Clayton: Chances of a Sam Darnold-Broncos trade have increased

On Friday, BYU quarterback Zach Wilson had a great throwing session that should have impressed the Jets enough to take him with the second pick in the draft. Meanwhile, the 49ers traded up to the third pick and are trying to decide between Trey Lance and Mac Jones. That means there will be three quarterbacks taken with the top three selections of the NFL Draft.

It also increases the chances the Jets will trade their current quarterback, Sam Darnold, and the Broncos could very much be in play.

The Jets have pretty well figured out that they aren’t going to get the eighth or ninth pick in this year’s draft for Darnold. The question is whether they can get a second-round round pick and maybe another pick down the line.

Looking at the draft after the first three picks, the Falcons could take the fourth quarterback off the board with the fourth pick, but they will probably go with a position player. The Bengals and Dolphins are unlikely to select quarterbacks with the fifth and sixth picks after taking Joe Burrow and Tua Tagovailoa last year. The Lions replaced $20 million of Jared Goff’s base salary with signing bonus money, so they are committed enough to him over the next two years that they won’t take a quarterback with the seventh pick.

That brings us to the Panthers, who have the eighth pick, and the Broncos, who have the ninth pick. Both teams are looking for quarterbacks.

The Panthers are being aggressive because owner David Tepper wants to improve a quarterback position that has Teddy Bridgewater as the starter. George Paton and the Broncos meanwhile are looking for someone to challenge Drew Lock.

That’s why you figure talks between the Jets, Panthers and Broncos for Darnold will intensify now that most of the quarterback workouts are done.

I’m thinking the 49ers will lean towards Lance over Jones because they are keeping Jimmy Garoppolo for the season. They want to follow the Kansas City Chiefs model of developing a quarterback. That model allowed Patrick Mahomes to sit his first season and learn behind Alex Smith.

That potentially puts the Panthers in position to take Jones or Justin Fields from Ohio State, or to trade for Darnold. We saw how quickly things happened Friday with trades involving the 49ers, Dolphins and Eagles. A Darnold trade could come down just as quickly, and very well could be involve the Broncos. Stay tuned.