Broncos: Why George Paton trading up for QB seems more likely

1. The team has passed on alternative QB options to this point

So far in the 2021 free agency signing period, George Paton and the Denver Broncos front office have not been “in” on the veteran quarterback market.

There are plenty of reports out there that the Broncos would be interested in a possible Deshaun Watson trade should he be made available by the Houston Texans, but right now, there’s been no movement on that front and Watson is being accused of some very serious things.

Who knows what will ultimately come of all that, but with guys like Ryan Fitzpatrick, Jacoby Brissett, Andy Dalton, Tyrod Taylor, Mitchell Trubisky, and others, the Broncos have not even been rumored to have an interest.

What does that tell you?

Well, the Broncos could still upgrade their depth at the quarterback position through trades for guys like Gardner Minshew, Nick Foles, or maybe Marcus Mariota (unless he’s cut) but are any of those guys going to be easily stepping into this offense day one as the starter over Drew Lock?

Even the free agents that are already off the board would have had to compete with Lock for the job. The Broncos looked into trading for Matthew Stafford but were outbid by the Los Angeles Rams. They didn’t have any interest in Carson Wentz.

It seems like George Paton has a clear set of tiers at the position and he’s willing to upgrade via the veteran route if the guy is a substantial upgrade. It doesn’t appear he’s interested all that much in QB purgatory.

If Paton only views the lofty trade candidates as veteran upgrades, it could speak volumes to what he thinks of this year’s draft class. He might see players in this class as better additions to the QB room over the available crop of free agent or lower-level trade veterans.

If you bring in a hedge that can’t beat out Lock but Lock still isn’t improved the way you thought, then you’re in a worse situation next offseason.

If you bring in a hedge that can beat out Lock, then you made the wrong call not going up and drafting a quarterback.

The hedge options that could beat out Lock in a true camp battle are likely off the board at this point, depending on how high your opinion is of Nick Foles who lost a camp battle to Mitch Trubisky last year, or Gardner Minshew, whose situation in Jacksonville is oddly similar to that of Drew Lock, just maybe a year ahead.

Marcus Mariota? Well, he was shut out the last time he came to Denver and benched for Ryan Tannehill, who proved to the Titans they were spinning their wheels by going to the AFC Championship game after their QB change.

The Deshaun Watson or Russell Wilson trades should be considered absolute pipe dreams at this point, even if one or both are ultimately moved.

If that’s the case, the draft would get a shove forward on the priority list.