Broncos must face risk in order to reap rewards

The Denver Broncos infamous playoff loss to the Baltimore Ravens will forever be remembered for Rahim Moore’s poorly timed attempt at a pass deflection that resulted in a Jacoby Jones touchdown.

I remember the game for two other moments. The first is head coach John Fox’s decision to hand the ball off to backup running back Ronnie Hillman on third-and-seven to run out the clock versus having Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning attempt to convert a first down through the air.

In addition, after the Jacoby Jones touchdown, the Broncos had two timeouts, 30 seconds on the clock and Manning. Fox opted to sit on the ball and head to overtime, where Denver would lose the game and ruin what was a promising season.

Conversely, in the 1997 AFC Championship game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, needing a conversion on a third-and-six to secure a trip to the Super Bowl, head coach Mike Shanahan opted to not hand off the ball to a red-hot Terrell Davis. Instead, he had John Elway pass for the first down.

Elway found Shannon Sharpe, and the Broncos went to the Super Bowl.

Scared money don’t make none.

Fox was too conservative. It doesn’t matter how much talent is on a roster or within an organization, playing it safe will have bad results every single time.

Shanahan was shrewd and unafraid to make a big move if he felt it would improve his team’s chances of winning.

Therefore, current Broncos general manager George Paton needs to take the big swing and walk out of the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft on Thursday night with a new quarterback.

If the Broncos go the safe route and make a good, solid pick like Patrick Surtain II — or even trades back — it will tell us all we need to know about Paton. That he is conservative in his approach and will never feel a sense of urgency.

Paton can’t fear the bottom falling out. This roster should be constructed to win rather than “not to lose.” High risk, but high reward.

Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay are both moving on from quarterbacks that led them to the Super Bowl. Andy Reid drafted Patrick Mahomes while Alex Smith was regularly leading the Chiefs to the playoffs.

All three have led their teams to the Super Bowls with a fearless approach.

Scared money don’t make none.

The quarterback landscape of the AFC currently boasts a lineup of Mahomes, Justin Herbert, Josh Allen, Baker Mayfield, Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow and soon to be Trevor Lawrence and Zach Wilson. The oldest player in that list is 25 years old. These guys aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. Each day the Broncos don’t have their quarterback of the future, they fall further behind the rest of the AFC.

For the Broncos to position themselves to compete long term, Paton needs to be bold and get his quarterback, even if that requires trading up. Elway already blew it in 2018 by choosing to ride with Case Keenum over Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson. Both Jackson and Allen have emerged as two of the most talented and versatile young quarterbacks in the NFL.

The ghost of the Paxton Lynch draft pick can’t haunt this team forever. Move one.

Yes, it is risky drafting a quarterback in the top 10, but so is every position. The gamble of the draft, specifically the first round, has failures across all positions. So, the risk exists regardless. Draft busts are not exclusive to quarterback.

A cautious approach is a dead end in the NFL. Not when other teams are taking risks. Fox probably cost the Broncos at least one Super Bowl because he was too conservative. Gary Kubiak benched Manning, and then benched his replacement in Week 17 before the playoffs, and then won the Super Bowl.

Careful and slow has never won the Broncos anything. A sense of urgency and the willingness to take risks wins Super Bowls.

It’s time for George Paton to do the one thing the Broncos have never done and that is draft a quarterback in the top 10. It might not work out, but it’s worth the risk.