Rumor: Broncos are not interested in the first-round quarterbacks per ESPN’s Todd McShay

Let the rumors begin!

According to ESPN’s draft analyst Todd McShay, he is hearing that the Broncos will not be taking a quarterback in the first-round, but will be focusing on other needs in the first-round.

“I’m hearing that the Broncos will not be taking a quarterback in the first round. Instead, they are more likely to roll the dice with Joe Flacco and attend to other needs. If Denver doesn’t go defense here, which is a possibility, it could go with Hockenson. But I’m also told Michigan ILB Devin Bush is in play.”

McShay notes that the Broncos want to “roll the dice” with quarterback Joe Flacco first before acquiring another “quarterback of the future”. Or in other words, they’re punting this big need down the road and revisiting it again in 2020 when Justin Herbert will be available.

The non-quarterback prospects that McShay says the Broncos are interested are the usual suspects. They are former Iowa tight end T.J. Hockenson and former Michigan inside linebacker, Devin Bush. Both would fill a big immediate need on the roster as well as fill a important role on the offense or defensive side of the ball.

If this rumor is true, I would expect the Broncos to be actively working the phones trying to find a trade partner to trade back with. Ideally, they would be able to acquire a 2020 first-round pick and use that pick to either get a quarterback, or package it with more assets to move up for that quarterback. The depth of this draft is also from say pick 20 to pick 70, so acquiring multiple picks in that range would be ideal if you want to add depth and youth to your roster.

This is likely the first of many rumors coming out prior to the first-round of the 2019 NFL Draft. I am sure I will be writing about how the Broncos are expected to draft Drew Lock in a day or two.