The Denver Broncos gave up a lot in order to acquire Russell Wilson back in 2022 via a trade with the Seattle Seahawks. It is safe to say that Wilson's marriage with Denver was a forgettable chapter in both sides' histories.
In the two seasons that Denver had Wilson under center, the Broncos managed to win just 13 games against 21 losses and never made it to the playoffs. From Wilson's standpoint, his disastrous stint in the Mile High City did not help his football legacy.
Ultimately, Wilson and the Broncos were only able to make their partnership for only two seasons as they parted ways in the 2024 NFL free agency.
Sean Payton speaks up about Russell Wilson's departure
When Payton arrived in Denver early in 2023, many believed that he would be the one to optimize the Broncos' offense, which was a flaming mess in the 2022 campaign under head coach Nathaniel Hackett.
Although the Broncos went from being last in the league in scoring in 2022 to 19th in 2023 with Payton at the helm, the overall play of Denver's attack still was way off what the franchise envisioned when they sent a bunch of assets to Seattle to get Wilson before signing him to a massive contract extension.
Wilson simply was not the answer at the quarterback position the Broncos were looking for.
“We felt it was in the best interest of our team,” Payton recently said about the team's divorce with Wilson (h/t Zac Stevens of DNVR Broncos).
Sean Payton drops hint on Broncos' 2024 NFL Draft plans
After going 8-9 in the 2023 season, the Broncos secured the 12th spot on the 2023 NFL Draft order — just behind the No. 11 Minnesota Vikings and just before the No. 13 and AFC West division rival Las Vegas Raiders.
Given the current shape of their quarterback room after parting ways with Wilson, it makes sense for the Broncos to use that pick on a signal-caller who could eventually become the franchise's QB1.
Considering where they will be picking, the Broncos are unlikely to get any of the consensus top-three QB prospects in Caleb Williams of the USC Trojans, Drake Maye of the North Carolina Tar Heels, and Jayden Daniels of the LSU Tigers.
However, they seem to have a greater shot at landing one of the likes of JJ McCarthy of the Michigan Wolverines, Bo Nix of the Oregon Ducks, and Michael Penix Jr. of the Washington Huskies.
Or as Payton seemingly is open to, the Broncos could try to move up the draft order in order to get closer to a potential target (via Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network).
Here at the AFC Coaches Breakfast, I asked #Broncos coach Sean Payton how realistic it was for him to be a potential trade-up team? “Realistic.”
He said they’ll look at it, and noted, “It’s good to be Monti (Ossenfort) right now.” Hard to know what it will cost eventually…
At the moment, the Broncos only have Jarrett Stidham and Ben DiNucci in Denver's quarterback room. Neither player sounds promising for Denver, but Stidham, at least was mentioned by Payton to have a shot at becoming the team's 2024 starter (viaStevens).
“Jarrett Stidham is ‘definitely competing' to be the starting quarterback of the Broncos, per Sean Payton. Payton believes there will be other options too.”
Denver keeping a close eye on JJ McCarthy?
Speaking of McCarthy, the Michigan product “had a private meeting” that lasted around five hours with the Broncos recently, according to Payton. McCarthy's stock has risen a lot of late, leading to some viewing him as a potential draft steal. In any case, the Broncos will have to find better options than Stidham if they are to take a step forward in 2024.
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