Commanders Draft Trade Rumors: Broncos Targeting QB to Replace Russell Wilson?

Would a trade between the Commanders and Broncos for the No. 2 overall NFL Draft pick make sense?

The Washington Commanders No. 2 overall pick in the NFL Draft is rumored to have a lot of interest from other teams at the possibility of making a trade. 

Although in a rebuild itself, could the Commanders franchise be persuaded to trade the No. 2 pick to a team like the Denver Broncos? Let's explore what it might take.

Should the Washington COmmanders trade the No. 2 overall pick to the Denver Broncos? / USA Today Sports

Denver just cut veteran quarterback Russell Wilson after trading a boatload of draft capital (including three first and second-round picks) and players to acquire the Seattle Seahawks' star signal caller. However, Wilson was seemingly never what head coach Sean Payton wanted after taking over (Payton himself was acquired for a first and second-round draft pick) a year after Wilson was acquired. 

After signing Payton to an $18 million annual contract for five years, year one went ugly, with the team seeming to turn on itself as Payton scrutinized Wilson's play publicly. Now, Denver is drafting with the No. 12 pick and needs a guy its head coach believes in to help take the team back to the playoffs and move on from the short-lived Wilson era, which will still haunt its salary cap. 

If Payton were to target the Commanders' No. 2 pick, it wouldn't be cheap. Last year, it cost the Houston Texans a trade package comprised of the No. 12 overall pick, a second-round pick (No. 33), and an additional first and third-round pick to move up nine sports for the Arizona Cardinals No. 3 pick and a third-rounder.

Washington would likely require more for less because the team needs a quarterback itself, and the Broncos would be moving up 10 spots to target a player like LSU's Jayden Daniels or UNC's Drake Maye. 

Hypothetically, just acquiring the Commmanders' No. 3 overall pick could cost Denver its No. 12 pick, third-rounder (No. 76), fifth-rounder (No. 144 from New York Jets), 2025 first-round pick, and second-rounder. 

So, the answer to whether these two teams are a potential match for a trade is... probably not. The Broncos are still climbing out of a draft pick deficit from landing Payton and Wilson, which hasn't gone well. 

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It's hard to imagine the team being willing to mortgage its future again when the roster doesn't seem ready to compete, regardless of who starts at quarterback after moving some of its best veterans, like Bradley Chubb, last year. 

Rather than expect Washington to move back with Denver, fans should look at some other teams as potential trade partners or embrace one of the quarterbacks mentioned earlier as its franchise's potential face of the future.