him to their cities for private workouts. He is scheduled to visit Dove Valley soon.

Before the NFL scouting combine Prescott worked with quarterback whisperer Jon Gruden, who stated later: “Prescott is perhaps the No. 1 dual-threat quarterback this year. He can hurt you running or passing. He’s done it in a very difficult conference, and he’s won at a (school) where a lot of quarterbacks haven’t. … He’s a bright-eyed, eager, confident talent that needs to be in the right place, but he can play.”

Gil Brandt, the former brilliant VP of player personnel with the Cowboys for 29 years and a current analyst with NFL.com, calls Prescott “very athletic” and says a team will “pick him in the middle rounds” to develop him into a “Cam-like quarterback.” Pres- cott has been described as a leader on the team and in the huddle with an elevated football IQ, a strong arm, a tough body and an intense will to win.

Obviously, there are several negatives, or Prescott wouldn’t be projected as a mid-third-round pick. His long throws are erratic; his footwork is spotty; he got beat up in 2015 because of poor protection and delayed decisions, and he was merely average against Alabama, LSU and Ole Miss. But the Bulldogs were transformed into winners with Prescott at QB. In his college finale, the Belk Bowl, he did pass for 380 yards and four touchdowns.

Prescott will need some time and a lot of work, but he can run this system, and Gary Kubiak and Greg Knapp are quarterback gurus. Elway knows quarterbacks.

Just don’t mention Tebow.

Woody Paige: woody@woodypaige.com or @woodypaige