The Broncos can’t be serious about going with Jarrett Stidham

Mar 25, 2024, 4:00 AM

Denver Sports Analyst

The NFL Owner’s Meetings are going on this week in Orlando, Fla. For the first time, I’m attending to collect further information about what the Denver Broncos are planning for their future.

I like hunting for news and buzz about all the teams. The Broncos are under the national spotlight because of their unknown quarterback situation. I hope we have more clues after the meetings wrap on Tuesday.

I also like contemplating life and sports when driving around with the top down on my old Jeep Wrangler 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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They Can’t Be Serious

I don’t believe Jarrett Stidham is a good starting option for the Broncos. The team signed Stidham last offseason to a two-year deal, and head coach Sean Payton had a high grade on him when he came out of Auburn years ago. I was curious about Stidham when the Broncos picked him up, and I liked the idea of him developing behind Russell Wilson.

When Wilson was benched late in the year, the Broncos turned to Stidham as the starter, and he didn’t look good. It was nice to see Payton’s offense return (because Wilson didn’t run the offense as designed), but the results weren’t what the Broncos wanted. After those two games, I don’t need to see more of Stidham as the team’s starter. Perhaps Payton feels differently, and that’s a mistake.

Last week, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport said on air that perhaps Denver could go with Stidham and put better weapons around him. Rapoport suggested that because of how good Payton is as a coach and what he can get out of his quarterback – no matter who that is. That may be true, and I certainly believe in the coaching ability of Payton, but the idea is to get the Broncos another championship not just make the playoffs.

From DJ’s Draft Show on NFL+: I joined @MoveTheSticks to break down how badly the #Raiders or #Broncos want to trade up for a QB. pic.twitter.com/8LGgVPNmKy

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 22, 2024

We’re talking to Payton on Monday, and I’m sure he’s going to promote the idea of Stidham as “the guy” in 2024. That’s a plan, but it’s a faulty one in my opinion. Payton is good enough to win with a lot of quarterbacks, but he can win Super Bowls if he gets a true franchise quarterback and not some painfully average (at best) veteran.

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Washington Moving Down?

The Washington Commanders have the No. 2 overall pick, and their general manager, Adam Peters, seems to have fallen in love with LSU QB Jayden Daniels. I’ve said this for at least a month, and now the rest of the league is catching up to the idea that Daniels will be the second quarterback off the board instead of North Carolina’s Drake Maye.

A recent report from NFL.com suggests the Commanders could take a quarterback but not at No. 2 overall. Washington head coach Dan Quinn said as much, and it now means that pick could be up for bid. We all know the Chicago Bears are taking Caleb Williams at the top of the draft, but after he goes off the board with the first pick, we could see chaos – and some big trades – if Washington decides to move the pick.

The Commanders moved on from Sam Howell, and they are most certainly in the quarterback market. With Kliff Kingsbury as their new offensive coordinator, adding a player like Daniels is an exciting notion. I believe the temptation to add a talent like Daniels with a coach like Kingsbury will be too much for Washington to pass on.

Jayden Daniels is going to be everyone's favorite Madden Quarterback.

Lamar Jackson is the easy player comp. Uncatchable speed. Beautiful deep ball, thrown with touch, that he can drop in a bucket. Perfect fit for Kliff Kingsbury's Air Raid Offense in Washington. pic.twitter.com/YJ0lGrJNEH

— Alfredo Brown (@ThePretendGM) March 20, 2024

Daniels is my favorite quarterback in this class. From what I’ve heard, he might be the preferred quarterback in Washington as well. Sure, Washington could move back but I doubt it. If you want to move up in the draft, the most likely landing spots are No. 3 (New England Patriots) or No. 4 (Arizona Cardinals).

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We’re Not Falling for It Minnesota

Last week, the Minnesota Vikings were not in attendance for Michigan’s pro day. That’s odd because of how much they’ve been linked to QB J.J. McCarthy. What does their lack of attendance mean? I think the Vikings are trying to pull a fast one on the rest of the league (and it’s not working).

ESPN’s Matt Miller has heard the Vikings will be aggressive when it comes to trading up for a quarterback. I’ve confirmed from more sources around the team that McCarthy is their guy. The Vikings have the No. 11 overall pick, right in front of the Broncos. If Denver wants McCarthy (and I’ve heard he’s high on their list), they’d have to move in front of Minnesota. The Broncos could do that, but the Vikings have more ammunition this year with two first-round picks (11, 23). Simply put, Minnesota can outbid Denver for McCarthy if they want to or have to.

When I was at the Wyoming pro day last week, I was going down memory lane with many around the athletic department about Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen. We had more people from The Fan (three) at Allen’s pro day than Buffalo did (zero). Sources told me then that Buffalo worked out Allen the day before the rest of the NFL came to town. They didn’t want any team to find out how much interest they had in Allen. I feel Minnesota is doing the same thing now with McCarthy.

Today is JJ McCarthy’s Pro Day, he’s a top 5 pick in my opinion pic.twitter.com/3AKeMcAABS

— Mike Tannenbaum (@RealTannenbaum) March 22, 2024

This game is played almost every year in the NFL. We’re not falling for it Minnesota. They want McCarthy, and they will be moving up to get him – especially if/when Denver’s interest gets spread around after this week.

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Disney Gets it Right (finally)

I was worried about Disney making “X-Men 97” for their streaming service. The Marvel Cinematic Universe hasn’t been the same in some time. The MCU certainly doesn’t enjoy the success they used to when all anyone could talk about was Tony Stark and the Avengers. When Disney bought out Fox, they gained the rights to the X-Men – and I didn’t want them to screw that up.

The X-Men are one of my favorite comic books of all time. Their stories are allegorical, but they deal with some big issues (especially back in the 80s) and do so without hitting you over the head with political bias. Disney has recently gone too overtly political with some of their shows, and the results have been terrible. I don’t mind nuances in stories, but make sure things are allegorical and make people think. Disney seems to try and hammer viewers with their ideas, and most of the audience does not like it.

You know Disney is getting right because X-Men 97 was trending on social networking sites. Even LeBron James was tweeting about the show! It’s not 100 percent accurate to a show’s quality, but when things trend (for good reasons) it can be an indicator of potential success.