Broncos GM Will do 'Whatever it Takes' in Draft for a Landscape-Changing QB

Which 2024 quarterback prospect could "change the landscape" for the Denver Broncos?

USC's Caleb Williams, UNC's Drake Maye, LSU's Jayden Daniels, Oregon's Bo Nix & Michigan's J.J. McCarthy. / USA TODAY Sports

The Denver Broncos may find themselves just outside the top 10 of the NFL draft, but they're still within reasonable striking distance of the top quarterbacks in the class. The Broncos haven't made a first-round selection since taking Alabama cornerback Patrick Surtain II in 2021 due to the resources relinquished in the Russell Wilson and Sean Payton trades in back-to-back years.

Having been rendered first-round spectators in each of the past two seasons, you'd have to think that it would take a very, very special player at a very, very important position to coax the Broncos into trading away more first-round capital. The mythical franchise quarterback — or at least a prospect whom Payton and GM George Paton felt confident could become one in Denver.

If the Broncos wanted to move up to, say, No. 4 overall in a swap with the Arizona Cardinals, Payton and Paton would have to be ready and willing to part with their 2024, 2025, and even 2026 first-rounders, potentially. Obviously, that would qualify as 'mortgaging the future,' and anytime one mortgages something, there is inherent risk involved.

But according to Paton, if the Broncos identify a prospect who could become that tide that raises the franchise's ships, the shot-callers at Dove Valley will be willing to do "whatever it takes to get him."

“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 said on Thursday during Denver's pre-draft press conference. "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.”

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Such a maneuver could cost Denver as many as three first-rounders — moving up from No. 12 to No. 4. The operative word being could. Draft insiders like Tony Pauline say Denver is open to floating cornerback Patrick Surtain II as a deal-sweetener, on top of, in all likelihood, at least two first-rounders — if that's what it takes to get The Guy™.

If the Broncos orchestrated such a trade to draft a quarterback and it didn't pan out, it could cripple the franchise and set it back another half-decade. The consequences for Payton and Paton would be dire. There's the risk.

But in the NFL, the realities of the 'no risk-it, no biscuit' philosophy sometimes converge on a team, and the Broncos could be in exactly that situation as the franchise begins its rebuild. If Denver identifies a landscape-changing QB in this year's draft class, Payton and Paton will have to be ready to ante up and put all of their biscuits on the table.

Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort let it be known a few weeks back that he's open for business at No. 4 overall. However, the Broncos would have to out-bid the Minnesota Vikings in a potential trade-up.

Minnesota might have more premium-round draft capital in its draft war chest, but Denver can offer the Cardinals something completely unique: a young, proven shutdown cornerback. Arizona would certainly love to parlay the No. 4 overall pick into a grip of additional first-rounders over the next few years, and one of those picks would likely be on a cornerback — a talented but unproven player.

The Broncos have a two-time Pro Bowler and recent first-team All-Pro entering just his fourth year. The Vikings can offer no such asset to the Cardinals. That could be the difference-maker in a potential Broncos-Cardinals trade for the No. 4 overall pick.

If the rumor mill is correct, Denver would use that pick on Michigan's J.J. McCarthy. Payton has been keeping the public door open to a trade-up, dating all the way back to the NFL owners' meetings in Orlando, FL.

“I think it’s realistic," Payton said in March on the subject of a potential trade-up. "What’s hard to predict, though, is what’s on the receiving end? I think it’s good to be Monti today at Arizona. It’s hard to predict what that cost is, and yet I certainly wouldn’t say it’s unrealistic. We’ll pay close attention to it.”

As NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah said recently during his annual pre-draft conference call with media across the country, "everything is on the table" when it comes to the possibility of the Broncos throwing all caution to the wind and trading up in the draft to land the right quarterback.

The NFL draft kicks off on Thursday, April 25. All will be known in due time.

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