The Denver Broncos are currently in an unenviable position. They are a team looking to rebuild and find something to get them out of a long drought but they happen to play in the same division as the best team in football.
After witnessing the Kansas City Chiefs go back-to-back as Super Bowl champions, Sean Payton and the rest of the Denver front office are tasked with trying to figure out how to stop the league's latest dynasty. That is going to prove quite the challenge.
Payton is almost certain to move on from Russell Wilson at quarterback, meaning all talks this offseason as it relates to the Broncos will be dominated by the question of who will be the next quarterback. Payton is a competitor and he knows he needs to get as close as he can to matching the guy that the Chiefs have...
Patrick Mahomes.
Good luck. He is the modern-day Tom Brady and no team ever came close to finding someone to match him, which is why the New England Patriots dominated the AFC East for the better part of two decades.
The Broncos don't want to see that happen in the AFC West, but it is clear that it is going to take a special group of players to consistently be better than this Chiefs squad.
That's not going to happen with a veteran free agent like Ryan Tannehill or Jameis Winston. It's quite questionable as to whether or not it could happen with a rookie such as Bo Nix or J.J. McCarthy.
But with the No. 12 overall pick in the draft, one of them might be the best quarterback the team can get. So what is Payton to do? Knowing he has to find a way to beat Mahomes, it just might force him into making a crazy deal to get up into the top three picks of the draft, such as the ideas suggested here.
That seems drastic, but that is definitely what it could take for the Broncos to turn things around and become a team that can regularly compete with the Chiefs, not just in regular-season games, but for division titles and conference championships.
Right now, that road is going through Kansas City and it will be until further notice.
The Broncos may be forced to make a move to get someone like Caleb Williams, Drake Maye or Jayden Daniels at any cost.