In an unexpected move, Clarett was drafted on the first day of the 2005 NFL Draft with the final pick of the 3rd round (#101 overall) by the Denver Broncos. Many experts felt that he would fall to the 6th or 7th round, if he was drafted at all; the Pittsburgh Steelers, a team that was in possible need of a running back due to the uncertain future of Jerome Bettis, publicly said that they wouldn't draft Clarett. (Bettis ended up returning for what would be his final NFL season.) However, Clarett turned out to be unimpressive in the Denver Broncos' preseason training camp. In part due to having not played a game in two years or practiced in over a year, he entered training camp weighing 248 pounds, more than 20 pounds overweight. He was also slow to recover from an injury.