ENGLEWOOD, Colo — It's not like the Denver Broncos sat on their hands while quarterback after quarterback came off the market.
They opened the free-agent tampering period on March 11 by making a play for Sam Darnold. But when the veteran's asking his price was $10 million for the 2024 season, the Broncos let him go to the Minnesota Vikings.
The Broncos quickly reset their sights on Washington quarterback Sam Howell. This time the Broncos were outbid by Seattle in draft compensation. The Seahawks got him on March 14 in a four-pick swap that equaled in value a late third-round compensatory pick.
Denver's hunt for a quarterback with more NFL starts than incumbent Jarrett Stidham had shifted quickly to high gear. But when Darnold and Howell went elsewhere, the Broncos stayed patient. There were 30 quarterbacks who came off the market — either via free-agent signing, re-signing or trade — as Broncos Country fidgeted.
"I would rather the angst be now than in September and October," Broncos' head coach Sean Payton said last month at the NFL owners meetings in Orlando. He said it in a way he knew exactly which quarterbacks would come.
Zach Wilson and the NFL Draft were next. When the New York Jets signed free-agent Tyrod Taylor to become Aaron Rodgers' backup for a backup-robust two-year, $12 million contract with $6 million guaranteed for 2024 on March 15 - the day after the Broncos lost out on Howell to Seattle — the NFL world knew Wilson was available.
Notice the Broncos were interested in veteran quarterbacks who still had upside potential. Darnold has been knocked around but he's still only 26 and came into the league as the No. 3 overall draft pick. Howell is 23 coming off a full season as a starter that was rough overall, but flashed promising moments, most notably in a week 2 win against the Broncos in Denver.
Wilson is only 24, a former No. 2 overall draft pick with three seasons of starting experience that was again, difficult overall but flashed moments in wins at Denver each of the past two years.
The Broncos waited for the Jets' pricetag on Wilson to reach the bargain bin before executing the trade.
The Broncos gave up one of their two, late sixth-round picks in exchange for Wilson, the Jets' 7th-round selection that was the second-to-last pick in the draft (narrowly missing Mr. Irrelevant) and $2.727 million of his $5.45 million salary. With the cash component, that's 7th-round value for a QB who three years ago was the No. 2 overall draft pick.
And now comes this week's NFL Draft and the Broncos' No. 12 overall selection.
Don't assume Wilson, who has more interceptions than touchdowns thrown in his three seasons, changes the Broncos' draft plans. Looking back, the Broncos seemed confident for weeks they would eventually acquire Wilson, yet they were still holding private workouts and meetings with the top seven quarterback prospects.
J.J. McCarthy and Bo Nix should not be crossed off the mocksters' list of possibilities for the Broncos' No. 12 pick. Maybe the odds of taking edge rushers like Dallas Turner or Laiatu Latu, or tight end Brock Bowers, or cornerbacks Terrion Arnold or Quinyon Mitchell or Georgia offensive tackle Amarius Mims became a little greater.
But the Broncos still must think about a quarterback who can consistently take on the Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes and Chargers' Justin Herbert in the AFC West. The Broncos currently have but three quarterbacks on their offseason roster — Stidham, Wilson and Ben DiNucci. They'll need four come the start of OTAs on May 21.
Will the fourth come Thursday night?
SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Denver Broncos
9NEWS+
9NEWS+ has multiple live daily shows including 9NEWS Mornings, Next with Kyle Clark and 9NEWS+ Daily, an original streaming program. 9NEWS+ is where you can watch live breaking news, weather updates, and press conferences. You can also replay recent newscasts and find videos on demand of our top stories, local politics, investigations and Colorado specific features.
To download 9NEWS+ on Roku search for KUSA.
To download 9NEWS+ on Fire TV search for 9NEWS.