What is George Paton’s plan for quarterback competition?

The 2021 NFL Draft is a week away and general manager George Paton is still keeping his options open for how the Denver Broncos could bring in quarterback competition.

George Paton — “We are really high on Drew Lock … but we are still going to look at the quarterback position and will bring in competition.” pic.twitter.com/30qKBnR2GV

— Kendall Valenzuela (@kvalenzuela17) April 22, 2021

Paton ensured that quarterback Drew Lock has been improving during the offseason, but competition is inevitable.

“We do like Drew Lock. What we don’t want to do is force it. We still have time,” Paton said.

The question on everyone’s mind is when the Broncos new general manager will make the move.

The draft is days away and Broncos Country has watched a flurry of quarterback moves throughout the last few months.

Paton said on Thursday that the team has not called about trading up from their ninth-overall position, but they have received calls from other teams about moving back.

If the Broncos stay at No. 9 could they draft a quarterback they feel will make a difference? Unlikely.

Paton attended the Pro Day workouts of Ohio State’s Justin Fields and North Dakota State’s Trey Lance, but the chance that either quarterback would fall to nine is unrealistic.

However, Paton isn’t worried about how much time the team is taking to make this decision.

“We still have time. There’s a trade market. We still have the draft. We’re going to be patient and not force it,” Paton said. “We do want competition and the landscape could change after the draft if a team takes a quarterback and then makes one available.”

One thing we know for sure: competition is coming. The question now is when.

“We’re going to be patient, not force it. We do realize we want competition and I’ve said that since I’ve gotten here and that hasn’t changed.”