If Aaron Rodgers stays in Green Bay as expected, and Russell Wilson does not land with the Denver Broncos, where might George Paton turn to next to address the quarterback position?
There are several teams currently in flux at the quarterback position like the Denver Broncos, and the Houston Texans are one of them.
While they do have an all-worldly talent on their roster, he missed the entire 2021 campaign due to the allegations that stand against him off the field. Deshaun Watson is not expected to see another snap for the Houston Texans, but could he be in play for the Denver Broncos?
In my best guess, I think the General Manager of the Denver Broncos, George Paton, stays high and far away from Watson and his allegations. But that does not mean that there is not a quarterback that is currently on the Texans’ roster that Paton would not be interested in.
Filling in for Deshaun Watson and Tyrod Taylor, Davis Mills had an above-average rookie campaign for David Culley and the hapless franchise that the Texans stand to be. On what was basically a stop-gap roster, Mills played well with the help of a couple of strong offensive tackles, Laremy Tunsil and Tytus Howard.
On what was a bleak roster, filled out with one-year contracts and a bevy of running backs, players like Brandin Cooks and Laremy Tunsil are still to be heavily desired.
Do any of the aforementioned players make sense for the Denver Broncos, if so, who?
Denver Broncos Trade Target #1: Davis Mills, QB
In what most considered surprising, Davis Mills had himself a pretty solid rookie campaign.
6-foot-4, 225 pounds Mills threw for 2,664 yards, 16 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions while completing 66.8% of his passes. Starting in 11 games, playing in 13, Mills elevated his name in NFL circles by carrying his own weight in an unfortunate circumstance.
Comparing his production to the Denver Broncos starting quarterback last season, Teddy Bridgewater, Mills fell just a tenth below Bridgewater in his completion percentage. Bridgewater also threw just 388 more yards and two more touchdowns than Mills, while having three more starts than Mills.
Seen as someone who was limited coming out of college, Mills did was a game managing quarterback does and had some decent outing. Nothing mind-blowing, but not many mind-boggling moments either.
Trading for a Davis Mills type is not going to put the fan base in awe, but it would provide another cheap body in the quarterback room to battle with Drew Lock and potentially provide a nice backup option if the Denver Broncos find their franchise quarterback.
If the Denver Broncos are unable to land Russell Wilson or Aaron Rodgers, which seems to grow more and more unlikely by the day, maybe George Paton and Nathaniel Hackett find something in Davis Mills.
Just a few weeks ago, for a short time period, Mills’ name was buzzing around Broncos Country after KOA Insider Benjamin Allbright brought his name to light on his and Ryan Edwards’s podcast, Broncos Country Tonight.
Mills is a smart and accurate quarterback, something that Nathaniel Hackett and George Paton said they both find very valuable when looking at potential quarterback candidates.
Trading for Davis Mills to compete with Drew Lock certainly would not move the needle for Broncos Country, but it also wouldn’t be costly, financially or via draft capital.
Davis Mills is a name to keep an eye on if the Denver Broncos and George Paton strike out on their top options.
Denver Broncos Trade Target #2: Jonathan Greenard, EDGE
An unfamiliar name to most, definitely not your typical household name, Jonathan Greenard was a very productive player for the Houston Texans and Lovie Smith’s defense last season.
While he is currently slated as a defensive end, I do not think he would have any issues transitioning into a stand-up, pass-rushing, outside linebacker type of player.
Standing at 6-foot-3 and 263 pounds, Greenard would be a great pairing with the 6-foot-4, 275 pound Bradley Chubb.
Greenard has outstanding get-off at the snap of the football, a spin move that would make Dead or Alive proud, and a motor that all pass rushers need if they want to be successful at getting to the quarterback. Still rather green in his career, no pun intended, Greenard has immense potential.
In 12 games last season, he amassed 8.0 sacks and 9 tackles for loss. That would have bested the Denver Broncos leader in sacks last season, Shelby Harris, by two. Harris had six sacks, followed by another defensive lineman in Dre’Mont Jones with 5.5 sacks.
Yes, Bradley Chubb missed most of the season, but Malik Reed led the outside linebackers last year with 5.0 sacks, followed by Jonathon Cooper with 2.5 sacks. Newly announced defensive coordinator of the Denver Broncos, Ejiro Evero harped on how important it was to create pressure on the quarterback.
Having that minuscule of production from your pass rashers is simply unacceptable.
Greenard only played 52% of the snaps last season for the Houston Texans, in a larger role, it would be fair to assume Greenard could become a double-digit sack guy in his third season in the NFL.
Denver Broncos Trade Targets #3 & #4: Tackles Laremy Tunsil & Tytus Howard
Tackle bros, unite!
Out of the two targets here, one is viewed as one of the better left tackles in the league, the other is Tytus Howard.
Playing at a smaller school in Alabama State, Howard still prevailed and played himself into becoming a first-round draft pick for the Houston Texans. In 2019, he was selected 23rd overall and since then, he has played multiple positions along the offensive front.
From an overall perspective, his best play came from the left tackle spot where he subbed in for Laremy Tunsil once he went down with an injury. Howard has played some guard as well as right tackle, having that flexibility is fantastic and should be viewed as a bonus when looking at bringing someone in.
While he floundered pretty hard at guard, he still finished with the highest grade out of all of the Houston Texans last season. Pro Football Focus and their sometimes janky grading system graded Howard out at a 79.4 overall.
Houston has to make a decision on whether they will be picking up his fifth year in May, which could be telling on their intentions with Howard moving forward.
Playing along the same front as Tytus Howard is an intriguing veteran, Laremy Tunsil.
Intriguing is an interesting way to describe Tunsil and his career since his gas mask days prior to the 2016 NFL Draft. Much like his counterpart, Tytus Howard, both have been guys that are notorious for drawing penalties.
Broncos Country threw a steep amount of boo birds when Garrett Bolles was struggling with this same thing, so it’s something that both would have to tighten up on. Tunsil improved in 2020 after leading the league with15 penalties in 2019, but then missed the majority of 2021.
Maybe it’s a mirage, but Tunsil has seemingly improved this area of his game.
Adding Laremy Tunsil would also cause him to switch to the right side of the offensive line also, which would in theory give the Denver Broncos a strong outside force with Bolles and Tunsil, but many dominos would have to fall in line to acquire Tunsil.
5 Vikings players the Denver Broncos could pursue in 2022
The Denver Broncos got a little bit of the Minnesota Vikings flavor when they brought in general manager George Paton in 2021. More on the way?
While we don’t know exactly what George Paton will do to close the revolving door at the right tackle position, it is safe to say it will be addressed in some this form or fashion this offseason.