What is Payton’s plan at QB?
Q>> At this point, it’s apparent it’s a full rebuild. Do we just not swing and potentially miss on a quarterback this draft and trade back and take the most talented available player at the time and trade for Sam Howell?
PARKER >> Obviously since the submission, Howell’s been traded to Seattle instead of Denver, but the idea about trading back is still on the table. And Howell, to me, made sense as a bridge, though the Commanders got a pretty strong return for him in the form of a pick swap that equaled the value of a latethirdor early-fourth-round pick.
The Broncos have enough needs to justify that trade-back move, especially at other premium positions. They could use an interior defensive lineman, another cornerback, a succession plan at tackle, a gamebreaking wide receiver, an edge rusher or a Brock Bowers. Bottom line: They need good players. As many as they can get. But they’re also not going to solve all or even most of those positions in one single draft class. And, in a way, that’s how you end up always winding back to the QB conversation. The Broncos are going to be rebuilding for this offseason and next at least. But that project can’t really be finished unless you find a QB, so you’d better find one as soon as possible.
Q>> We all know that NFL teams are only as good as their offensive and defensive lines. No offense to Pat Surtain II, but even as good as he is, he is not going to single-handedly change the defense. Since the Broncos are now in full rebuild mode, and I hate to say this, but wouldn’t it be better to get at least two top picks for Surtain, as the Broncos have SO many holes to fill and could sure use another first and maybe a second rounder? If they wanted to, that would also allow them to trade up significantly for one of the top QBS this year.
PARKER >> I understand the thought process. Let’s make one thing clear off the top: There’s been no indication that Denver’s entertaining trading Surtain and, even more to the point, part of the reason for taking the bigger portion of Russell Wilson’s dead cap charge in 2024 is because the Broncos are expecting to make moves like massive extensions for Surtain and guard Quinn Meinerz in the next year.
A year is a long time, to be sure, and a theoretical trade window doesn’t close this summer. Jalen Ramsey went from Jacksonville to the Los Angeles Rams during his fourth season (Surtain’s entering his fourth) for two first-round picks and a fourth-rounder. Maybe worth mentioning here: The Jags turned those first-round picks into edge K’lavon Chaisson and running back Travis Etienne. Etienne has two 1,000-yard seasons under his belt and 16 touchdown runs in two seasons. Chaisson has five career sacks.
More to the point, the thing that makes Surtain unique in this conversation is that he is so good and also so young. In fact, Surtain is two months younger than Oregon quarterback Bo Nix and one month older than Washington’s Michael Penix, Jr. So no matter what your timeline is on a rebuild, you should have a long competitive window where Surtain is in his prime. At the outset of the 2026 season, Surtain will be 26. He’ll be younger then than Kansas City’s L’jarius Sneed or Green Bay’s Jaire Alexander were at the beginning of the 2024 season.
Denver will pick up Surtain’s fifth-year option between now and May 2, which will give him a guaranteed $19.802 million salary for 2025. But that’s really just a placeholder for starting extension talks. If they can’t find a deal, there’s always the franchise tag option in 2026. But both sides would probably rather find a long-term agreement.
There’s no doubt the Broncos are short on good players, but Surtain’s an exceptional one and he’s likely to be for a long time.