AFC Notes: Broncos, Chargers, Raiders

Broncos

New Broncos’ GM George Paton fielded questions about the draft and about his current QB Drew Lock, as the time for Denver to decide on the future of their quarterback situation draws near.

“As you know, he has a lot of talent,” Paton said of Lock, via Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com “I think he’s becoming a better pro, but we’re still going to look at the quarterback position. I’ve said since I got here, we want to bring in competition; that’s the goal, and we plan on doing that. We do like Drew Lock. What we don’t want to do is force it and bring a guy in, overpay a guy to come in, and maybe he’s not as good as the guy we have, you know, maybe he’s not good enough to compete. We want to get the right guy, and we still have time.”

Paton said that both Justin Fields and Trey Lance are “elite athletes” and that “both [have] really strong arms, both really talented, smart; they have all the intangibles you want in quarterbacks and in football players. They’re raw a little bit, but really high ceilings [for] both players.”

The Broncos had previously inquired about QB Matthew Stafford and Paton wouldn’t rule out a trade during the draft.

“The landscape may change after the draft — a team drafts one and maybe that [other] quarterback is on the market,” Paton said. “We’re going to be patient, not force it, but we do want competition, and I’ve said that since I’ve gotten here and that hasn’t changed.”

• Mike Klis spoke with T Demar Dotson, who mentioned he has a received a couple of veteran minimum offers from teams, but is remaining patient about the possibility of coming back for a thirteenth NFL season.

Chargers

While the Chargers could use some offensive line help, GM Tom Telesco made it clear that they aren’t just a few offensive linemen away from competing in the Super Bowl. 

“Let’s not forget we need to add talent amongst the whole football team. We’re trying to build a balanced football team,” Telesco said, via Shelley Smith of ESPN.com. “I don’t know if we’re you know, just a better offensive line away from winning a championship.”

Raiders

Raiders’ GM Mike Mayock could be invested in a right tackle who is already on the roster in Jaryd Jones-Smith.

“You ask me about right tackle, we’ve got a guy named Jaryd Jones-Smith who we signed off the street last year who we think has a chance to be a really good football player,” Mayock said, via Vic Tafur of The Athletic. “Kind of excited about him. We’re very aware of our needs. Obviously when the needs fit up with where you are in the draft board, that’s awesome. When they don’t, you have to be a little careful.”

The Raiders have let go of several of their key linemen including G Gabe Jackson, T Trent Brown,  and C Rodney Hudson, yet Mayock seems to be unfazed by this.

“It’s funny because the public perception is, ‘Oh the Raiders, they made a bunch of moves on the offensive line, therefore they’re going to be worse there.’ I’m kind of energized by it to be really honest with you,” Mayock said. “We have all the respect in the world for Rodney and Gabe and Trent but at this point, we made a conscious decision to try to get younger, maybe a little bit more athletic, and let’s go.”

Mayock also commented on S Jeff Heath even though the team brought back S Karl Joseph, who could be the backup for S Johnathan Abram as things currently stand. Mayock added that this was not a deep draft year for safeties.

“I thought Jeff Heath did a good job last year. Jeff has been in the league several years. We’re always looking for competition,” Mayock said.