Sean Payton: ‘Realistic’ For Broncos To Trade Up For QB

Speaking at the NFL owners meetings this week, Broncos HC Sean Payton said it was “realistic” for Denver to be considered a candidate to trade up for a quarterback, per Ian Rapoport. 

Payton later quipped, “It’s good to be Monti right now,” referencing Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort who holds the No. 4 pick and might be able to auction it off for a haul of draft picks.  

The expectation, for now, is that the Bears, Commanders and Patriots will sit tight and take their pick of the top three quarterback prospects — USC QB Caleb Williams, North Carolina QB Drake Maye and LSU QB Jayden Daniels — though Washington and New England have signaled a willingness to listen to trade offers in recent days. 

But Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy is also generating a lot of intrigue in NFL circles, and there’s a ton of speculation that a quarterback-needy team further down the board could trade into the top five. 

The Vikings have already traded for an additional first-round pick seemingly to give them more ammunition for a move up the board. Denver’s No. 12 pick is sandwiched in a cluster of quarterback-needy teams between Minnesota and the Raiders. 

The cost to move into the top five would be extreme, and the Broncos have given up a lot of picks in recent years in trades for QB Russell Wilson and Payton himself. 

But Payton is aggressive, and if a trade up the board would secure him a franchise quarterback, it can’t be ruled out. 

We’ll have more on the Broncos and the 2024 NFL Draft as the news is available.