Aside from a very impressive free-agency haul, one thing Denver Broncos GM George Paton has done quite well this offseason is obfuscating what his view of Drew Lock is and what his intentions are at the quarterback position.
If nothing else, the Broncos’ lack of maneuvers at QB during the first and second waves of free agency infer that Paton is at the very least comfortable with Lock as the 2021 starter, if push comes to shove. But there’s still plenty of row left to hoe before Paton would be indeed shoved into such a decision.
The trade market is open for business around the league and the NFL draft rapidly approaches at the end of April. Denver currently sits with the No. 9 overall pick but after seeing San Francisco maneuver into the top-5, the odds of any top QB not-named Mac Jones being there for Paton have dimmed significantly.
However, Paton wouldn’t necessarily need to trade up into the top-5 in order to land a top-3 QB, per se. The New York Jets are roundly projected to draft BYU QB Zach Wilson with the No. 2 overall pick next month, which leaves Sam Darnold twisting in the breeze.
Darnold was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2018 draft and was coveted that year by then-Broncos GM John Elway. It wasn’t to be, however, as the Jets drafted Darnold, which pushed Bradley Chubb farther down the board and into Denver’s lap at pick No. 5.
It’s possible that Elway, still the Broncos’ president of football operations, could have his cake and eat it too, with regard to Darnold. NFL Network’s draft guru Daniel Jeremiah — a former league scout with deep roots and ubiquitous front-office contacts — can foresee a move by Paton to transplant Darnold to the Mile High City.
Jeremiah recently joined KOARadio’s Big Al and JoJo show and hinted that a trade for Darnold could still be on the horizon.
“I start looking at the options that they’re faced with and I’m thinking, ‘Man, if it’s cheaper to get Sam Darnold and then you still maintain your pick there at No. 9, that might be the best way to proceed.’”
Jeremiah also addressed why the Broncos have yet to fully telegraph a commitment to Lock this far into the new league year.
“The fact that a full commitment hasn’t happened is due to the fact they have more information inside the building than we do,” Jeremiah told KOA.
My sneaking suspicion is that if Paton really wanted Darnold, or was hell-bent on not rolling with Lock as the starter in 2021, the GM would already have secured a move to hedge in that direction. Paton has aggressively pursued the deals that have attracted him, and to great effect.
Darnold-to-Denver, considering that the Jets are expected to take Wilson at No. 2, would have been a done deal by now if Paton really wanted the former USC star QB. It’s possible New York’s asking price at this point has been too rich for Paton’s blood but if all it took was a second-round pick, maybe two of them, to secure a QB the GM would ostensibly view as a burgeoning franchise guy, I wouldn’t see that as an impediment to closing the deal.
“I think Darnold’s kind of the last domino to fall,” Jeremiah told KOA. “We were waiting on the [Deshaun] Watson thing and it looks like with everything going on there right now that that’s not going to happen, so I think the only domino left to fall would be Darnold. You poke around and it seems like Denver and Carolina would be two teams kind of in that conversation.”
Darnold was always an intriguing player. But he was tragically wasted in New York under ex-head coach Adam Gase.
The big concern on Darnold is that he’s damaged goods now. That the ghosts he sees in the pocket may have morphed into full-on demons that no NFL team can exorcise.
I don’t see a Darnold-to-Denver deal happening but I’ve been wrong before. In fact, Paton trading up, perhaps consummating a deal with the Atlanta Falcons at pick No. 4, as unlikely as that would be in my estimation, would still be a more plausible maneuver than giving up a pair of premium-round draft picks on QB who might be beyond saving.
If you’re of a mind to see Denver do just that, and trade up to land a QB, Jeremiah provided some parting fodder.
“I can’t see the Broncos trading up for anyone besides Justin Fields or Trey Lance,” Jeremiah said.
NBC Sports’ Peter King, one of the most connected journos in the NFL business, speculated that Darnold could land in Denver. Don’t rule it out. But at the same time, don’t hold your breath.
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