Broncos tried trading back into the first-round. Were they targeting linebacker Patrick Queen?

Denver Broncos General Manager John Elway held a conference call with members of the media at the conclusion of Thursday Night’s first-round of the 2020 NFL Draft. During the conference call, Elway was asked about the rumors of him trying to get back into the tail end of the first-round. He told reporters that there was an attempt, but no team was willing to go that far back.

First of all, we did try to get back in the back end and there wasn’t—people didn’t want to fall back as far as we were, so we couldn’t get back in. There was some attempt to get back in, but we were unable to do it. We’re happy with where we are. We still have four picks tomorrow, so we’ll see how things go.”

The Broncos currently hold the 46th overall selection in the second round so any team trading back would be going back about 15-20 spots and on the outside looking in when it comes to getting the top day two picks. So, it’s not surprising that teams were unwilling to make that deal with the Broncos without the Broncos likely giving up more than they wanted too.

Now, what player were they targeting in this potential trade up? Well, Brandon Kristzal tweeted out that the Broncos had “strong interest” in LSU linebacker Patrick Queen before he was selected by the Baltimore Ravens with their first-round pick.

Queen is a highly athletic and rangy linebacker who would have pushed veteran Todd Davis for a starting job and would have at least played a significant amount of sub-package snaps as well. His coverage ability is something the Broncos defense is lacking and he would have likely flourished in Vic Fangio’s defense. Unfortunately, we shall never know how that would have played out.

This does tell us the type of player the Broncos are targeting on day two of the 2020 NFL Draft. Someone who can a coverage role in sub-packages and has the speed, range, and athleticism to make plays in space. So, I expect someone like a Jeremy Chinn, Willie Gay Jr., or a Kyle Dugger to be a target in the second round.

Now with that said, I think the corner depth will be too good for the Broncos to pass up and they address this in the third-round but it’s definitely an area the Broncos want to address on day two.