4 Reasons Broncos Should Draft a QB

The Denver Broncos organization and the fanbase believe they've found their elusive franchise quarterback in Bo Nix. He had an outstanding rookie season, which saw him set records and lead the Broncos back to the playoffs.

However, the Broncos should still be looking at drafting a quarterback. Not a top 100 pick, or even a top 150 pick, and a drafted quarterback would not be brought in with the intent of unseating Nix as the starter.

The Broncos should consider a quarterback to develop and eventually compete for or take over the backup job — or as trade bait to try and get a positive return on investment. If that quarterback ends up better than Nix, which is doubtful, the Broncos can go from there.

Supply & Demand

Quarterback is the most important position, not only in football, but in all sports. They're hard to find, and teams can get desperate for a quarterback. That desperation can lead to bad contracts, bad trades, or, in the case of the Cleveland Browns, both.

When you draft a quarterback, and one that can work under Sean Payton to develop, you are buying a lottery ticket. The odds are that that lottery ticket isn't worth much, especially with later-round picks, which is where the Broncos should be looking to draft a quarterback this year. But it's a risk worth taking when discussing a selection in the draft's final 100-150 picks.

An example is Zach Wilson, who signed a one-year, $6 million deal with the Miami Dolphins after being traded to Denver for a proverbial ham sandwich last year. One year with Payton got Wilson a backup quarterback job for solid money, despite not playing the previous season. Other teams value quarterbacks who have worked under Payton.

Now, Wilson had a higher pedigree than a day-three selection in the 2025 draft would, as he was an early first-round pick (No. 2 overall). Even so, that could be overcome with a couple of years under Payton and getting the drafted quarterback to show success during preseason action. That contract would net the Broncos a sixth-round compensatory pick if it weren’t cancelled out.

This gets complex, so bear with me. The Broncos sent a sixth-round (205th) pick to the New York Jets for Wilson and a seventh-rounder (256th) in last year's draft. Using Over The Cap's draft pick value chart, the Broncos sent a value of 302 to the Jets with their pick and got a value of 190 in the seventh round pick, meaning Wilson had a value of 102 points.

When you factor in the cancelled out compensatory pick, the Broncos got a positive return on investment from Wilson, despite him never seeing the field during the regular season. That would be the goal with a day-three pick — if he didn’t take over as the backup quarterback, as well as being able to flip him in a trade, or having him sign elsewhere for a positive return, and building resources from there.

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Future Backup Needs

Ag, the other aspect of drafting a signal-caller this year is looking for a long-term backup quarterback. Jarrett Stidham has that role now, but he signed back with Denver on a two-year deal.

That means Stidham's contract is up after the 2026 season. If the Broncos draft and start developing a quarterback into a backup, they can get cheaper with the rookie contract while allowing Stidham to walk in free agency. That could also help the Broncos with draft picks by landing a compensatory selection when Stidham leaves.

Trade Market

The other aspect of this is that, even on a two-year deal, if the drafted quarterback were to make strides this year, the Broncos could try to flip Stidham in a trade to add more immediate help. Player-for-player trades aren’t typical, but that could be a way to get that value or add more draft picks.

Whatever the case, drafting a quarterback to develop and compete for the backup spot gives the Broncos more options in the future with their quarterback room.

The Upside Possibilities

Then you come to the final reason to draft a quarterback, though it's the least plausible. The what-if.

What if this late-round quarterback explodes onto the scene and becomes a great NFL quarterback? What if that quarterback ended up better than Bo Nix? What if Nix and Stidham get hurt? You want that extra insurance policy.

Nix did make it through his rookie season, but not without taking damage, as was revealed after the season when he pulled out of the Pro Bowl.

While it's far from a common occurrence, and it's unwise to bet on finding a late-round franchise quarterback, you can see them hit occasionally in the NFL. One of the best to ever do it was Tom Brady, a sixth-round selection. Tony Romo was a high-quality starting quarterback as an undrafted free agent. Brock Purdy is looking at a big-time contract after being the last pick in the draft.

Again, it's not something to bet on, but it should be viewed as a lottery ticket to be picked up every year. Yes, NFL teams should draft a quarterback every year; the only question is when.

It's the most valuable position in sports, and you have to consistently take swings to keep giving your team a chance to hit big or to capitalize on another team's desperation for a quarterback and gain capital that way.

The Takeaway

So, even though the Broncos don’t need a quarterback, they should still draft one, and add a fourth as an undrafted free agent or post-draft veteran signing. You want competition at the position.

You want lottery tickets. You want to increase the number of insurance policies to protect yourself in case of injury.

The Broncos currently have three sixth-round picks. They can either trade back with one of them and take a quarterback later or use one of them to invest in one. It isn’t a great quarterback class, but there are some who fit Payton's mold and are developmental options.

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