Klatt: Draft QB who can play the ‘best-case scenario’ for Broncos

If it comes down to the Denver Broncos pursuing a high-priced free agent this offseason or rolling the dice with a quarterback in the draft, Joel Klatt said he’d choose the latter.

The Fox Sports football analyst told “Schlereth & Evans” on Wednesday that the “best-case scenario” for the Broncos — in terms of finding a long-term solution under center — is to draft a quarterback “who can play.”

“There are a lot of good quarterbacks who are going to be available in this draft, and I think you can succeed with a young guy,” Klatt said. “And teams are proving that to be the case.”

Klatt pointed to a slew of young gunslingers who’ve taken the reins of their respective teams, including Houston Texans rookie Deshaun Watson, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz, and 2017 No. 1-overall pick Jared Goff, of the Los Angeles Rams.

Watson and Wentz, both out for the season with ACL injuries, rank No. 1 and 2 in the NFL in terms of QBR (81.5 and 74.4, respectively) while Goff is tied for seventh in terms of quarterback rating at 98.9.

“… And the kicker is you don’t have to pay them that much money,” Klatt said. “So, the roster that you can build around a young quarterback is far superior to the roster that you could build with (Washington Redskins quarterback) Kirk Cousins.”

Per Spotrac.com, Goff is slated to make nearly $28 million over four years, with Wentz at $26.6 million over four years and Watson at $13.8 million over four years.

Collectively, the trio accounts for a cap hit of $14.87 million in 2017. For comparison, 33 players in the NFL have a high cap number by themselves, including Broncos linebacker Von Miller ($19.9 million) and Cousins ($23.9 million).

The problem, Klatt said, in the Broncos potentially gearing up for a run at Cousins — who’s set to be a free agent should Washington not franchise tag him for a third consecutive year — is Denver would have to pay him a significant amount of money.

And not only is Denver perhaps not in a position to succeed with putting Cousins on the books alongside Miller and other highly-paid non-quarterbacks, Klatt said, but he might not be able to live up to such a deal.

“When you look at Cousins, he better be more than a difference maker, more than an above the Xs and Os player … But I don’t know if Kirk is that type of a guy,” Klatt said.

The Broncos have an estimated cap space of $31.5 million, according to Spotrac.com, and luring Cousins could range up to similar figures, Klatt said, leaving little room to maneuver in terms of building around the quarterback.

Klatt pointed to New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees as an example.

Brees, coming off a shoulder injury that ended his time in San Diego, signed a five-year, $60 million deal with the Saints in 2006, per OverTheCap.com. And from that time on through 2011, New Orleans had double-digit wins in four seasons, made the playoffs four times, and won one Super Bowl.

Only once in Brees’ first six seasons in New Orleans did the Saints have a losing season (7-9, 2007). But since 2012, when he inked a five-year, $100 million deal, New Orleans has had just two winning seasons — 2017, wherein they’re first in the NFC South at 10-4, and 2013, when they went 11-5 and lost in the divisional round of the playoffs.

“Once he got the big deal, they haven’t been able to go and win the Super Bowl,” Klatt said. “So, even a guy like Brees, with one of those ‘max contracts,’ he hasn’t been able to carry the Saints to a Super Bowl.”

Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @johnnyhart7.