Denver has ample chips to deal with 10 picks in upcoming draft
Depending on John Elway’s plan and haul in free agency, he could be sitting on a gold mine that might be worth cashing in. The Broncos have 10 total picks in the upcoming NFL draft, including the No. 5 overall section.
Should the Broncos land their starter in free agency (hi, Kirk Cousins), bids could fly for that No. 5 pick. In fact, one team, the Buffalo Bills, has already been floated as a potential suitor. Buffalo owns the Nos. 21 and 22 picks and could package those as well as other selections to move up to No. 5 and grab one of the highly touted quarterbacks.
Only four times since the AFLNFL merger in 1970 have the Broncos owned a top-five pick in the draft. One of those, in 1983, landed the Broncos offensive lineman Chris Hinton at No. 4 — who was quickly traded to Baltimore for quarterback John Elway.
That deal worked out pretty well.
The only time the Broncos have owned a top-five pick since Elway joined the front office was in his first year, 2011, and he took Von Miller at No. 2.
That selection also worked out pretty well.
This year, the Broncos have an array of options to reshape their roster, and should they get their quarterback, the value of that first-round selection could help them build around their new quarterback.
According to an NFL source, the Broncos will roll over about $10.2 million in unused 2017 salary cap space. The 2018 cap has yet to be officially set — it will be in March before the new season begins — but early projections have it at $178 million or even more than $179 million. Based on those figures, Denver could enter free agency with more than $37 million in room as they pursue a high-priced quarterback. (Cousins is expected to garner close to $30 million a year.)
In his seven years in charge of the Broncos’ football operations, Elway has traded up within the first round twice, to land defensive end Shane Ray in 2015 and quarterback Paxton Lynch in 2016. Elway has moved back only once, in 2012, shortly after he signed Peyton Manning in free agency.
May recent history serve as a guide on the value of top-five picks? The Bears gave up their first-, third- and fourth-round selections last year, plus a thirdround pick in 2018 just to jump one spot and land Mitchell Trubisky at No. 2 last year.
The Rams and Eagles both spent a fortune to climb into the top spots in 2016. The latter jumped from No. 8 to No. 2 to get Carson Wentz and gave the Browns 2016 first-, third- and fourth-round picks, along with a 2017 first- and a 2018 secondrounder to do so.
In 2014, the Bills gave up two first-round picks and a fourthround selection to move from No. 9 to No. 4 and get Sammy Watkins. In 2012, the Redskins gave up three first-rounders and a second-round pick to jump from No. 6 to No. 2 to get Robert Griffin. That same year, the Jaguars moved up two spots to No. 5, at a cost of their first- and fourthround picks.
This offseason may be the most important of Elway’s executive tenure as he looks to right a team that got off track following Peyton Manning’s retirement. Lucky for the GM, he’s sitting on gold.