Anonymous AFC Exec Drops Major Hint About Broncos' QB Plans in Draft

The Denver Broncos' quarterback situation is less than inspiring.

Mar 25, 2024; Orlando, FL, USA; Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton talks to media during the NFL / Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

If the Denver Broncos had to play a football game tomorrow, Jarrett Stidham would start at quarterback with Ben DiNucci as the backup. Most sane Broncos fans feel a certain kind of puckering at the thought.

The question is, does Sean Payton feel the same way? He talked Stidham up last year when the Broncos signed the young journeyman backup, extolling his starting-caliber virtues and whatnot, but when the rubber met the road, and Payton inserted him into the starting lineup to end the season, it was the epitome of replacement-level quarterbacking.

If Payton's competitive peers around the NFL recognize the dearth of talent on Denver's QB depth chart, fans can only hope, and safely assume, the Broncos head coach does, too. After all, Payton is widely regarded as one of the sharpest, savviest offensive coaching minds in the NFL.

According to ESPN's Jordan Reid, an anonymous AFC executive doesn't buy for a second that Payton plausibly views his current quarterback room as a finished product.

"No way Sean [Payton] goes into the year with that quarterback room," said exec reportedly told Reid.

Despite the inside information provided to Reid, the ESPNer went on to almost contradict himself by then predicting that Denver will trade back — instead of taking a quarterback at No. 12 overall.

"That's how an AFC executive summed up draft expectations for the Broncos, who are expected to address QB at some point over the course of seven rounds. But will it be early or down the board? Bo Nix has been a popular match for Denver this month, and considering the Broncos are without a second-round pick but do have six Day 3 selections, I could see them trading back from No. 12 before selecting their signal-caller of the future," Reid wrote.

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So which is it? Is Denver's quarterback situation so untenable that there's "no way" Payton goes into 2024 with the room as currently constructed? Or are the Broncos willing to roll the dice on missing out on the first-round QB crop by trading back and stockpiling picks?

Although, strictly speaking, the exec is projecting that Payton at least adds one more QB to the room before the season, we can safely read between the lines on this one. It might be going out on a bit of a limb, but I'd translate the exec's remarks as there's "no way" Denver doesn't draft a quarterback in Round 1, if you'll forgive the double-negative.

Sure, there's a chance that Denver could trade back to, say, pick 19, which is currently held by the Los Angeles Rams, and a quarterback like Nix or Washington's Michael Penix Jr. is still on the board. But with a QB-desperate team like the Las Vegas Raiders sitting right behind the Broncos at No. 13, trading back would risk the possibility of Denver coming out of the first round empty-handed.

Even a squad like the Seattle Seahawks at No. 17 may not have a desperate need under center at the moment, but it could very much be in need in the not-too-distant future, which makes them a plausible threat to draft a QB. Seattle has to start facing the strong possibility that Geno Smith's Pro Bowl emergence in 2022 was a flash in the pan.

I could see the Raiders saying, "Thank you please," to the Broncos if Payton trades back, and drafting Nix, leaving Penix to fall to a team like the Seahawks at No. 17. Then Payton's chess move to trade back would blow up in his face, leaving the Broncos to pick through the best of the rest in Round 3 because nobody is drafting South Carolina's Spencer Rattler or Tennessee's Joe Milton III in the first round.

If the view of Denver's QB situation around the NFL is as bleak and myopic as Reid's reporting suggests, the draft-day predictions should be erring on the side of a trade-up the board, not a move down. There are three prime spots in front of the Broncos, including the No. 4 overall pick (Arizona Cardinals), No. 5 (Los Angeles Chargers), and No. 8 (Atlanta Falcons).

If I sensed a draft trade on the horizon for the Broncos, I'd expect a move to climb up the board. But I wouldn't bet much on it — maybe a steak dinner at most — because a.) I'm not a betting man, and b.) I expect the Broncos to stand pat at No. 12 overall and take the best QB on the board.

We'll find out how it's all going to shake out soon. The 2024 NFL draft kicks off on Thursday, April 25.

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