Should Broncos trade up for Drake Maye, Jayden Daniels?

Denver Post Broncos writer Parker Gabriel posts his Broncos Mailbag weekly during the season and periodically during the offseason. Click here to submit a question.

Would you trade up to get Drake Maye or Jayden Daniels?

— Salvatore Esposito, Toms River, N.J.

Whew, Salvatore, putting me on the spot right out of the chute. At the beginning of the draft cycle, I’d have leaned hard toward no. Still maybe do, though softer.

In a lot of ways, it just doesn’t make a lot of sense, right? The Broncos haven’t had a first-round pick since 2021. They only have three No. 1s on their roster currently: Garett Bolles (2017), Jerry Jeudy (2020) and Pat Surtain II (2021). It is at least conceivable that Bolles, Jeudy or both could be moved this offseason. You just can’t keep giving up top draft selections and expect to be in the hunt every year.

At the same time, you can’t win in the NFL without a quarterback. The Broncos don’t have one. They’re going to be dealing with Wilson’s dead cap for two years. And people in the NFL will tell you at this stage — still very early, of course — that the 2025 quarterback class projects as being weaker than the current one.

So… let’s take all of that as fact. Now, if you really feel Maye or Daniels can be a franchise cornerstone at the most important position in the game, you do it and pay whatever it costs. Somehow, though, you’ve got to avoid the Carolina Panthers’ current situation. They have a young quarterback and lack much of anything else. Last week, the NFL Network’s terrific draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah talked about the three Ps you want for a quarterback: Protection, playmakers and a play-caller. The Broncos have decent infrastructure there, but work to do.

The quarterback class is going to get dissected big time over the next two months. None of the top guys are perfect players or full-on, no-doubt slam-dunks. Both Maye and Daniels have more plusses than minuses. Not sure I have a clear favorite at this point, but this much I think is safe to say: Daniels is going to make teams near the top of the draft think long and hard about whether they’re willing to pass on him.

Has anyone seen the talent that North Carolina’s Drake Maye could bring to the Broncos table? He looks like he could be the guy.

— Andy Pino, Denver

Yup, Andy, Maye is what it looks like. Big, physical, strong arm, mobile, comes from a family of athletes, all the talent you could want. There will be a lot of nitpicking over the next few weeks and there will be talk about this guy falling or that guy falling. Most of it just silly season nonsense.  That trio is coming off the board fast. Then the question becomes if a fourth guy — probably either Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy or Oregon’s Bo Nix — can get himself into the top 10 conversation, too.

I am amazed with some comments concerning the draft. People seem to think that first-rounders, including quarterbacks, are sure things. Paxton Lynch anyone? Sam Darnold? Zach Wilson? Trey Lance? The NFL is horrible at evaluating quarterbacks. To consider trading more draft capital to move up a few spots to draft a “franchise” quarterback seems idiotic, especially given the Broncos’ needs at so many positions. If anything, we should move back and get more draft choices. What say you?

— David Lutz, Overland Park, Kan.

Absolutely, David, this is the flip side of emptying the Brink’s truck to trade up. Did you go from No. 27 to No. 10 like Kansas City and draft an all-timer in Patrick Mahomes? Or did you trade up from No. 12 to No. 3 like San Francisco to take Lance?

Chicago traded up in 2017 to take Mitch Trubisky eight picks before Mahomes. Then they sat at No. 11 in 2021 and took Justin Fields. Now they have the No. 1 pick and will probably take a quarterback again — though they’re much better situated now in terms of draft capital and future outlook.

The Broncos have tried a bunch of things at quarterback since Peyton Manning retired. They took Lynch late in the first round. Drew Lock in the second. Bridge guys, including Teddy Bridgewater. Then the massive Wilson trade. None of it’s worked. The only thing they haven’t done is take a quarterback early in the first round.

If Payton thinks his guy is there, he’s going to do everything in his power to not leave fate in other teams’ hands. But then the next part is you’d better be right. Payton expressed supreme confidence in that element of the equation Tuesday, saying of the quarterback search, “I think we’ll be really good at this and I think, to some degree, we’re glad that a lot of people aren’t.”

Hey Parker, with first-round quarterbacks becoming successful in the NFL such a crapshoot, what do you think about Denver going for the best player available in the first round and then maybe going for someone like Jordan Travis, Michael Pratt or Spencer Rattler later on in the draft? They probably won’t win the starting spot next year (I feel like we’re going to end up with a journeyman as our starter), but at least we won’t be reaching for someone who might not be the best fit.

— Mike, Denver

Definitely an option, Mike. Here’s one thing worth considering: It’s unlikely Denver goes into training camp with just a rookie and Jarrett Stidham. They’re going to be on the hunt for another addition, either via free agency or trade (not like a Wilson-scale trade, obviously, but much more modest).

Does the rookie conversation depend in part on what free agency brings? There are obvious financial considerations, but could Baker Mayfield be enough to make Payton and general manger George Paton consider bolstering other areas early in the draft. What about if Washington moves off Sam Howell? Or if you know you can get him for a Day 3 draft pick?

The other possibility is that they can’t get up to the top of the draft and they like but don’t love the next tier of guys. Then by all means, either take a special player at No. 12 or move back. If one of the top offensive tackles — Notre Dame’s Joe Alt and Penn State’s Olu Fashanu — or Georgia tight end Brock Bowers is there at No. 12, take him, play him the next decade and be happy about it every day.

Parker, not a question, just a thank you. Your explanation of Russell Wilson’s cap numbers for 2024 made clear what had been unclear on this topic, and answered my question very well. Keep up the good work!

— Fred Waiss, Prairie du Chien, Wis.

Glad to be of service, Fred. Put me down for the option where the Broncos account for $53 million in dead cap for 2024 and then the final $32 in 2025. It is a massive amount to deal with regardless, so get most of the belt-tightening out of the way this year, force yourself to make sound financial decisions and then arrive in 2025 with a decent-sized but very workable amount left to swallow when the cap is possibly north of $275 million.

In your estimation, was it the Broncos or Russell Wilson who took the biggest public relations hit from the Wilson interview where he talked about the injury clause? And will free agents now be a bit leery about signing with Denver?

— Ed Helinski, Auburn, N.Y.

Hey Ed, great question. Depends on who you ask, but I do think you can make the argument either way. The conventional wisdom is the Broncos came off looking worse and there’s usually — rightfully — more grace given to players protecting their rights than teams trying to get what they want. And you’ll find a lot of people who think Wilson handled himself well, particularly on Dec. 29 when he talked with reporters in the Broncos locker room about the situation.

In the end, the Broncos had the right to ask but they knew what the answer was going to be. And Wilson had every right to tell them to take the request and, ya know, park it in a shady spot. That’s how it played out. Feelings got hurt and and what did anybody get for it? A messy divorce that probably would have been a messy divorce of a slightly different flavor had those conversations never happened on the bye week.

Hello from very icy and slippery Finland!

How do you rank QB prospects in the draft as a fit for the Broncos and Sean Payton’s system? Is there someone who should be franchise-tagged this year? A free agent who you crave to be a new Bronco?

— Jude, Lahti, Finland

Icy and slippery back in Denver, too, Jude, though when I got to the combine in Indianapolis on Monday, it was 73 and sunny. Go figure.