John Elway, Gary Kubiak check out Sam Darnold in person

Both John Elway and Gary Kubiak were in attendance at the Cotton Bowl to watch 2018 NFL Draft prospect Sam Darnold, quarterback of USC…

The Denver Broncos are not being secretive at all, and why would they?

They are very clearly interested in drafting a quarterback this year, and they’re going to great lengths to get up-close-and-personal with each of the guys on their short list.

That’s why John Elway, Gary Kubiak, and Matt Russell were in attendance at the Cotton Bowl to see USC quarterback Sam Darnold, a projected top five pick in the 2018 NFL Draft if he declares.

It’s been a good while since we’ve seen or heard anything from Kubiak, so it’s great to see him on the sidelines of a football game in any capacity.

Knowing that he’s working with John Elway to get the quarterback position solved in Denver is even more reassuring.

Elway and Kubiak last came together on a quarterback when they drafted Paxton Lynch, but that was after their pursuit of Colin Kaepernick failed. This time around, they are doing much more due diligence and generic pre-draft meetings.

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Elway and company have made it to two known bowl games thus far, but interestingly were not in attendance for Lamar Jackson’s bowl game on Saturday as Elway was back at the Broncos’ facility to play host to former offensive tackle Ryan Clady.

With so much speculation surrounding the Broncos’ coaching decision right now, no one really knows how they are planning on approaching this offseason as far as picking a new quarterback.

Will they go the veteran route? Will they draft someone? Some combination of both?

Some combination of both seems to be the most likely option right now, but it would be tough for Elway to justify completely passing on the quarterbacks in this draft class with the amount of talent at the position.

Darnold’s performance didn’t receive glowing reviews, but he was also the victim of horrendous offensive line play.

Elway will be in attendance on Monday to watch Baker Mayfield on New Year’s Day against the Georgia Bulldogs, and the hot rumor right now is that Mayfield is the top quarterback on Denver’s radar.

The Heisman Trophy winner has been the most accurate, efficient playmaker in all of college football this season.