ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- There are times when John Elway has looked at a particular football matter and said, "I know what I don't know." But starting as an NFL rookie isn't one of those matters.

Elway has been there and done that. Before he became a Hall of Famer and icon, he was a rookie quarterback who, in his words, was "drinking through a fire hose." He knows what he might ask of a rookie quarterback if the Broncos find the right guy in the months to come.

As the Broncos work at the Senior Bowl this week, their coaches will direct the North team, which features some of the draft's best prospects. They'll get an up-close look at two of the highest-rated quarterbacks in the draft class -- Oklahoma's Baker Mayfield and Wyoming's Josh Allen. Teams want to figure out whether they could cope with starting as rookies.

"Obviously it's not ideal, but I would say this: I did it," Elway said of playing as a rookie. "It was tough ... but then again, if you make it through that you have a chance to be tough enough to handle it in this league, too. ... The personality, if it is a young guy -- what's his personality? Where do you think he is? We have to formulate that plan."

Elway, who is preparing for his eighth draft as the Broncos' top football decision-maker, has repeatedly said the No. 1 goal this offseason is to improve at quarterback. That means also tailoring an offense to the quarterback as well as improving the offensive line's play.

But first it means the Broncos simply have to decide what their offseason plan will be. Beyond the quarterbacks they have under contract for next season -- Trevor Siemian, Paxton Lynch and Chad Kelly -- they could spend big in free agency for a veteran quarterback and use a draft pick this year on a developmental quarterback.

Or they could go all-in on a rookie, use their first-round pick (No. 5 overall) on a quarterback whom they intend to put into the lineup as quickly as possible, and sign a veteran quarterback as a backup/mentor. Lynch, the team's first-round pick in 2016, has not progressed to being the unquestioned starter and has struggled to rebound from mistakes, both in practice and in his limited game action.

Elway survived being tossed into the deep end of the NFL pool as a rookie, and he says finding that mental toughness will be a key part of any draft decision. He points to his own struggles during his rookie season, when few players carried the lofty expectations he did.

Elway played in 11 games as a rookie, completing 47.5 percent of his passes and throwing seven touchdown passes and 14 interceptions. In his first three seasons combined, Elway threw 52 interceptions. Even the player many scouts consider the most NFL-ready rookie quarterback they’ve ever seen -- Peyton Manning -- threw 43 interceptions combined in his first two seasons in the league.

The goal is to the find player with the skills to lead a franchise and the mental makeup to survive the learning curve.

"I think half of it is what you see on film and the other half is figuring out what kind of guy it is," Elway said. "... But again, obviously stepping into that role when you come out of college -- in college, you're allowed to be a kid. ... Just trying to figure out how these guys can handle the tough times, because there are going to be tough times. When the world feels like it's caving in, are they going to be able to battle through that and not lose their confidence? Because once somebody loses their confidence at that position ... what gets you here is your swagger and your confidence as quarterback. You have a chance to play in the NFL and that's what gets you here and you can't be afraid of it."

The Broncos will have a week to assess Mayfield, Allen, Washington State's Luke Falk and Nebraska's Tanner Lee on the practice field and in meetings to see how those players interact with their teammates.

It's all information that will go into the Broncos' most important draft since 2011 when Elway selected Von Miller with the No. 2 pick. Coach Vance Joseph said the team has to be ready to mold an offense around the right player.

"I'll say this about the college game and the pro game: You look at Philly and you look at Kansas City -- we have to adjust also as pro coaches," Joseph said. "We're drafting these guys for their skill set that we see on tape. So we can't take these guys and assume they can do something else. What we draft them for, we have to play to their strengths. ... So we have to evolve as coaches also, take these kids' skill sets and put it to work. ... It's simple as that in my opinion."