Broncos 7-round 2024 NFL mock draft trading down after slow free agency

Although it certainly hasn't been an uneventful offseason for the Denver Broncos in 2024, things have been rather slow-going in NFL free agency for Denver. The Broncos are eating $53 million in dead salary cap on Russell Wilson's contract this year, which has caused them to have to shuffle around nearly $70 million of cap space. The moves they've made in doing so have been pretty huge, including cutting star safety Justin Simmons and trading former first-round receiver Jerry Jeudy.

Now, after a couple of modest moves in NFL Free Agency to attempt to upgrade the roster, attention turns to the 2024 NFL Draft where the Broncos are currently armed with eight selections. The pressure to find a quarterback has ramped up significantly. The importance of finding instant contributors and core pieces of this roster has ramped up significantly as well.

What could the Broncos' draft look like after the first week of free agency? I think it might be time to start exploring a trade-down scenario.

1. 22nd overall (from Eagles): Bo Nix, QB, Oregon

The Denver Broncos are in a really tough position in this slot. They absolutely need to come away with a quarterback at some point in the 2024 NFL Draft, but the Minnesota Vikings' trade with the Houston Texans has significantly complicated matters as far as Denver drafting a quarterback this year.

The top two picks of the 2024 NFL Draft are expected to be quarterbacks (Bears, Commanders). The Patriots could very well take a QB at number three overall. The Minnesota Vikings have the 11th overall pick, already ahead of the Broncos, but they also now own the 24th overall pick from Houston and have a chance to trade up.

No matter what way you slice it, it feels likely that three quarterbacks -- at a minimum -- will be off the board by the time the Broncos are on the clock. Is it possible the most realistic group the Broncos will be selecting from in this year's draft is Bo Nix, Michael Penix Jr., and Spencer Rattler? It may very well be.

A lot of people seem to feel like Bo Nix is a great fit for Sean Payton's offense. He's improved so much over the last couple of years at Oregon and while Nix is known for his accuracy, he's also a very capable dual-threat at the position.

In this trade scenario, the Broncos move down with Philly and get back into the 2nd round in the process.