Denver Broncos have intriguing decision to make in NFL Draft
What is general manager John Elway going to do? Come Thursday night, Elway and his Denver Broncos are going to be sitting on the clock with the 10th-overall pick. They will have a major decision staring them in the face.
Denver will have a multitude of options. It can either draft a skill position player to supplement the rest of the offensive attack, take the best defensive player on the board and build on a strength, or take the heir apparent at quarterback. Decisions, decisions.
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After trading for Joe Flacco this offseason, Elway at least has an answer at the game’s most important position for 2019. Flacco is an upgrade over Case Keenum — even if ever so slightly — and should give Denver a steady hand at the position while the Broncos figure out who his replacement is. In that vein, it has been one of the league’s worst-kept secrets since the Senior Bowl that Elway loves Drew Lock out of the University of Missouri. Whether or not he selects Lock remains a mystery, but the interest is certainly there.
If he doesn’t go with a quarterback, the Broncos should be looking at someone like tight end T.J. Hockenson. The star from Iowa is the consensus top pass-catcher available, rating higher than any of the other tight ends and wide receivers. Hockenson would immediately give the Broncos another weapon to put with a blossoming star in second-year receiver Courtland Sutton. Factor in running back Phillip Lindsay, and Denver would have the makings of a potentially dangerous offense.
Read: NFL Draft 2019 – Full First Round Order and Needs
The biggest argument for Denver to take a quarterback is the division in which it plays. The Broncos are facing the task of dealing with Philip Rivers for the next few seasons, and likely Patrick Mahomes for the next 15. It’s impossible to look at that situation and believe that beating the Los Angeles Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs is feasible without an elite quarterback.
Still, this draft is about getting closer to that goal and not exactly achieving it in 2019. Denver has a ways to go before it becomes a legitimate contender once again in the AFC anyway, with the Chiefs, Chargers, Cleveland Browns, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots all clearly ahead in the game.
What Denver does on Thursday night will tell you plenty about how the team plans on building the roster over the next few years. Keep a close eye on Elway, who has long been known to be aggressive in these types of spots.
