Rumors started swirling at the Senior Bowl last month that Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton is willing to do whatever it takes to trade up and land a top quarterback prospect in the 2024 NFL draft.
Speaking to various media outlets at the Super Bowl’s radio row last Friday, Payton downplayed those rumors by saying he hadn’t even begun evaluating QBs in this year’s draft class.
“We start Monday with the front-board meetings — and what I mean by that, those are the draft meetings,” Payton explained during an interview with Adam Schein on Mad Dog Sports Radio on Feb. 9.
“So anything that people have said or commented about or heard about — ‘Oh trades and…’ — I can’t tell you the jersey number of these rookie quarterbacks yet. We start Monday on it. Right? How on earth are we going to [No.] 1 [overall] or going back to [Nos.] 5 or 6?”
Payton seems to be implying that he can’t be planning to trade up for a specific QB because he hasn’t even ranked the 2024 QBs on his big board yet. That doesn’t necessarily mean Payton isn’t open to the idea of trading up for whichever prospect he deems to be QB1, though.
Regardless of what Payton says publicly, the rumors won’t stop. With Russell Wilson facing an uncertain future in Denver, the Broncos will continue to be linked to QBs in the coming weeks. The 2024 NFL draft will be held in Detroit from April 25-27. Denver currently holds the 12th overall pick and six picks overall.
Follow the Broncos Wire Podcast:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts
