FanPost

Denver Broncos Option: Quarterback or Bust

In the last 15 years, the Super Bowl has been won by men named Brady and Manning a combined 8 times. Big Ben also won twice. A-Rodg and Brees each had one.

Then you've got Joe Flacco and Russell Wilson who each won one time, along with the outlier of Brad Johnson.

Fear not, I'll do the math: 12 of the last 15 Lombardi winners were elite; 14 of 15 were at least good. The takeaway is that chasing a Lombardi with a below average quarterback is a fool's errand.

True, Peyton's skills were severely diminished when he helped the Broncos take home last year's trophy. Undoubtedly true. But, he was still an incredibly well respected leader and field general. And the defense was also historic. So, don't try and make an average out of one. Don't expect lightening twice.

General Management 101:

1. Plan to have an elite quarterback.

2. If you don't have an elite quarterback, plan to go get one.

3. If it falls through, and only after it falls through, then you are allowed to hope you can win without one.

4. It is okay to fail in your attempt at getting the elite "Franchise Quarterback" you so greatly desire, but it is never okay if you fail to try.

#Winning.

Winning the Super Bowl with an average quarterback happens about once each decade. So again, it's okay to hope.

It's just not okay to use hope as a plan.

Quick, what is General Manger John Elway?

One word: Aggressive.

When John wanted to land Peyton Manning - the greatest free agent to ever be available on the open market - he did exactly that, he went out and got him. When he wanted little 'ol Wes Welker, it was done. He went out and "won free agency" again when he somehow added DeMarcus Ware, Aqib Talib and TJ Ward all in the same offseason.

And then what about when Coach John Fox got fired after having done nothing at all, except to win four consecutive division titles and a trip to the Super Bowl?

John doesn't care what you think, nor does he care what I think. He's smart. And aggressive. He'll do whatever it takes in his pursuit of greatness, and it's already earned him three (3) World Championships - twice as a player, once as a General Manager.

B-E AGGRESSIVE.

The Broncos need an elite quarterback, and Elway knows this. Elite quarterbacks don't grow on trees, and he knows this too. The next Peyton Manning isn't coming by way of free agency. Tom Brady isn't coming to suit up in orange any time soon, and the stork drops babies, not baby-Elways; everybody knows this, too.

This year's draft is somewhat unique in that it can be argued that there are more top-5 talents at QB than there are teams in the top-5 that actually need a QB. Seems a little weird if you ask me. Either way, there's a pretty decent chance that one of Jared Goff or Carson Wentz make it to number six - Baltimore's pick, right before the Niners.

For context, the most widely used trade value chart estimates that making this move would cost the Broncos roughly their 1 and 2 this year along with their 1 and 3 next year.

The Broncos have a lot of high comp picks being added in the next couple years, and that will help ease the pain of spending a few high picks on a QB. The Broncos also solidified the OL pretty well already, and that should help ensure there aren't immediate needs being neglected while trading up for a QB. And to those who might say instead that we're in 'win now' mode and need to quickly reload, I'd say in rebuttal that this team is too good to expect immediate starters anyway.

Is trading up in the draft too expensive? Is it too aggressive?

Some of you want to wait and grab a rookie gun-slinger in the middle rounds. To this, I openly wonder why we would expect to get an elite player out of a guy who isn't even deemed worthy of a first-round grade. Stop using hope as a plan. Go get your man. Nut up... And go get him. B-E AGGRESSIVE.

We hear all the time that Elway is patient and methodical; he won't overpay, and he won't mortgage our future. Blah, blah, blah. But the reality is that sacrificing our future would be to pretend a Franchise Quarterback is going to fall from the sky again. Or to pretend that we don't need one.

There are no stores selling Franchise Quarterbacks on the black market. There are no stars falling from the sky. There's only one market where a Franchise Guy might be available, and although it's incredibly expensive, it's also incredibly worth it.

Listen, Linda... It's a greater possibility than you think..

We really don't know what Elway is willing to do in order to get his QB of the future, because he's essentially had Peyton Manning ever since he became the General Manager. All we really know is that he values the position enough to where he was willing to spend a second-round draft pick on a four-year backup (Brock). We also know that he's not averse to moving up in the first-round, as he's reportedly tried to make aggressive draft-day trades several times in the past, including for players such as Nick Fairly and CJ Mosely. He's also succeeded in trading up in the first-round as well, as each of you are well aware.

What we know is that General John Elway is aggressive. And confident. And that he's aware there's a tremendous cost associated with getting an elite quarterback.

The rules set forth by the Football Gods dictate that an elite quarterback is a necessity whenever the goal is to be consistently awesome. And since that's our goal, then the cost automatically has to be considered affordable regardless of how much that cost is.

It's in the stars, my friends. This is our time. The 2016 NFL Draft is the draft where Elway gets his man... come hell or high water.

This is a Fan-Created Comment on MileHighReport.com. The opinion here is not necessarily shared by the editorial staff of MHR.