The Denver Broncos have an interesting history of drafting quarterbacks. The story as of late, though, is the Broncos' difficulty finding a true franchise signal-caller in the draft.
The team has drafted three quarterbacks since the 2016 retirement of Peyton Manning, none of whom ended up panning out Paxton Lynch, Drew Lock and Chad Kelly found themselves out of Denver rather quickly after they were unable to establish themselves as the Broncos' quarterback of the future.
After many attempts and failures with free-agent quarterback signings, the Broncos find themselves back in the quarterback market. With the 12th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, most experts predict Denver will select a quarterback. Many scenarios could play out for the Broncos on draft, whether that be staying put, trading up or trading back. Broncos general manager George Paton has yet to give any clue as to what the Broncos' plans are.
Paton and head coach Sean Payton have expressed interest in adding to the Broncos quarterback room in the draft. One thing they want to emphasize, though, is making the right choice.
“What you don't want to do is force it, otherwise we'll be in this position next year and the years after,” Paton said. “You want to get the right player at 12. Our first pick, we've got to hit on, whether it's a quarterback, tackle, receiver, you name it. We need to get an impact player.”
George Paton discusses possibility of Broncos drafting a quarterback
If the Broncos are in love with a certain quarterback, they may need to trade up to ensure they get him. While 12 is a relatively high pick, there is a decent chance that three to four of the quarterback prospects are already drafted by the time Denver is on the clock.
“I do think it is a good quarterback class,” Paton said. “There's seven, eight quarterbacks that we like that [we] think can play in the league one day. I'm not going to get into how we have them rated or [how many] in the top 10 … but it is a good quarterback class. It's been fun getting to know them, seven or eight of them. We think we can get a quarterback early, we think [it's possible in the] mid-rounds — we think there's going to be quarterbacks throughout the draft that are interesting to us.”
Again, Paton and the Broncos haven't revealed their cards. They have said that a trade up isn't out of the question, though. Denver received calls from other teams looking to move up, but it's unknown if the Broncos have made calls about themselves moving up. But according to Paton, the Broncos would be willing to make the move up, especially if they think a player can change the Broncos' future for the better.
“If it's a player you think can change the landscape of your organization moving forward, like a quarterback, then you do whatever you [can] to get him,” Paton said. “If there's a 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.”
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