Denver ? As their flirtation with Terrell Owens attests, the Denver Broncos would love to add a premier wide receiver to pair with mainstay Rod Smith.

When Owens chose to resurrect his career in Dallas instead of Denver, the Broncos shifted their sights to this weekend’s NFL Draft, where their wheeling and dealing has landed them the 15th pick, about where the run on receivers is expected to begin.

Among the top wideouts coming out of college are Ohio State’s Santonio Holmes and Florida’s Chad Jackson, either of whom could make coach Mike Shanahan happy.

He wouldn’t have minded having Owens on board, either.

“We were one of the few teams to have him in, so we obviously felt very good about him,” Shanahan said.

The Broncos, who stockpiled draft picks through a series of trades, also are expected to focus on running back and tight end on the first day, when they own four of the top 68 selections, the most of any team.

They have seven selections in the first four rounds and nine overall.

The Broncos might also do a draft-day trade for a veteran wide receiver such as Green Bay’s Javon Walker, who is coming off a serious knee injury as he enters the final year of his contract vowing never again to play for the Packers.

Green Bay refused to redo his deal last year and Walker tore up a knee in the season opener.

The Broncos have their own unhappy wideout in Ashley Lelie, who wasn’t pleased with the Broncos’ interest in Owens and has declined to attend the club’s offseason conditioning program, forgoing a $100,000 contract incentive to work out instead in Tempe, Ariz.

The Broncos could package a pick or two along with Lelie, who is entering the final year of the five-year deal he signed as the 19th overall pick in the 2002 draft.

A year after catching 54 passes for 1,084 yards and seven touchdowns, Lelie’s numbers dipped last season to 42 receptions for 770 yards and one touchdown, but his deep threat ability keeps defenses honest.

The Broncos also are in the market for a running back and tight end. They waived Mike Anderson and Jeb Putzier along with defensive end Trevor Pryce in a salary-cap dump this winter.

“With the salary cap you have to make decisions about what you think is best for your football team. You may like one of those players but you can’t afford to pay him,” Shanahan said. “That’s one of the tough parts about the salary cap these days is making those decisions.”

Anderson signed with Baltimore, and Tatum Bell, a change-of-pace back who nearly joined Anderson in the 1,000-yard club last year, hasn’t proven he can stay healthy enough to take the pounding of being a full-time starter. So, former Heisman Trophy winner Ron Dayne is in line to start unless the Broncos land a top-notch rusher Saturday.

Dayne signed a three-year extension this offseason after rushing for 270 yards on 53 carries and playing a crucial role in two victories last season. Whether he can finally live up to his billing coming out of Wisconsin in 1999 as the NCAA’s all-time leading rusher is anybody’s guess.

“I don’t think anybody knows until a guy actually does it,” Shanahan said. “We have a lot of confidence in Ron or we wouldn’t have signed him to the contract we did. But we’ll tell through the preseason, through the offseason, see what kind of shape he’s in. And when he’s given the opportunity, we’ll see how he does.”

The Broncos, who reached the AFC title game before losing to Pittsburgh, have been the league’s most active trader, moving up from No. 29 to No. 15 last month in a three-way trade with Atlanta and the New York Jets.

Denver also had the 22nd pick, acquired from Washington last year, but the Broncos sent that one to San Francisco for second- and third-round picks last week.