Every Wednesday this season, the research staff at “Playbook” will be taking your questions through email (playbook@nfl.com) and on Twitter (@NFLN_Playbook, with #askplaybook hashtag), and answering them in this blog. Here is the first batch of questions we’ve selected.

In the wake of the season-ending injury to Elvis Dumervil, Robert Ayers is getting some early attention for the Broncos.

With the likelihood that OLB Elvis Dumervil is lost for the season with a torn pectoral muscle, the Broncos are forced to quickly find a replacement, and a source of a pass rush, in their 3-4 defense. Easier said than done.

Brad Childress basically confirmed that Tarvaris Jackson is the top option for the Vikings in the event (however unlikely it appears) that Brett Favre doesn’t return.

Checking in from a recent visit to Broncos training camp, where rookie RB Knowshon Moreno already was a crowd favorite, new defensive coordinator Mike Nolan has his hands full and coach Josh McDaniels has taken the idea of canned crowd music to the next level.

The Denver Broncos have reached a five-year agreement with first-round pick Robert Ayers, a league source told NFL Network’s Jason La Canfora.

The real pressure point of the first round is coming in the second quarter, with picks 8 through 12 all unsigned to this point. That span includes the player who has been absent from his camp the longest thus far — defensive end Aaron Maybin has missed the Bills’ first week of practice. It also includes a wide receiver who many believed would go in the top five (Michael Crabtree of the 49ers) and the first running back selected in the draft (Knowshon Moreno of the Broncos).

Both of the Broncos’ first-round draft picks — RB Knowshon Moreno and DE Robert Ayers — were no-shows for the start of training camp Friday as they work to negotiate contracts.

Moreno and Ayers, the 12th and 18th overall pick in the NFL Draft, respectively, are the first Broncos rookie holdouts since RB Tatum Bell in 2004.

Broncos WR Brandon Marshall attended the team’s first workout, but first-round draft picks Knowshon Moreno and Robert Ayers were no-shows.

DE Robert Ayers has flown up draft boards since the Senior Bowl. He used a strong performance at that college all-star game to make himself potentially a top-15 pick.