Lammey: Even with Flacco, all QB options still on table for Broncos
Feb 17, 2019, 6:57 PM | Updated: Feb 18, 2019, 8:22 am
With a deal in place that would have the Denver Broncos trading a reported fourth-round pick in 2019 to the Baltimore Ravens for quarterback Joe Flacco (though the deal cannot be finalized until the start of the new league year on March 13), many orange and blue faithful are wondering if the team is now out of the market for a first-round QB in 2019.
All options are still on the table for the Broncos, I’ve been told. meaning mock drafts featuring Denver taking a quarterback with the No. 10-overall pick may still be accurate. Players like Drew Lock (Missouri), Kyler Murray (Oklahoma), and Dwayne Haskins (Ohio State) might still be on the draft board for the Broncos, even though Flacco looks to be their clear-cut starter in 2019.
In fact, adding a first-round quarterback in the same year that a team has acquired a veteran via trade or free agency is not that unusual.
Just last year, the Cleveland Browns traded for veteran quarterback Tyrod Taylor in March and still selected Baker Mayfield No. 1-overall in the 2018 NFL Draft. Also last year, the New York Jets spent $16 million in free agency to sign both Josh McCown and Teddy Bridgewater to one-year contracts only to later select Sam Darnold with the No. 3-overall pick. The Arizona Cardinals also followed suit by paying Sam Bradford $20 million on a one-year contract but then selected Josh Rosen with the No. 10-overall pick.
The Broncos followed this pattern not that long ago. In 2016, Denver traded with the Philadelphia Eagles for veteran quarterback Mark Sanchez. That year the Broncos moved up in the draft to select Paxton Lynch as the quarterback of the future.
That obviously didn’t work out for either player with the Broncos, but it should not deter them from keeping quarterbacks on their big board for the 2019 NFL Draft.
The NFL Scouting Combine comes up at the end of this month, and Denver will get to spend more time with the top prospects in this draft class, which is considered to be defensive heavy, with a ton of talent on the defensive line and in the defensive secondary.
The quarterback class is not considered as strong, certainly not as strong as the 2018 class (five quarterbacks in the first round) or the projected 2020 class, which could have quarterbacks go first, second and third off the board.
The Broncos need to keep building this team and concern themselves with getting a first-round quarterback in the 2020 or 2021 NFL Draft. They can let Flacco start most of the season and see where they end up at the end of the year.
But even though I would wait on a first-round quarterback for one more year, the Broncos may feel differently, and this trade for Flacco doesn’t erase quarterback off their board.
