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Denver Broncos: Reminder of poor quarterback selections post-Elway

By Graham Tiedtke

DENVER - SEPTEMBER 23: Quarterback Jay Cutler #6 of the Denver Broncos scrambles against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Invesco Field at Mile High on September 23, 2007 in Denver, Colorado. The Jaguars won 23-14 (Photo by Allen Kee/Getty Images)
DENVER - SEPTEMBER 23: Quarterback Jay Cutler #6 of the Denver Broncos scrambles against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Invesco Field at Mile High on September 23, 2007 in Denver, Colorado. The Jaguars won 23-14 (Photo by Allen Kee/Getty Images) /
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DENVER – OCTOBER 29: Quarterback Jay Cutler #6 of the Denver Broncos searches for a receiver against the Green Bay Packers at Invesco Field at Mile High on September 23, 2007 in Denver, Colorado. The Jaguars won 23-14 (Photo by Allen Kee/Getty Images)
DENVER – OCTOBER 29: Quarterback Jay Cutler #6 of the Denver Broncos searches for a receiver against the Green Bay Packers at Invesco Field at Mile High on September 23, 2007 in Denver, Colorado. The Jaguars won 23-14 (Photo by Allen Kee/Getty Images) /

The Denver Broncos have not been successful at drafting quarterbacks. Could this be the year they finally hit the mark?

There are a number of quarterbacks that are projected to go in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft: Dwayne Haskins, Drew Lock, Kyler Murray, to name a few.

The Denver Broncos hold the 10th pick and are in need of a quarterback.

But will they go that route in the first round? We won’t know until the selection is made, but here is a little bit of history of quarterbacks headed to Denver via a draft selection.

Since the retirement of Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway, the Denver Broncos have selected 12 (!) quarterbacks in the draft. Some were decent/ok (Jay Cutler, 2006; Trevor Siemian, 2015).

But the best quarterback the team has had since Elway retired? None other than Hall of Famer Peyton Manning.

It seems as though the best course of action for the team in regards to finding their quarterback of the future is through free agency.

I want to take a look at the guys drafted after the retirement of Elway as a player.

The Denver Broncos have not been successful at drafting quarterbacks. Could this be the year they finally hit the mark?

1998: Brian Griese, 91st overall. Okay, this is cheating a little bit, as Griese was drafted the same year as Elway’s final season. However, Griese ended up starting 52 games for the Denver Broncos after 1998.

Griese has had the longest career of any Broncos quarterback post-Elway. That started nearly 20 years ago.

2000: Jarious Jackson, 214th overall. Jackson was drafted in the seventh round of the 2000 draft. He played just five games in four seasons in Denver. After his rookie season, he went to NFL Europe and came back to Denver for the next three years.

2004: Matt Mauck and Bradlee Van Pelt, 225th and 250th overall. Neither of these quarterbacks selected in the 2004 draft amounted to anything. Van Pelt was passed on the depth chart in 2006 by rookie Jay Cutler and Van Pelt ended up as the third-string quarterback.

By 2007, both quarterbacks were out of the league.

2006: Jay Cutler, 11th overall. Cutler was possibly the best quarterback selected by the Denver Broncos post-Elway.

If it weren’t for Josh McDaniels, who the Broncos hired as their next head coach after letting Mike Shanahan go, Cutler very possibly could have led the team to playoff wins.

Sadly, though, that was not going to happen, as McDaniels shipped Cutler off to Chicago, and traded away wide receiver Brandon Marshall and tight end Tony Scheffler, who were also selected in the 2006 draft.

2009: Tom Brandstater, 174th overall. Brandstater’s résumé does not amount to much. He had just two pass attempts during his brief NFL career. Both were incomplete passes.

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