The Denver Broncos hired Gary Kubiak for one reason, and it could end up bringing Baker Mayfield to the Mile High City…
MMQB insider Albert Breer is one of the most plugged in guys in the NFL, and he just recently put out a first round mock draft that has the Denver Broncos selecting Oklahoma quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield.
Could it be?
Fans would probably go ballistic if the Broncos drafted Mayfield, but there’s some significant substance to Breer’s projection here. Look at what he said of the pick…
"Denzel Ward, Quenton Nelson, trade down … Word is Elway confidantes Gary Kubiak and Matt Russell love Mayfield.Albert Breer, MMQB"
If the Broncos’ draft room goes by a majority vote, then it looks like Mayfield could very well be the pick. This would explain why Mayfield went out of his way at the Oklahoma pro day to approach Kubiak:
https://twitter.com/RyanKoenigsberg/status/974148693778509824
Whether or not this ultimately ends up meaning anything, the Broncos also have Mayfield coming into the facility for his official visit on the same day the players and coaches arrive for offseason workouts.
Will it simply be a matter of nine days before Mayfield is back in the building again?
There have been significant rumors that the New York Jets are interested in Mayfield at pick number three, but in Breer’s scenario, they have a chance to draft Sam Darnold, who could very well be the top quarterback on their board.
There is a lot yet to happen between now and the draft, but if the Broncos were looking at a scenario where both Mayfield and Josh Rosen were on the board, there would be no wrong decision there.
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That being said, they have shown about as much pre-draft interest in Mayfield as they could possibly show in any player. They were not in attendance at his bowl game against Georgia only because Elway had to have an end-of-season meeting with head coach Vance Joseph that took precedence.
Elway, Russell, and Kubiak had a front row seat to watch Mayfield at the Senior Bowl. He got to interact with the team’s coaching staff. They were able to all go and meet him again at the Oklahoma pro day, and he’s visiting team headquarters as I type this article up.
On Monday evening, Mayfield reportedly had dinner with team officials, not including John Elway.
That doesn’t mean Elway doesn’t want to be around him, but he allegedly only meets with the prospects in the afternoon, and lets the dinner meetings be led by someone else.
One could speculate that Mayfield was meeting with someone even higher up than Elway, but we won’t go there…
What this nugget by Breer could mean is absolutely huge. The Broncos and Elway specifically hired Gary Kubiak to find them their quarterback of the future. It’s very possible that Elway used his trump card with Paxton Lynch two years ago, and has now decided to give the reins for that position over to Kubiak and Russell, who like Breer said are two of Elway’s most trusted guys.
Kubiak was instrumental in bringing in Case Keenum, and he could once again prove how much clout he has in the front office by being the key reason this team drafts Baker Mayfield fifth overall next Thursday.