2023-2024 NFL Season (1 Viewer)

[Jeffrey D]

We'll see now how great of quarterback coach Payton is now.

Broncos are still going to draft the best available QB at #12, right?

 

[Malcolm R]

Broncos are still going to draft the best available QB at #12, right?

Then they'll have an embarrassment of riches in the QB room.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Broncos are still going to draft the best available QB at #12, right?

I think the Broncos have a real issue at 12, namely that the top 4 QB prospects could all be gone by then. So, their choices at 12 would be Michael Penix and Bo Nix. Honestly, right now, Penix is listed as maybe a low first round pick, and Nix could be a Round 3 pick or later. So, in other words, if they take one of those guys at 12, they are really reaching. There will be some really good players on the board at 12, and so the Broncos should draft a good player at 12. Not saying that Nix and Penix are not good, but they are not good enough to be taken that high with the other choices that will be on the board.

I believe the Broncos, outside of a trade up that would involve their 12th pick, their first round pick next year, and their CB Pat Surtain (this is the trade up package they are considering offering) are likely considering taking a QB in a later round. They don't have a 2nd round pick, so likely in the 3rd round with pick 76, and that would be more than likely Spencer Rattler or Bo Nix.

So, unless Maye, Daniels, or McCarthy falls to 12, and it does not look like that at the moment, I think the Broncos do not take a QB at 12, or really, I think they should not take a QB at 12 if none of those guys are there. Draft a better prospect instead.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

It's the same position the Raiders are in really and the Raiders seem to be planning to try to take a top prospect at 13 and then either trade up to the bottom of round 1 or near the top of round 2 and take Penix. The thing is, the Raiders are in a position to be able to do that, the Broncos are not really. The Broncos best hope, I think, is one of the top QB prospects falls to 12. With so many teams ahead of them looking for QBs, and the Vikings positioned to trade up to land a QB, it just seems like all 4 of the top QBs are gone by the 12th pick.

So, really Zach Wilson could start some Broncos games next season. Have to see how he takes to Payton's precision QB system.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Then there is McCarthy, who has the stats of a guy that would probably go in the third round or below but he has been hyped into a top 5 pick. We'll see.

McCarthy's stats are not as impressive because Michigan had a run-oriented offense. He wasn't throwing the ball all over the place like some of the other QB's running up their stat line. I still think McCarthy is going to make a very good NFL QB. He has all the physical tools, is smart, personable and a great leader.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Yes, I think McCarthy looks like an interesting prospect. Harbaugh said the kid would do great in interviews and I would say he has, teams seem to love him. Yes, the offense he ran did not afford him the opportunity to throw as much as say, Daniels, who also had two first round selections at WR to throw to. Daniels stats are really impressive, which is why I think he was likely to be the second pick. Now, with him being open about not wanting to play for Washington, it remains to be seen what they may do at the second pick.

There are rumors that both the Commanders and Patriots could pass on QB and select Marvin Harrison Jr. instead. I think the Patriots think they have a solid interim QB in Brissett. They like him a lot. I think they also may prefer McCarthy over Daniels and Maye. I think what the Patriots are fantasizing about doing is perhaps trading back out of the three spot and still landing McCarthy.

Kliff Kingbury, the Washington OC, appears to really like Daniels and Mccarthy over Maye. Basically because he likes the duel threat QB option. Maye is more the traditional pocket passer.

I think there are some fair questions to be asked. For example, are Daniels numbers so gaudy because he had two guys to throw to that are going to be first round picks? The only real knock on Daniels I have seen is, he is built too small, in terms of frame. He has the height at 6'4" so I think you can probably get the guy to add some bulk.

How does McCarthy transition to the NFL? If he is in a system where they like a balanced attack, he may be very comfortable, but if he is on a team that wants to be throw heavy, will he handle that well? Several teams really like McCarthy it seems so will that cause the Commanders to just take him at two?

Maye already being in a pre-draft slide sort of makes taking McCarthy if you want him a bigger thing. McCarthy is getting a lot of buzz, Daniels is getting some, Maye seems to just be sliding down boards, which I think is odd because in many ways he seems like the best bet of all the QBs. Why is he sliding now? People are complaining about his accuracy, which was what caused Herbert to slide. I think doing that draft over, nobody would choose Tagovailoa over Herbert now. On Josh Allen, the main complaint on him was accuracy. Point being, I think accuracy can be fixed, you can coach a guy to better accuracy.

I think the number one thing that is harder to coach, some guys just have it, is their field vision. How quickly they see and process what is going on in front of them. The best QBs do it at lightning speed. The guys that don't struggle a lot more.

Probably the best example of this was Lance and Purdy with the 49ers. Lance had a far better set of tools, a far better arm, much more athletic, but Purdy saw and processed the field much better. Hence, even though he was smaller, did not have the big arm, was lacking in nearly every way in the physical tool box, he took the job and owns it now. Lance is a back-up in Dallas.

