Sleeper QB feels he made a good impression on Broncos HC Sean Payton

The Denver Broncos met with a lot of quarterbacks at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine, including at least seven of them on "formal" interviews. Considering teams are only allowed a total of 45 formal interviews at the Combine, the fact that the Broncos used roughly 1/6 of their formal interviews on quarterbacks is telling. They're trying to get to know each of these guys, and everything seems to be pointing toward the team taking a QB high in the 2024 NFL Draft.

But what if the Broncos are not strictly thinking about 1st-round QBs? What if they prefer to trade down in round one and add extra picks, perhaps finding the quarterback they like later on? If that ends up being the case, then maybe former South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler could be the guy they go after.

According to Rattler, he feels like he made a good impression on Sean Payton and the Denver Broncos when he got a shot to interview with them.

Spencer Rattler interviews with Denver Broncos at NFL Combine

Rattler says in this interview that his meeting with the Broncos went very well, but a couple of specific notes from him are worth mentioning.

He called the situation in Denver "interesting" and also said that Sean Payton was "impressed" with his film. Those are two very crucial notes because we heard from Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. that Payton grilled him on some of his worst plays from college.

Rattler has had an interesting journey since high school where he was a top-rated recruit and heir apparent to the throne at Oklahoma under Lincoln Riley. People were really rubbed the wrong way by the way Rattler came across in the Netflix QB1 documentary, but it's a good thing the guy has had some time to grow and mature and -- dare we say -- change since then.

Rattler's on-field abilities matured substantially based on what we saw this past year at South Carolina. What we saw at Oklahoma was a talented guy who won based on his talent, not necessarily his ability to prepare and win before the game even started. At South Carolina, we saw the preparation. We saw the processing. We saw a quarterback.

Add in the fact that Rattler has some playmaking abilities, and you might be looking at a guy that can run your offense effectively as well as break the pocket when needed, throw off-platform, and make plays with his legs.

Sean Payton said something earlier this offseason about not following the "NFL train" that's out there based on where the media perceives players. He was talking about the fact that guys get pinned into certain round ranges because of where analysts have them, but that he would basically only be taking that with a grain of salt.

Essentially, what Payton was saying was this: Don't be surprised if the Broncos pick guys in certain spots that don't jive with the groupthink that's out there. If everyone is saying Spencer Rattler is a 3rd-round pick, Payton doesn't want anyone to be shocked if he feels he's a first or second-round pick. Obviously, Payton never mentioned Rattler by name, he's just an example. But the point remains.

Maybe Spencer Rattler will end up being the next quarterback of the Denver Broncos. His tape obviously made an impression.