Jarrett Stidham is currently in place to serve as the Broncos’ 2024 starting quarterback, but the team is one of many worth monitoring with respect to a move up the board. When speaking at the annual league meetings, head coach Sean Payton confirmed Denver is open to trading up from the No. 12 spot. 
“It’s realistic,” Payton said of a trade-up move on the part of the Broncos (via Parker Gabriel of the Denver Post). “What’s hard to predict, though, is what’s on the receiving end. It’s good to be [general manager] Monti Ossenfort today at Arizona. It’s hard to predict what that cost is and yet I certainly wouldn’t say it’s unrealistic. We’ll pay close attention to it.”
Ossenfort made it clear last week the Cardinals are open to trading out of the fourth slot; Chargers GM Joe Hortiz has likewise said the No. 5 pick could also be available for the right price. The Broncos will therefore have potential trade partners if they are willing to pay a steep price to move into range for one of the top passers in this year’s class. With only one other pick inside the top 120, however, Denver does not have as much capital available as teams like the Vikings (who now own two first-rounders).
Payton (who was not in attendance for Michigan’s Pro Day) also said on Monday the Broncos hosted quarterback J.J. McCarthy for a private workout one day later. That allowed Denver’s decision-makers to get a close look at the 2023 national champion, who has of course received interest from other teams recently (and has previously been on Denver’s radar). McCarthy has long been seen as a member of the second tier of QB prospects (behind Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye), but he has increasingly been linked to a top-10 selection, likely by a team moving up the board to draft him.
Set to carry $85MM in dead cap charges owing to the Russell Wilson release, the Broncos need a cost-effective quarterback depth chart in the near future. Stidham is on the books for one year at a $7MM cap figure, but a long-term investment at the position would come as no surprise. Considering Payton’s remarks, Denver will remain one of the more intriguing teams to watch over the coming weeks as more clarity emerges on the price of the fourth and fifth selections and the market which develops amongst teams prepared to move up the order.
Does Denver have picks to trade up?
There is zero chance they go into the season with Stidham – it signals tanking and Im not sure the Walmart crew would support that after paying like a billion dollars.
I hope so, they’d be more valuable than Raiders picks and could keep us from executing this wild idea ourselves
Payton is the one commenting on trading up? Guess it didn’t take him long to undermine George Paton and make the power grab…lol.
I’m not sure that this will be worth it for Denver. Is McCarthy that much better than the other quarterbacks? Is a second rounder (say, Rattler) that much worse? I’m not sure about the former statement, but I’m a little more certain about the latter. I think that Denver, which has bled a lot of draft picks in the last few years and just lost a few more valuable contributors to make up for that ill-advised contract, should really reconsider whether a trade-up for a less than generational prospect would be the best route to go down.
If I’m Denver, I’m more inclined to trade down if something presents itself, and to take Rattler in the second round. As deep as this QB draft is (I only personally dislike Nix and Daniels myself, but I’m no expert), and as many rookie contracts as Denver is going to need to replace starters, I think they should be more interested in some of the second tier and 1A prospects than in the top three or four. Denver definitely needs a QB, but it also lost a few other contributors. The roster overall is worse than when Wilson arrived, and that needs to be addressed without digging a deeper hole by trading away more valuable picks.
Im with you on this AK.
I dont think they have the ammo anyway.
Agree, I feel they are in a deep build
Perfectly positioned to take an elite T or Cb1 to pair with PS, perhaps a small trade back to 15 with Saints but I don’t see a drop too far back- They usually draft well in the teens
+1 Payton’s just keeping things perceptively competitive as a ‘dark horse’. He’s not going to let the league believe that the 4th is out of reach. It’s just ‘hard to predict’ and not ‘unrealistic’.
Their depth is so shallow the only thing they have to trade is PSII and replacing him would be treading water. If they attempt to make any trades it should be to get a 2nd rounder for dexterity in the 1st round.
Seems like Payton is more interested in winning now than building a winner.
So many needs and willing to trade draft capital year after year isn’t a way to build
Im not sure it’s completely Sean. I think if ai paid a billion dollars and got a high caliber coach – you cant sell me on a tank as easily.
He is kind of coaching for his job – as weird as that may seem already.
Please jump the Jets and draft a QB
Honestly I don’t see McCarthy being drafted before 12th if they really want him just wait
I still don’t get when he became a first rounder. I just don’t see it.
McCarthy won’t be good. Please draft him.
Imagine trading up for a guy whose team was afraid to let him pass.
Eating Russ’ salary then trading up for a noodle armed mid round talent QB is the exact type of move I would expect from a team that has made nothing but bad decisions for nearly a decade