The day was April 29th, 2021. Draft day (No not the terrible movie with Kevin Costner the actual NFL one). Chili salesman and Super Bowl champion Mark Schlereth went on Denver airwaves and sent Broncos Country into a tizzy by stating that an Aaron Rodgers trade to the Broncos was “As close to a done deal as it can be”.
This would then kick off a Broncos QB bonanza that culminated in the Broncos trading for not Rodgers, but Russell Wilson the very next year. However, it has become extremely clear that the Broncos dodged an enormous bullet by not trading for Rodgers, and that events played out as well as it could have for Denver. Let me dive in.
If the Broncos were to have pulled off a trade for Rodgers that would have been a deal very similar to the Russell Wilson trade AKA: a crap ton of draft picks. That would have meant the 2021 first round pick which that year was number 9.
The Broncos selected Pat Surtain aka the best cornerback in football and the possible defensive player of the year with that pick. So kiss that goodbye. Not only that, but let’s pretend the Broncos threw in a third-rounder from 2021 to sweeten the deal for Green Bay, that then means no Quinn Meinerz. The butterfly effect would have been much more disastrous for the Broncos than the Russ deal ended up being, seeing as they are already out of the woods pick-wise and are about to be done with it cap-wise after next season.
The Broncos dodged a bullet not trading for Aaron Rodgers
Rodgers being in Denver means you also don’t have Sean Payton as head coach as Nathaniel Hackett would still be around because why else was he even hired in the first place? This would also then mean come draft time 2024 you don’t need to go Quarterback as you’re trying to capitalize on a Hall of Famers final years, so you probably go receiver or offensive line as opposed to, I don’t know say Bo Nix? Think of this hellacious timeline we just landed ourselves on. Now let’s get back to reality and check in on New York, the team that ended up with Rodgers…
The Jets have been an unmitigated disaster this season. Yes, they’ve been terrible in other seasons, but this one has just been spectacular. The fingers are pointing in all directions, first head coach Robert Saleh was fired, and now general manager Joe Douglas is gone after owner Woody Johnson claimed full control over the team as if being British Ambassador again here soon isn’t enough. Now all of this isn’t solely on Rodgers, in many ways, he, like Billy Joel, didn’t start the fire. However, he helped toss a couple of gallons of gasoline into it. A couple of gallons that Broncos Country thankfully avoided.
In 2021, Broncos Country (Including myself) would have been very okay with putting aside Rodgers’ behavior, his weekly appearances on the Chris Farley show, I’m sorry Pat McAfee show, where he’s told how great he is to see great QB play. However, seeing how it is turning out for the Jets, where Robert Saleh was made the scapegoat and ol Nat Hackett was (Once again) demoted from being play caller and is now at the job he’s best suited for, being Rodgers’ water carrier and hype man.
The Broncos are headed in the opposite direction. QB Bo Nix has only gotten better the more he has played, going off for 307 yards and 4 touchdowns on 28/33 passing against the Falcons, arguably the best performance out of any rookie quarterback. It is obvious that the Broncos dodged a mile high sized bullet by not trading for Rodgers, and are much better equipped for the future than whatever the Jets are attempting to do now and in the future.