Mile High Monday: Broncos may have to move up to draft a QB

Feb 7, 2022, 6:55 AM

Denver Sports Analyst

I was able to travel across the country over the last 10 days on the scouting trail. This year, my “All-Star Road Trip” was crammed into one week as I went to Las Vegas for the East-West Shrine Bowl and Mobile, Ala., for the Reese’s Senior Bowl. It was great to catch up with friends in the scouting community, pick up on the latest buzz from around the NFL and watch some of the best prospects in the 2022 NFL Draft compete on a football field in person.

I like scouting players. It’s a passion of mine, and one of the driving forces why I love sports broadcasting. I’m not going to be right on every player, but I promise you that no one else in the Denver market is going to do more to scout these prospects.

I also like contemplating life and sports when driving around with the top down on my old Jeep TJ! The following is a result of those trips during the week.

Buckle up, let’s take a ride through my thoughts.

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Pick Him Up!

We’ve all heard – and some are sick of hearing – about Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers possibly finding his way to Denver via trade this offseason. We’ve all heard about impending free agent Davanta Adams, Rodgers best friend, coming with him as a package deal. Well, things got turned up another notch over the last week as reports of another wide receiver potentially coming with the superstar quarterback, as well.

Tony Pauline, from Pro Football Network, reported last week that Rodgers has “told people in confidence” he wants Adams and Marquez Valdes-Scantling wherever he plays in 2022. Valdes-Scantling, a fifth-round pick out of South Florida in 2018, is going to be an unrestricted free agent this offseason. The Packers would like him back, but they have one of the worst cap situations in the NFL so we could see him hit the open market.

In four NFL seasons, Valdes-Scantling has never had 1,000 yards in a season. In 2021, Valdes-Scantling was limited to 11 games due to a back injury and a bout with COVID. When healthy, Valdes-Scantling can take the top off the defense and has the speed to be a threat to score from anywhere on the field. Just like Emmanuel Sanders when he came to Denver (didn’t have a single 100-yard game and no 1,000-yard seasons in four years with the Steelers), the upside is there for Valdes-Scantling to be much more.

Rumblings from PFN – my dude @TonyPauline – that QB Aaron Rodgers has “told people in confidence” he wants free agents Davante Adams and Valdes-Scantling wherever he plays next season. #Broncos #BroncosCountry @1043TheFan https://t.co/sQ5E0wwfUX

— Cecil Lammey (@CecilLammey) February 5, 2022

Adding Rodgers is likely high on the list for the Broncos. Bringing Adams with him, even if he’s franchise tagged by the Packers, is not out of the question either. Adding another wide receiver – when the Broncos are already stacked at the position – seems a bit out there.

We’ll see if the Broncos can get Rodgers first, and we’ll have to wait and see if one of their wide receivers (Jerry Jeudy?) is sent to the Packers in part of the deal for the future Hall of Fame quarterback. After that, the future of Adams and Valdes-Scantling will be decided.

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Broncos Showing Interest in Senior Bowl QBs

The Broncos showed interest in the quarterbacks at the Senior Bowl last week. It makes sense because the team can’t just move forward as if the deal for Rodgers is already done. They need to do their due diligence when it comes to scouting the incoming crop of quarterbacks. Not only will it help them if they decide to select a quarterback at no.9 overall in the 2022 NFL Draft, it signals to teams behind them that they’ll need to move up if they fall in love with one of these college quarterbacks.

During the week of practice, the Broncos talked to both Malik Willis (Liberty) and Kenny Pickett (Pittsburgh) – although the meeting with Pickett was brief. Willis is the player who took Mobile by storm. He was arguably the best quarterback during the week of practice, and Willis showed off his rocket arm throw after throw during the Senior Bowl practices. Pickett may be the most “pro ready” of all the quarterbacks in this draft class, and he’s the type of passer who could start from day one in the NFL.

The Broncos may have quite a bit of competition for either of these quarterbacks. It’s not a great quarterback class, but this is a quarterback-desperate league. Willis and Pickett, along with fourth-year junior Matt Corral, are the best of the bunch and teams may be looking at them sooner than some think. In fact, there’s a chance that one of those three – and maybe all of those three – will be off the board by the time the Broncos pick in the first round – if they have the pick.

