The Broncos gave up multiple first-round picks to get quarterback Russell Wilson. It didn’t work out.
Would they give up multiple first-round quarterbacks to get their next quarterback?
G.M. George Paton was asked on Thursday how hard it would be to package a future first-round draft pick with this year’s first-round pick, given that they didn’t have a first-round pick in 2022 or 2023.
“I would just say if it’s a player that you think can change the landscape of your organization moving forward, like quarterback, then you do whatever it takes to get him,” Paton told reporters. “If there’s consensus in the building, a love in the building, you’re aggressive and you try to get him. It doesn’t mean you’re going to get him, but you try. So we’re open to everything. We’re wide open.”
If there’s consensus in the building, a love in the building, you’re aggressive and you try to get him.
So if there’s a guy the Broncos love (more specifically, if there’s a guy head coach Sean Payton loves), look for them to try to move up. Especially since Payton came within one spot of getting Patrick Mahomes in 2017.
It was happening. Mahomes was slipping to No. 11. Drew Brees was in the draft room. The Saints had to tell Brees he might witness the selection of his successor.
And then the Chiefs traded up from No. 27 to No. 10 and got Mahomes.
With the Vikings currently one spot in front of the Broncos, would Payton risk losing a guy he loves, again? Or would he move up to get him?
Payton needs a quarterback, badly. He needs someone who can run his offense the way he wants it to be run.
So who is that guy? And who would he potentially “love” enough to move up, even if it means investing next year’s first-round pick?
Our guess, and it’s just a guess, is that the Broncos would do it for J.J. McCarthy. Whether that guess is right, and whether they can move up to get McCarthy, remains to be seen.