Speaking at the NFL owners meetings this week, Broncos HC Sean Payton said it was “realistic” for Denver to be considered a candidate to trade up for a quarterback, per Ian Rapoport.
Payton later quipped, “It’s good to be Monti right now,” referencing Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort who holds the No. 4 pick and might be able to auction it off for a haul of draft picks.
The expectation, for now, is that the Bears, Commanders and Patriots will sit tight and take their pick of the top three quarterback prospects — USC QB Caleb Williams, North Carolina QB Drake Maye and LSU QB Jayden Daniels — though Washington and New England have signaled a willingness to listen to trade offers in recent days.
But Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy is also generating a lot of intrigue in NFL circles, and there’s a ton of speculation that a quarterback-needy team further down the board could trade into the top five.
The Vikings have already traded for an additional first-round pick seemingly to give them more ammunition for a move up the board. Denver’s No. 12 pick is sandwiched in a cluster of quarterback-needy teams between Minnesota and the Raiders.
The cost to move into the top five would be extreme, and the Broncos have given up a lot of picks in recent years in trades for QB Russell Wilson and Payton himself.
But Payton is aggressive, and if a trade up the board would secure him a franchise quarterback, it can’t be ruled out.
We’ll have more on the Broncos and the 2024 NFL Draft as the news is available.
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