The Denver Broncos are no longer living in the realm of "what if" when it comes to the quarterback position. The long grind that was the 2024 offseason has pretty much ended, and the Broncos have not only moved on from Russell Wilson but they've drafted former Oregon Ducks and Auburn Tigers star Bo Nix as their franchise quarterback to be.
But what if the Broncos didn't get Bo Nix at pick #12 overall? What if someone would have jumped ahead of them and taken him before the Broncos could?
Well, in that hypothetical situation, we might be sitting here today talking about Denver Broncos quarterback Spencer Rattler, believe it or not. Rattler was one of the biggest "fallers" of the 2024 NFL Draft. There was some substantial hype surrounding him after a strong throwing session at the Scouting Combine and some good PR, but that good PR may have only been coming from a couple of teams.
The Denver Broncos being one of them.
Rattler lasted to the 5th round where he was selected by the New Orleans Saints, ironically Sean Payton's former squad. According to ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter, however, the Denver Broncos were one of two teams with a 2nd-3rd-round grade on Rattler in the pre-draft process. And they -- along with the Atlanta Falcons -- may have liked him more than just about anyone else.
"The two teams that liked Spencer Rattler the most were the Broncos and Falcons..
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) April 29, 2024
Those two options closed up immediately which left him sitting on the board longer than people thought he would" ~ @AdamSchefter #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/qVXZabmgkY
Back at the NFL Combine, Rattler gave an interview to the media in which he made it sound like his meeting with Sean Payton went extremely well. Apparently, he wasn't kidding. For Rattler to grade as a 2nd-3rd-round player on the Denver Broncos' board is significant, but even as he was falling to the third day of the draft, the Broncos couldn't pull the trigger on possibly making him their second quarterback selected in the draft.
It wouldn't have been the worst idea in the world, though. The Broncos only have one more year of Jarrett Stidham, and could have saved $5 million by cutting him after the draft and just rolling with a room of Bo Nix, Zach Wilson, and Spencer Rattler.
No one is going to fault them for passing on the opportunity to do that, however, and the Broncos' 2024 draft class looks good overall. Adding a second quarterback may have raised some unnecessary questions about which QB the Broncos truly prefer and there was no need for that.
With that being said, it's fascinating to hear that the Broncos really liked Rattler. There were reports during the 2024 draft that Rattler was falling based largely on his appearance in a Netflix series called QB1 which has really shaped the way people perceive him from the outside. In that documentary, Rattler came off as pompous and arrogant, but that was like seven or eight years ago, and he was a teenager at the time.
He wore the captain's "C" on his chest at South Carolina and has, by all accounts, really matured as a person and player. The fact that there were teams actually taking that documentary into account is indicative that there are some real curmudgeons in NFL front offices and scouting departments.
Even though Sean Payton didn't get Rattler, hopefully he can go out and have a strong offseason for the Saints. He might be one injury away from being their starter at some point in 2024.