ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Gentlemen, and ladies, start the punch lines.

The Denver Broncos get it. They understand they conduct their football business in a state where marijuana is legal for adults to partake in at home. They realize “dispensary’’ means a little something different here than it does most other places.

So, when the Broncos flip-flopped first-round picks and sent two other picks as well as Manny Ramirez, who had started 43 games over the last three seasons for the Broncos, to take a guy who was cited for marijuana possession just four days before the draft, it raised an eyebrow or three.

But in the value-added, risk-reward world of the league's annual selection festival, the Broncos believed Missouri outside linebacker/defensive end Shane Ray was worth what it took to move into the 23rd spot to get him. Because had Ray not been stopped by police in the early-morning hours Monday and cited for a traffic violation as well as marijuana possession, the Broncos wouldn’t have had to give him a second thought.

Because if Ray doesn’t make the what-the-heck-is-he-thinking kind of mistake on the doorstep of the draft, he likely gets selected before the event is 90 minutes old. The Broncos themselves, executive vice president of football operations/general manager John Elway said, had Ray as the No. 10 player on their board.

“I definitely find myself as a steal,’’ Ray said Thursday night. “All teams that passed on me, in the top 10, I feel that they made a huge mistake. I’m going to show them the mistake they made. I’m so grateful to the Broncos for giving me the opportunity.’’

Elway, as well other Broncos officials, spoke to Ray this week. And the tenor of those conversations was essentially that the Broncos know exactly what kind of football player the Southeastern Conference’s Defensive Player of the Year is, but wanted to hear from Ray about the kind of person he would be if he came to Colorado.

Would a guy with an ill-timed marijuana citation be a problem? Or would he be all the Broncos believe he can be?

“I think he’s a 21-year-old kid who made a mistake. ... The kid, to me, loves the game of football and I think he realizes the mistake that he made could really affect what that does to his football career,’’ Elway said. “I think that’s why he made the commitment to us that it’s not going to happen to game.’’

Ray did an important thing between Monday and Thursday as well. He admitted he messed up. He didn’t hide. He didn’t say he “just wants to move on’’ without dealing with what happened.

He didn’t duck any events in Chicago and he remained on site, waiting to hear his name called. In short, he owned it at a time when many don't or won't own a lot less along the way.

“I just assured the Broncos if they made the decision to give me the chance I would give them everything plus more to show them they made the best decision in this draft,’’ Ray said. “ … They’re committed to me.’’

Asked if being in Colorado would provide any more temptation for him than it would be in any other NFL outpost, Ray said; “No, not at all. I haven’t failed any drug tests and when I was cited, I wasn’t under the influence. I don’t think that weed is something that controls my life … or been an issue. I think that’s not a concern at all.’’

The Broncos have made the roll of the dice work before in the first round of recent drafts. Last year they took a swing on cornerback Bradley Roby, who had plenty of questions about his maturity to go with his own citation -- for operating a vehicle under the influence (the car was parked and Roby was sleeping behind the wheel) -- in the days before the draft.

Roby’s incident was just over a week before the draft and the Broncos went back and reviewed it and still selected him 31st overall. Roby went on to play 75 percent of the team’s snaps on a defense for a 12-win team to put him at least in the discussion for the Defensive Rookie of the Year.

And that’s a little slice of draft history the Broncos hope repeats itself once again.

As Elway put it after the team picked Ray: “We got a guy who plays with his hair on fire, rushes the passer, loves the game of football, and is competitive and is going to be a great fit for us.’’