Arguably the best QB during practice at the Senior Bowl – saw some things we needed to see from Willis, and he didn't even use his legs (super dangerous runner). However, he is a project and could take time to fully develop.

Oh yeah – Willis may not be there at no9 @1043TheFan https://t.co/1KlDvaYFl7

— Cecil Lammey (@CecilLammey) February 5, 2022

As I reported in my Senior Bowl wrap article at DenverFan.com, the future of Rodgers depends on how Rodgers feels. If Rodgers wants to be traded, the Broncos should be at the front of the line for his services. That means the No. 9 overall pick would be part of the package sent to the Packers to get Rodgers. That means the Broncos wouldn’t be selecting until the second round of the draft – and obviously a quarterback early in the draft would be off the board.

If Rodgers wants to stay in Green Bay or retire, then the Broncos have done their homework on the top passers in the draft. It’s a wise move that may not mean anything if/when they trade for Rodgers, but this is what well-run teams do. Broncos general manager George Paton will not have any blind spots when it comes to talent evaluation.

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Raiders Got the Right – and Wrong – Coach

The Las Vegas Raiders hired former Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels to be their new head coach. I covered the Broncos every day McDaniels was head coach, and it was quite the change from the Mike Shanahan days. I started going to training camp as a credentialed media member in 2004, and McDaniels changed quite a bit when he was hired in 2009.

He wasn’t ready for a head coaching job back then – especially because the Broncos basically made him the general manager, as well. McDaniels was rude to everyone on staff – from secretaries to interns to fellow coaches and players, he would cuss out anyone in front of anyone at any time he felt it was necessary. McDaniels tried acting like an “old school” coach like Bill Belichick, but he lacked the hardware (as a head coach) and experience of his mentor.

Fortunately, things didn’t last long with McDaniels as the head coach as he didn’t even make it through the 2010 season. He was fired with a few games left that season, and eventually landed back with the New England Patriots – where he had come from as their offensive coordinator years prior to his Broncos career. Since then, McDaniels has been tossed around as a potential head coach again but didn’t sign on the dotted line until the Raiders job was offered to him.

After hiring McDaniels, the Raiders hired a better coach – and maybe even one day a better head coach – in former New York Giants defensive coordinator Patrick Graham. Like McDaniels, Graham is a former Patriots assistant although the two did not cross paths in New England. Unlike McDaniels, Graham is known as a people person and a players coach who knows how to motivate individuals to get the best out of them. The Giants wanted to keep Graham after firing former head coach Joe Judge, but they allowed him to seek other opportunities. The Raiders were fortunate to get him in my opinion.

this is a better move than the McDaniels hiring. the #Broncos could be facing a top defense when playing LVR because of Graham's system/coaching. NYG bummed they couldn't keep him, and Graham will be a HC someday. @1043TheFan https://t.co/6gCBstHbIe

— Cecil Lammey (@CecilLammey) February 5, 2022

I think the hiring of Graham is better than the hiring of McDaniels. Graham has gotten head coaching interest before, and if he turns around the Raiders defense the way that he did the Giants defense, then he could shoot to the top of head coaching candidates in 2023.

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Finally Paying Off with a Twist

I don’t watch much TV, but the Disney-plus series “Book of Boba Fett” has become appointment television – especially for a huge Star Wars nerd like me. After the first episode, I was over the moon with the way the show was setting up – especially knowing it was only a seven-episode season. It was then the next few episodes that seriously disappointed me – and they created little to no buzz for the show. “Book of Boba Fett” was rarely trending and when it was it was for the wrong reasons.

Then, the last two episodes – five and six – hit the streaming service and took the internet by storm. I won’t spoil them here, but you need to get caught up if you’re not because the ramifications of these episodes is going to be huge. It’s not only huge for our protagonist Boba Fett, but there are plot lines unfolding which will resonate within the entire Star Wars universe.

The show is finally paying off, and it’s done that over the last two episodes with only brief appearances from Fett. It’s amazing to me that the show has built so much buzz without Fett on the screen. He’s barely in the last two episodes, and they are the best episodes of the season. It’s almost like he’s a cameo character in his own show! There is one episode remaining, and Fett will likely star as the featured player – but this show has gotten hot without him. I can’t wait to see how they wrap things up.