The Denver Broncos hold the No. 12 overall pick in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft and the popular belief is that the team will trade out of that spot. Whether the Broncos move up or down is purely speculative, but there is a great argument for both directions.
ESPN draft analyst Matt Miller recently put together a 7-round mock draft and he predicts a bold move up. In his draft, the Broncos come up to the popular target spot of No. 4, a pick held by the Arizona Cardinals. Here is Miller's idea of what the Broncos would have to part with in order to move up to that spot.
With that No. 4 overall pick, the Broncos select J.J. McCarthy, making the first four picks in the draft all quarterbacks. (Caleb Williams to Chicago, Jayden Daniels to Washington, Drake Maye to Minnesota).
Three first-round picks to move up just eight spots? It sounds like it's way too much, but this is the kind of pricetag the Broncos are looking at to make a move like this.
No one is heading into this draft right now with more buzz than J.J. McCarthy, who is coming off of helping Michigan win the national championship but there is plenty of concern over how good he actually is because of his limited experience at Michigan.
However, his supporters are pounding the table for him. He can make every throw, he comes from a pro-style offense and he might have the highest ceiling of any rookie QB in this class. If Sean Payton sees him in that same light, he would likely be all too glad to make a trade such as the one Miller suggests.
It should also be noted that Minnesota also trades up in this particular mock, coming up to the No. 3 slot which they then use to select North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye. The Vikings have been a popular landing spot for McCarthy via a trade with the Cardinals as well, so things are shaping up for one of the most intriguing drafts in recent memory.
There seems to be little doubt that the Broncos and Payton have their eye on a particular quarterback. If it is one of the top four QBs, the team is already thinking about potential trade packages in order to move up. But would that be the best move for the team? Or does trading down in the first round, possibly acquiring a second-round choice, and then taking a quarterback later make more sense?
Those are the questions that the Broncos are certainly discussing within the organization right now. But it is clear that trading up into the top five for a guy like McCarthy is going to cost a pretty penny for a team that is not in a position to make a major blunder.