A 3-headed Broncos’ Mock: Should the Broncos chase Trey Lance?

According to Football Outsiders’ Playoff Odds Report, the Broncos currently have a 38.3% chance at a top five pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. With such strong odds at landing a pick near the top, it doesn’t seem too soon to start looking ahead. To better get an idea as to how the draft could go and where the class is strongest, I reached out to Ben Glassmire.

1st round

Let’s assume Trevor Lawrence, Penei Sewell, and Justin Fields are off the board. Knowing what we know now: if every other player is available for the Broncos, who do you think they should take?

Glassmire: I think a lot of it depends on how Lock performs coming off injury. If he doesn’t look right or is underperforming I think Trey Lance (assuming he declares) should be towards the top of their list.

In terms of other positions they should target: if they let Bolles go in free agency, tackle will become a need but there’s no one after Sewell I’m taking that high. Linebacker is an interesting thought and I think Dylan Moses fits well but it’s also too early to take him. From what I know about the Broncos I don’t think Micah Parsons would be a great fit so outside of Lance I land on Caleb Farley out of Virginia Tech as my preferred choice. Farley is my number one rated corner and a Top 10 player in the class. He’s got all the tools of a lockdown corner and would be a great fit across from Ojemudia.

Does it concern you that he won’t play between now and the draft?

Glassimire: Not particularly. He showed me enough on tape last year to be comfortable taking him early.

2nd round

If Farley is the pick in round one, who are some names that look like they’d be ideal fits and values early on day 2?

Glassmire: If they lose Bolles I would be looking at OT in the second round. There is a large pool of guys who I don’t see as first rounders. Guys like Jackson Carman, Jalen Mayfield, and then lesser known players that I actually like more than Carman and Mayfield would be Abraham Lucas out of Washington State and Spencer Brown from Northern Iowa.

Another position group I’d want to go after is linebacker. I love Nick Bolton out of Missouri and have a first round grade on him. He’s a top tier athlete who would be excellent value in the second round. I also really like KJ Britt out of Auburn who could be a riser when we get closer to the draft.

If they were to take Trey Lance in round one a guy like Jaycee Horn out of South Carolina to fill the corner spot or Cade Sterns to take over at safety would be intriguing.

3rd round

You kind of gave me 3 scenarios for the 3rd round, so we’re going to flesh it out a bit.

A. Caleb Farley, tackle in round 2

B. Caleb Farley, Bolton in round 2

C. Trey Lance, Jaycee Horn in round 2

In each of these, who are you chasing to finish Day 2?

Glassmire: For scenario A, I would be looking for a linebacker.

There are so many names in this class who I really enjoyed watching and for a team that needs one as bad as the Broncos I’d be disappointed not to come away with at least one. For the third round I’d look at a guy like Kuony Deng, not your traditional linebacker build at a listed 6’6” but can do so many different things and as long as they are patient with him he could be a an absolute stud in so many roles.

For scenario B I’d be interested in a dart throw QB.

Someone like Jamie Newman who opted out of this season would be really interesting. He could potentially push Lock and offer a little more mobility if they ever wanted to make a switch. Not saying they have to go QB but the talent in this class drops off fast so if they are at all interested in grabbing someone who could be a factor down the road I think this could be the place to do it

In Scenario C you’ve already got two of my favorite players in the entire class and I’d really want to protect Trey Lance.

Lance is a bit more on the developmental side for quarterbacks and I’d love to see him sit for a part of the season just to get acclimated after making the jump from FCS. A guy I’d look at is Daniel Faalele. It’s not a sure thing that he comes out and he’s super raw but has out of this world physical traits. He’s listed at 400 pounds and does not move like he’s that big. Like Lance he will need time to develop and putting those two guys on the same timeline could be beneficial to the future of the organization.

Day 3

I don’t want to make you go pick by pick here because it’s just so darn early, but what position groups look strongest in this upcoming class?

Glassmire: Wide Receiver has been so fun for me to watch because there are so many potentially stars. This doesn’t help the Broncos much because their top three guys are locked in but if they want to add a fourth guy to that room this would be the class to do it. Offensive tackle looks great as well. Lots of guys who haven’t been dug up yet and some others who may slide a bit. Also really like this linebacker class so far and there will be a lot of solid contributors coming out of it.