Zach Wilson trade shakes up Denver Broncos 7-round 2024 NFL mock draft
Does the Zach Wilson trade take the Broncos out of the QB race in round 1?
The Denver Broncos made a trade for former 2nd overall pick Zach Wilson to hopefully add some intrigue to the quarterback position this year, at the very least. The Broncos have passed on every other available quarterback up until this point, and now that Wilson is in the building just days before the 2024 NFL Draft, the plot has effectively thickened.
How much does Zach Wilson's arrival impact the team's plans in the 1st round of the 2024 NFL Draft? The simple answer to that is -- it doesn't. The longer answer is that the Broncos took a low-risk shot on Wilson, and regardless of what happened during the NFL Draft, they were going to need to add a quarterback with starting experience to the roster.
What Wilson's arrival could potentially reveal is that the Broncos have been more open to non-quarterbacks in the first round than anyone could have expected. Or perhaps the team has recently caught wind that they are not going to be in a position for one of the top four quarterbacks in the draft, and they are getting Wilson as insurance.
Whatever the case, let's take a look at another 7-round Denver Broncos mock draft scenario, where the ideal setup at this point could very well be trading down with another team.
1. 22nd overall (from Eagles): Laiatu Latu, EDGE, UCLA
Broncos - Eagles draft trade
There might be a little bit of hesitance on the part of Broncos Country to really get on board with Laiatu Latu being the team's top pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, but this is a possibility whether it happens in a trade-down scenario or even if the Broncos stay at #12 overall.
There's a possibility that teams view Latu as the top EDGE guy in the entire draft, even over Dallas Turner, and the Broncos might be one of them. He did have injury issues at Washington (before transferring to UCLA) that had him declared "medically retired". Those issues have yet to result in Latu failing medically on any boards, at least that anyone knows of.
Latu brings an NFL-ready pass rush skill set to the table and would give the Broncos a true "alpha" off the edge to go along with the rest of the group that includes Baron Browning, Jonathon Cooper (both in contract years), and Nik Bonitto.