At the end of the 2023 season, Sean Payton made a pretty polarizing move when he decided to bench starting quarterback Russell Wilson in favor of Jarrett Stidham, citing the offense's need for a "spark". That "spark" didn't exactly come with Stidham in the lineup, but the message was clearly sent.
Even though the offense got it together for a stretch of games to keep the Broncos in the playoff mix for a large portion of the 2024 season, their performance wasn't nearly good enough. Although the offense was markedly improved in terms of what we had seen in the atrocious nightmare that was the 2022 season, it wasn't up to head coach Sean Payton's standards.
What will Payton and the Broncos do this offseason? I want to take a look at a wild scenario involving Payton and the Broncos trading off a number of big-name players, loading up on 2024 NFL Draft assets, and reloading on that side of the ball with an all-offense draft class.
1. 12th overall: Olumuyiwa Fashanu, OT, Penn State
Any non-quarterback with the 12th overall pick for the Denver Broncos is not going to be the most popular mock draft selection, but you'll get a good idea of why we're making this move in a little bit. Spoiler alert, it involves Garett Bolles no longer being on the roster.
Even if Bolles comes back to Denver in 2024, the tackle position may need to be addressed. Luckily for the Broncos, this year's NFL Draft class is loaded on the offensive line, especially among the top 40-50 players. It would be a great year for the Broncos to have multiple top 50 picks to spend on big men offensively, but if you could only get one from this class, Olu Fashanu from Penn State is not a bad one.
This guy looks like a future franchise cornerstone at the left tackle position who would start for the Broncos from Day 1.
2. 76th overall: Spencer Rattler, QB, South Carolina
Let's say the Denver Broncos move on from Russell Wilson this offseason (which everyone expects), but they don't immediately replace him with a 1st-round pick at the position. That wouldn't exactly be the most popular decision the team could make, but if you could put together a nine-pick NFL Draft haul like we're going to try to do here, one that includes Spencer Rattler, is that an alternate option that Broncos Country could get on board with?
Rattler has been hot on the rise this pre-draft process and is someone whose off-field is finally catching up to his overall talent level. And by that I mean, perhaps Rattler is starting to study the game better, play the position from the mental side, as opposed to just playing backyard football out there. I think a QB room of Jarrett Stidham, Sam Darnold, and Spencer Rattler could be interesting with the brain trust the Broncos have on their coaching staff.
3. 83rd overall (from Rams): Ricky Pearsall, WR, Florida
One player the Denver Broncos might be able to get better value for than anyone really thinks right now is left tackle Garett Bolles, who is coming off of a very good season in 2023. Bolles has one year left on his deal in 2024 with a $16 million base salary. If the Broncos are willing to eat some of that money, I think they could easily get a top-100 pick for someone of Bolles's caliber.
The Los Angeles Rams send the Broncos a 3rd-rounder in this instance, and we see the Broncos get a really intriguing young receiver prospect in Ricky Pearsall, who has connections to Broncos WRs coach Keary Colbert from his time at Florida.
Pearsall is a tough player with after the catch abilities and a creator offensively, something the Broncos desperately need.
4. 120th overall (from Steelers): Cade Stover, TE, Ohio State
One player we could see the Denver Broncos move on from in the 2024 offseason is wide receiver Courtland Sutton, who is coming off of the best year of his NFL career. The Broncos will have to weigh what they can get for Sutton in a trade from some other team -- in this instance, a 4th and future 5th -- versus what he could bring to the table in 2024 on their roster.
Financially speaking, some money might need to be moved around to facilitate having Sutton back. A team like the Steelers that tried to trade for Allen Robinson last offseason might find better success with a player like Sutton.
With this selection, the Broncos take Cade Stover, a well-rounded tight end prospect out of Ohio State who could provide some upside to a position that has become a major question mark with the lack of clarity on what Greg Dulcich is actually going to bring to the table.
5. 121st overall: Jaylen Wright, RB, Tennessee
I can't imagine the Denver Broncos were thrilled with what they got out of the running back position this past season, even though Javonte Williams, Jaleel McLaughlin, and Samaje Perine ended up being the top three players on the team in terms of overall touches.
That alone is a pathetic statistic.
Javonte Williams struggled in his first year back from injury, and Samaje Perine added almost nothing in the running game all year. Jaylen Wright has great size (5-11, 215 pounds) and offers three-down abilities.
6. 145th overall: Mason McCormick, OL, South Dakota State
With Lloyd Cushenberry III hitting NFL free agency, we could absolutely see the Denver Broncos throw darts at the center position much earlier than this in the draft.
But GM George Paton said that the team views Alex Forsyth as a starting player at the center position in the NFL, and if that applies to the 2024 season, then the Broncos don't have to reach. Getting a player like Mason McCormick from SDSU here at pick 145 overall could be a steal. Some people have him as a top-100 overall player in the class on the interior offensive line.
Again, this offensive line class is outstanding, and you might be getting some great bang for your buck on Day 3 as a result.
7. 159th overall (from Eagles): Malik Washington, WR, Virginia
One thing the Denver Broncos desperately need more of offensively is YAC machines at the wide receiver position. I think Jerry Jeudy was wasted last year in that regard, but that's not exactly Courtland Sutton's game.
Malik Washington is someone who is really well-liked by the NFL Draft community, and he's got that YAC ability the Broncos so desperately need. The former Northwestern transfer played this past year at Virginia and racked up over 1,300 receiving yards and nine touchdowns.
8. 169th overall (from Eagles): Ben Sinnott, TE/FB, Kansas State
We have seen how important versatility is to Sean Payton throughout his career as a head coach, and a player like Ben Sinnott would likely be of significant interest to him.
Sinnott is tough as nails, and he's an underrated playmaker as a receiver. Although he's not prototypical tight end size, he's someone who could lead block for you as a fullback, play tight end, and offer special teams ability right away.
We'll see what happens with the Broncos this offseason regarding players like fullback Michael Burton, tight end Adam Trautman (both free agents) and Chris Manhertz (possible cut candidate), but Sinnott would be a nice late-round addition.
9. 236th overall: Jha'Quan Jackson, WR, Tulane
Another smaller receiver with big-play ability, Jha'Quan Jackson rounds out this NFL Draft class for the Broncos, who go for a total reset at the position in 2024. We could see both Courtland Sutton and Tim Patrick gone this offseason. We could see the Broncos move on from a number of other guys.
Jackson is someone who could come in and give the Broncos another viable option in the return game so they can expand Marvin Mims's role offensively as well.