The Cost for Broncos to Acquire No. 1 Pick? Here's the 'Predicted Return'
By some accounts, the Denver Broncos want one of the Big Three quarterback prospects headlining the 2024 NFL draft class. Bad. Really bad.
And while it's uncertain which of the three (USC's Caleb Williams, North Carolina's Drake Maye, LSU's Jayden Daniels) the Broncos prefer under center, the only way to ensure they land the apple of their eye is owning the No. 1 overall pick, which belongs to the Chicago Bears.
The Bears purportedly aren't itching to move down — and it'd be a steep drop, 11 spots to Denver's current slot — but every team has its price. In this instance, an almost incomprehensible price.
Bleacher Report's Brad Gagnon took a stab at the "predicted return" for Chicago, via the Broncos, in a potential draft-day blockbuster for QB1:
The Broncos don't have a second-rounder this year, but they could probably get away with sending the Bears the rest of their Day 1 and Day 2 picks in this and next year's draft. That would be a hefty price to pay with Russell Wilson still on their roster (for now), but wilder things have happened in this league.
Predicted return: 2024 No. 12 pick, 2025 first-round pick, 2024 third-round pick, 2025 second-round pick, 2025 third-round pick
Gagnon's projection comes on the heels of a report by longtime draft insider Tony Pauline, who passed along word the Broncos are "interested in moving up for their quarterback of the future" and would even consider dealing star cornerback Patrick Surtain II "as a last resort" to acquire their desired signal-caller.
This itself echoed a recent dispatch from DenverSports.com's Cecil Lammey, who claimed that Denver head coach Sean Payton is plotting a "big move up" the board.
"Don't ask about compensation. Some think it won't matter b/c SP won't wait on QB. He wants his guy NOW," Lammey reported Monday from the Senior Bowl.
As Pauline cautioned, such a bombshell maneuver is "very unlikely" to materialize given the Broncos' glut of roster needs and dearth of picks to fill those needs, due largely to consecutive offseason trades for Payton and Russell Wilson.
But there's a non-zero chance it does. Never say never.
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