Marquez Branson

The Broncos used disappointing cornerback Alphonso Smith to fill a need at tight end by acquiring Dan Gronkowski from the Detroit Lions.

Besides Gronkowski, who had seven catches for 80 yards during the Lions’ preseason, the Broncos will get a late-round draft pick in exchange for Smith.

Considering the the Broncos traded away a 2010 first-round draft pick in exchange for moving up in the second round to select Smith in the 2009 draft, the former Wake Forest product was a major disappointment.

However, talks that Smith was a colossal bust must be tempered by the fact the Broncos exchanged him for a receiving tight end. Gronkowski is expected to replace Marquez Branson as the Broncos’ top receiving threat, a position filled by Tony Scheffler the three previous years.

Scheffler was traded to the Lions in April.

Dan Gronkowski, 25, was drafted in the seventh round by the Lions in 2009. His younger brother Rob Gronkowski, is a tight end who was drafted in the second round this year by the New England Patriots.