Not finding the right QB will set the Broncos back at least two years
Jul 16, 2019, 6:49 AM
If a team drafts the quarterback that they are planning on being the future of their franchise, why don’t they start him from day one? You can’t say that these young quarterbacks are going to learn from the veteran in front of them because it doesn’t happen.
Joe Flacco came out and said it’s not his job to mentor Drew Lock. Peyton Manning never wanted to mentor Brock Osweiler. And even Brett Favre said he didn’t mentor Aaron Rodgers.
The best way for a young quarterback to learn is to get out on the field and play. The Broncos must do something that they’ve never done before and that’s draft and develop a quarterback. Until that happens, no Lombardi Trophies will be coming back to the Mile High City.
A team that is drafting a quarterback to be the face of an NFL organization for years to come is more than likely a team that is picking high in the NFL Draft. Now, that does not mean a team has to draft a quarterback in the first round to be successful. A first-round quarterback has won 27 Super Bowls and a quarterback drafted in rounds 2-7 has won the remaining 26. It doesn’t matter where the quarterback is drafted, just start him.
Of the 32 quarterbacks who have won a Super Bowl, 20 of them have started multiple games in their rookie season; 18 of those quarterbacks started at least five games in their rookie season. The best way for quarterbacks to learn and improve isn’t in the film room and on the practice field, but in real live games.
We have never seen a quarterback lead his team to a Super Bowl victory in their rookie season, but we have seen it done in their sophomore years. Only six quarterbacks have gotten their team to the Super Bowl in their second season, with only four of them winning it all.
With that being said, if a franchise misses on a quarterback, it sets them back at least two seasons from getting back to the Super Bowl.
When you look at the Denver Broncos in 2016, after John Elway drafted Paxton Lynch in the first round, they should have started the young quarterback out of Memphis instead of hoping that Trevor Siemian could manage the offense and ride the legendary defense back into the playoffs. Was Paxton the answer? No, but the Broncos would have realized they needed a quarterback no matter what in the 2018 NFL Draft.
In a perfect world, the Broncos should have started Lynch in his first two seasons and drafted Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold or even Josh Rosen with their top-five pick. If Denver had selected a quarterback in the 2018 NFL Draft, they would be going into this season with a win-or-bust situation at the quarterback position and if they’re not sold on their gunslinger they could easily target on of the top three quarterbacks in the 2020 NFL Draft in Jake Fromm, Tua Tagovailoa or even Justin Herbert.
John Elway has also made another questionable decision because after the 2018 season he traded for Joe Flacco and then drafted Drew Lock in the second round of this year’s NFL Draft. The Broncos have put themselves in a unique situation because the organization has a three-year window to win a Super Bowl.
The Broncos GM has three years left on his current contract and will more than likely walk away after that contract is up. What should Elway have done?
He needed to pick one quarterback and roll with him. If Elway thinks that Flacco is the quarterback that can get this team back to the Promised Land, then he shouldn’t have drafted Lock and drafted a player that can make an immediate impact this year, just like Dalton Risner will do. If Elway thought that Lock was the future of the franchise, then he should have never traded for Flacco and kept his fourth-round draft pick.
If Lock starts right away this season and he’s not the answer, guess what? The Broncos could try and make a move for Trevor Lawrence in 2021. Plain and simple, draft and develop a quarterback and deal with the growing pains.
