Clayton: The picture gets a little clearer for the Broncos on draft night
Apr 22, 2021, 1:40 PM | Updated: 2:02 pm
A few more things have started to emerge on what the Broncos might do next Thursday in the NFL Draft.
James Palmer from the NFL Network said general manager George Paton won’t be making a draft day trade until the start of the draft. That makes perfect sense.
If the Broncos would be trading up to get a quarterback, they have to see what quarterback is available. Paton has to know if Mac Jones, Justin Fields or Trey Lance become the third quarterback, and maybe the fourth quarterback, taken that night.
Palmer also reported that Paton has been getting calls for the ninth pick in trade up scenarios. No doubt. New England, Washington and Chicago are calling up for quarterbacks.
The other issue is news that Fields announced on Wednesday, he has epilepsy. Will that cause him to drop? It shouldn’t take him out of the top 10, but there could be a concern about his health.
The epilepsy hasn’t affected his ability to play, but he does have to take medication for it. This could now mean Lance could go ahead of Fields. We’ll see.
Daniel Jeremiah of the NFL Network held his Zoom pre-draft press conference on Wednesday and had some interesting thoughts about the Broncos. He said he would rate Lance and Fields ahead of Drew Lock when he was drafted. He would rate Lock over Mac Jones.
Jeremiah said if the Broncos don’t take a quarterback, they should take an offensive lineman. Surprisingly, he rates Rashawn Slater from Northwestern over Penei Sewell from Oregon.
Most people think the Bengals won’t let Sewell drop below the fifth pick. The chances of getting Slater depend on what the Panthers do with the No. 8 pick. After trading for Sam Darnold, Carolina could take Slater. But they could also trade down with a team looking for a quarterback.
The draft is getting closer and more info keeps coming out. Slowly but surely, that makes the picture clearer for the Broncos.
