Scenarios for the Broncos on night one of the NFL Draft

Despite all the hoopla Wednesday surrounding the Denver Broncos trade to acquire Teddy Bridgewater from the Carolina Panthers, not much had changed for the orange and blue in terms of options at No. 9 in the NFL Draft. In fact, there are likely even more options for Denver.

Speaking to “The Drive” on the eve of the draft, ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter said the Broncos trading for Bridgewater wouldn’t influence the team’s strategy Thursday night.

“I’m told that it will not impact what they decide to do at No. 9 tomorrow night,” Schefter said Wednesday. “… This trade will not impact that.”

So, what exactly could happen on draft night? Let’s look:

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The Broncos trade up

While the idea of the Broncos trading up from No. 9 has been floated in the weeks leading up to the NFL Draft, it would probably “catch people by surprise a little bit,” Schefter said.

If Denver were to trade up, it would be for one of the remaining top-tier quarterbacks on the board — Mac Jones, Trey Lance or Justin Fields.

However, Schefter said he’s not sure if the Broncos regard any of the trio highly enough to make a move up to grab him.

“Any of those other three quarterbacks — Mac Jones, Trey Lance and Justin Fields — I don’t know that they value them enough to go trade up to get one of them,” Schefter said.

However, with the fluid nature of the NFL Draft, Schefter said anything could happen.

“That’s the great part about Thursday night is you get to put your cards on the table and see what people really think and how desperate and anxious they really are,” Schefter said.

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The Broncos trade back

Last week, Denver general manager George Paton said the offseason acquisitions of cornerbacks Ronald Darby and Kyle Fuller allowed the Broncos flexibility at nine because they don’t have to “reach” at the position.

And with Wednesday’s trade for Bridgewater, the Broncos don’t have to force it at quarterback either.

Therefore, should Paton and company decide to pass on all the options at No. 9, Denver could trade back to accumulate draft capital — a philosophy the new GM practiced during his tenure as a Minnesota Vikings executive.

“It was a philosophy. We wanted to — I don’t want to tell their philosophy — but we just wanted to acquire as many picks as we could,” Paton said. “If a player is there, we were going to take him. But if there were three players we still liked, we were going to try and trade back and accumulate capital.

“I guess the philosophy is the more darts, the better chance you have to hit the bullseye. You know how it is. If you have seven picks and you hit on half, that’s not great. You get three players. We always liked to have 10 plus and just have more darts.”

On Wednesday, Schefter said the Lions (No. 7), Panthers (No. 8) and the Broncos (No. 9) have all received “calls about moving back.”

“I think what we need to see first is which quarterback is going off the board at three and which quarterbacks are still on the board,” Schefter said about potential trades in the top 10. “I think that is the inflection point by which teams are going to start making calls and start considering moves.”

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The Broncos stay put at No. 9

If any of the first-round quarterbacks not named Trevor Lawrence or Zach Wilson — Field, Jones or Lance — end up dropping to the ninth-overall pick, the Broncos could still end up drafting him despite trading for Bridgewater.

“It’s not out of the question. Just because they traded for Teddy Bridgewater today did not preclude that possibility,” Schefter said.

However, Carolina could throw a wrench in those plans should they opt for a quarterback with their top pick at No. 8 — one spot above Denver’s — despite trading for Sam Darnold earlier this offseason.

The Panthers have yet to pick up Darnold’s fifth-year option, which Schefter said could be a harbinger of how Carolina feels about its starting quarterback.

“Why have the Panthers still not said anything about his fifth-year option? Because they’re waiting for this weekend to see how it goes because they know that there’s a chance they could draft a quarterback in the first round,” Schefter said.

Denver could also decide to draft the best non-QB available at No. 9, with many mocks over the previous months having the Broncos going defense with the pick.

Among those who have been linked to Denver via mock drafts are inside linebacker Micah Parsons; cornerbacks Patrick Surtain II, Caleb Farley and Jaycee Horn; and offensive tackles Penei Sewell and Rashawn Slater.