The Broncos can leverage Watson’s trade value to find a QB

The 2021 NFL offseason is unlike anything the sports world has seen before. The number of franchise quarterbacks potentially up for grabs has virtually every team in the league taking a long look at their roster. The crown jewel of the offseason is Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson.

Watson, 25, appears to have reached a tipping point with the organization that drafted him 12th overall in 2017 and has officially asked the Houston Texans for a trade. His timing couldn’t have been better, as he just finished a 2020 season where he led the NFL with 4,823 passing yards, threw 33 touchdowns to just seven interceptions — nearly a 5:1 ratio — and completed 70.2 percent of his passes.

The list of suitors vying for Watson will be long and the price will be the steep according to long-time Texans reporter John McClain, who set the floor at two first-round picks, two second-round picks and two young defensive starters. That estimation, however, was made prior to the trade between the Lions and Rams that saw Matthew Stafford head West in exchange for two first-round picks, a third-round pick and former No. 1 overall selection Jared Goff, which likely raised Watson’s value significantly.

Fortunately for the Broncos, teams may not have to actually acquire the three-time Pro Bowler in order to benefit from his inflated value. There is a nebulous, grey area forming within the trade market that could provide an opportunistic team a chance to improve their quarterback room without breaking the bank in pursuit of Watson, and the process is simple: Orchestrate a three-team trade and lend a helping hand to another team trying to trade for him.

Each of the following teams would be prime candidates for a three-team deal prior to April’s draft:

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Miami Dolphins

The Dolphins are in prime position to package a deal for Watson. They drafted Tua Tagovailoa fifth overall last year and currently own the third-overall pick in this year’s draft, which they acquired from the Texans in a trade for offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil. Tagovailoa showed signs of promise in his nine starts, but reports of doubt within the locker room leave the door open for a deal to still be done, especially for a player of Watson’s caliber.

The Broncos, theoretically, could proposition the Dolphins to trade up from the ninth overall pick to No. 3 by offering a package of future picks, including their 2022 first-round selection.

This would give the Dolphins additional draft capital to offer the Texans and put the Broncos in a prime position to draft either Justin Fields or Zach Wilson in the upcoming draft — a scenario that all three sides would likely be happy with.

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Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings signed Kirk Cousins to a two-year, $66M extension just two years after signing the 32-year old signal caller to the first-ever fully-guaranteed contract in NFL history.

Despite the king’s ransom, the Vikings have only made the playoffs once with Cousins at the helm, when they advanced to the Divisional Round in 2019 before losing to the San Francisco 49ers.

Statistically speaking, Cousins has by no means been a below-average quarterback for the Vikings, but Deshaun Watson presents a sizable-enough upgrade to at least consider bringing him in.

If the Broncos were to offer a package similar to what the Rams gave up for Matthew Stafford (two first-round picks and a mid-round selection), they may entice the Vikings to part ways with Cousins and turn their attention toward Watson, now armed with four first-round picks over the next two drafts.

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San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers never made an official offer to the Lions for Matthew Stafford, but that likely won’t stop them from kicking the tires on a trade for a younger, more dynamic Watson. Jimmy Garoppolo led the 49ers to a Super Bowl just one season ago, but whispers about the team moving in a different direction still seem to creep up every offseason.

An argument could be made that Garoppolo is an attractive trade piece for the 49ers, but the Texans have made it clear they are interested in premium draft capital and young talent on defense. That opens the door for Denver to again offer a package of first-round picks in exchange for Garoppolo, paving the way for San Francisco to make a run at Watson.

A franchise quarterback like Watson hitting the open market inevitably creates a frenzy, that has the potential to shake up the NFL landscape in a relatively short length of time. The Broncos may not win this offseason’s grand prize but, with a little creative thinking, they could potentially capitalize on the desperation of other teams to secure an upgrade at the quarterback position.