How Elway's Draft & Salary Cap Decisions Have Created a Window of Contention with a Cost-Controlled QB

With Drew Lock on a rookie contract, the Broncos have been able to invest dollars and draft picks into building the nest around him. Here's why John Elway's blueprint could pay dividends.

Over the last decade, the NFL has undergone a massive paradigm shift when it comes to roster construction. Outside of the New England Patriots and New Orleans Saints and their respective legendary quarterback/head coach duos, teams have often found the fastest recipe to building long-term success — as well as creating an immediate Super Bowl window — has been to draft a young, talented quarterback of the future and surround him with as much talent as possible while utilizing the rookie wage scale to maximize the salary cap.

This model has been duplicated and replicated as many as six times since 2012, going back to Joe Flacco and his historical postseason run with the Baltimore Ravens. The Seattle Seahawks (2013-14), the Philadelphia Eagles (2017), Los Angeles Rams (2018) and Kansas City Chiefs (2019) all made it to the Super Bowl based on this model, three of which resulted in World Championships. 

The 2020 Denver Broncos are no different in this aspect, as GM John Elway has meandered his way through a multi-year rebuilding process to follow the same model. Other teams from the past have utilized the extra cap space created by having a franchise QB on a rookie contract to bring in key veterans to help their young signal-caller grow as quickly and efficiently as possible. 

Some teams focused on fortifying the defense, taking as much pressure as possible off of the offense. However, Elway has managed to do complete all three key phases of this rebuild while also managing to lengthen the potential of a long-term Super Bowl window by drafting a talented QBOTF in Drew Lock (on a rookie deal), fortifying the weapons surrounding him to expedite growth and flatten the learning curve, and acquiring several key defensive pieces to lessen the need for the QB to succeed early. 

And Elway has done this while also being quite shrewd with his pocketbook. Even with Elway dishing out a massive deal toe ex-Chargers RB Melvin Gordon, the Broncos are only paying a combined $10.4 million against the cap for their QB1, RB1, and WR1 in 2020, the second-lowest mark in the league per Spotrac.

Current QB1+RB1+WR1 2020 Cap $

1. #Cowboys, $54.3M
2. #Seahawks, $45.4M
3. #Falcons, $44.8M
4. #Buccaneers, $44.8M
5. #Colts, $40.9M
...
30. #Jaguars, $10.5M
31. #Broncos, $10.4M
32. #Redskins, $7.4M

— Spotrac (@spotrac) June 22, 2020

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Striking While the Iron's Hot

What's even better for the Broncos' plan to follow this model is that they also have another pair of talented pass catchers on rookie deals in back-to-back first-rounders Noah Fant and Jerry Jeudy, as well as a diamond-in-the-rough RB in Phillip Lindsay playing on a cheap college free-agent rookie deal.

Including Lindsay, the Broncos' top-5 offensive weapons combine for just over $15M against the salary cap in 2020. Four out of those five weapons are all under contract through 2021 and the team has the option to place a restricted free-agent tender on the fifth. 

Meaning, Denver's offensive core could stay together for the next two full seasons, potentially even longer, without financial constraints 'breaking up the band.' For context, Atlanta Falcons' WR Julio Jones is scheduled to have a massive cap hit of $20.4 million by himself this season.

Talk about getting the most bang for your buck, Mr. Elway.

Youth is also on the Broncos' and Lock's side in this. Gordon is the elder statesman of Denver's young offensive nucleus of talented weapons, and despite being on his second contract, he's only 27 years old, right in the height of his prime. Meanwhile, Lindsay, Sutton, Jeudy, and Fant are all 25 years old or younger while KJ Hamler, Denver's 2020 second-rounder, is only 20.

By using the previous examples of team building as a baseline, Elway has massaged the salary cap so well that he was easily able to swing deals to acquire CB A.J. Bouye and DL Jurrell Casey, two major components to Vic Fangio's defense that have no guaranteed money left on their deals while bringing six combined Pro Bowl selections to the Broncos' roster. 

Elway did so without having to think twice about salary cap space because even if those players don't pan out in the coming season, Denver can move on with no dead money against its salary cap space.

The Broncos also did their part to help protect Lock up front, signing OL Graham Glasgow to a big-money deal in free agency as well as drafting LSU center Lloyd Cushenberry in the third round of the draft.

The Takeaway

The blueprint Elway has used to build the Broncos' roster may be the preferred method for the NFL now and in the future. Lock appears to possess the goods as a second-round selection, which helps tremendously and presents an even lower cap hit than some of the other teams using this model with a first-rounder, but what might be even more substantial here is the fact that Elway managed to utilize talented, high-round pass-catching weapons to surround his young QB rather than aging veterans on big-money deals (for the most part).

Using the rookie wage scale to its fullest advantage and finding supremely talented, high upside players that can grow with your quarterback can have some massive advantages for the future. Even if the Broncos do part ways with both Gordon and Lindsay following the 2021 season, the team will have four impact receiving weapons on the offense until at least 2023, if the team extends Sutton (which is a virtual guarantee).

By that time, the Broncos should have a very clear picture of what they have in Lock. Lock's contract comes to a close following the 2022 season and with that kind of continuity at the receiver position, he will have proven whether he can be an elite-level QB or not.

This also allows for Elway to continue to fortify the Broncos' defense without having to worry about any major salary cap implications from high-value positions for the foreseeable future, further extending the duration of a potential Super Bowl window.

It all remains to be seen how these newer pass-catchers adapt to the NFL game and Broncos' fans may not see the immediate benefits of this kind of roster construction until the 2021 season, especially considering that Lock's develop is still in-process and in that sense, up in the air. Lock's five-game sample size is too small to be 100% sure for right now, although the Broncos' brass has telegraphed their opinion on the subject by investing big dollars and premium round draft picks around the young QB.

Still, the future is very bright for the Broncos' young offense and fans have every right to be excited for its potential, even for years to come. 

Follow Lance on Twitter @SandersonMHH and @MileHighHuddle.