Or look at the Manning brothers. Eli had the better arm, was the more athletic of the two, but Peyton processed the field and what was happening lightyears faster than Eli. Peyton was the better QB.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Well, despite the rumblings that Daniels is/was upset with Washington, they will take him at 2 according to the expert predictions and Vegas odds. The Patriots are then expected to draft Maye with the third pick, unless they take the offer from the Vikings to get into that spot. The guessing game is though that the Vikings will trade up into the 5 spot with the Chargers moving back, because the Vikings target is said to be McCarthy and that the one team they want to get in front of is the Giants, who will supposedly take McCarthy if he is there when they pick at 6. Personally, I think the Giants are faking interest in McCarthy because what they really want at 6 is Malik Nabers and they want to see the Chargers move out of the 5th spot because if the Chargers stay there, they probably take Nabers or Joe Alt the tackle. So, if the Giants can get the Vikings to trade up above them, they have a much better shot at getting the WR they want.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

These are the teams that are said to be in intense talks to trade up into the top 5 for a QB:

Vikings
Giants
Raiders
Broncos

Obviously, the Vikings and Giants are in the best positions to trade up. The Giants because they don't have far to move they pick at 6, and Vikings because they have two first round picks this year and can throw in next year's first round pick. I can see the Giants making a trade with the Patriots pretty easily if they really want to. Still, my feeling on the Giants is they are playing poker here, trying to get other teams to move up.

The Raiders are picking at 13, so they would need to give up more to get into the top 5. The Broncos are basically draft poor and don't have a bunch of picks to trade, hence why they are discussing throwing in their corner Surtain.

The Cardinals don't get mentioned much as a trade partner, they pick at 4 and really, if you want to lock in being able to take a QB, 4 is the spot you want. However, they are said to be all in on taking Marvin Harrison Jr. to pair with Murray. The Raiders do have a plan in place to take a player at 13 and then move to the top of Round 2 to score their QB, presumably Penix, but option two if Penix is taken would be Bo Nix...unless the Broncos grab him at 12.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Thankfully it’s draft day so the speculation and endless rumors can come to an end.

 

[Malcolm R]

Thankfully it’s draft day so the speculation and endless rumors can come to an end.

That's most of the fun of the draft. The actual selections are usually pretty anti-climactic.

 

[Robert Crawford]

That's most of the fun of the draft. The actual selections are usually pretty anti-climactic.

After a while it isn’t fun any longer but just an exercise for pundits to argue about.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

That's most of the fun of the draft. The actual selections are usually pretty anti-climactic.

Most of the experts have settled into an agreement that the first three picks will be the Bears, Commanders, and Patriots all taking a QB. Then the potential of trades kicks off. The latest hot rumor being that the Jets will try to get into the 4 spot in a trade with Arizona so they can land Marvin Harrison Jr. which, fine if true, but wow, I don't think the Jets are a great place for Harrison to go. You kind of want the kid to go to a team where he can be a success, and I don't think the Jets qualify. Sure, if Rodgers is back to his prime form but chances of that seem really slim.

Pretty much everybody has the Chargers and Vikings making a trade so the Vikings can land McCarthy. The Chargers have some holes to fill, Malik Nabers has some rumors swirling about attitude issues so he may drop, maybe even out of the top ten they say, but his talent level is huge.

 

[Robert Crawford]

After a while it isn’t fun any longer but just an exercise for pundits to argue about.

I have to admit that I'm getting grouchy in my old age. On second thought, I've always been that way, but I'm worse than beforehand.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I have to admit that I'm getting grouchy in my old age. On second thought, I've always been that way, but I'm worse than beforehand.

Maybe... but in this case I agree with you. After awhile, all the rumors, gossip, etc. is just an excuse to fill all that air time from multiple 7x24 hours sports channels. I've grown tired of all the talking heads on ESPN, the NFL Network, etc. I pretty much ignore it all these days. I don't even watch the actual draft telecast anymore. Stretching it over three days just means more boring talk.

Instead, I watched movie, and now have on an NHL playoff game. I will check online in the morning to see the draft results. It just takes a few minutes instead of eating up an entire evening.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I wonder which of these six drafted QBs is going to flop with their team? Freaking Falcons didn’t make any sense tonight.

 

[Jeffrey D]

I wonder which of these six drafted QBs is going to flop with their team? Freaking Falcons didn’t make any sense tonight.

They should have never signed Cousins in the first place, not for that kind of money anyway, but if he gets hurt again, Penix gets immediate playing time. Easy to predict, if Kirk throws a bad INT in a key spot, there’ll be fans that want to see the youngster play. QB controversy on the horizon in Atlanta.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I wonder which of these six drafted QBs is going to flop with their team? Freaking Falcons didn’t make any sense tonight.

I think that Falcons pick was really dumb, too. A close friend of mine is a huge Vikings fan, and he was delighted that McCarthy fell to his team.

Personally, I think Penix and Bo Nix were both hugely overrated. Each transferred to pass-happy schools and ran up their numbers facing the horrible defenses of the Pac12. Neither QB looked that impressive when playing for their old schools in the SEC and Big Ten, and Penix didn't look nearly the same when facing Michigan's defense in the championship game. I will give him credit for showing toughness, though, as he played the entire game despite getting the crap knocked out him by the Wolverine defense -- he could barely walk off the field after the game. As for Nix, he was mediocre at Auburn.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Penix going to the Falcons at 8 was the shocker of the first round. It did not make much sense, they invested in Cousins for at least a couple of seasons which should have allowed them to roster build at other positions and push taking a QB with a first rounder down the road a bit. Plus they had to call Cousins and tell him they were going to take a QB at the top of round one, which is generally a message that you won't be our starter for long. These days a top ten QB selection tends to only sit for one season, then you start playing him.

Weird choice and it can really only mean that the Falcons were interested in drafting a QB high right from the start. I honestly don't see why they did it. The entire idea of bringing in Cousins was you have a starter for the next 2 or 3 seasons. I know the 2025 QB draft class is seen as really poor so the only reason I could see to draft Penix at 8 was that they felt he was better than most of the guys coming out in 2025. Well, that and they think Cousins is going to make them a contender to win their division so they figure they will not be drafting as high as 8 for a while.

The thing is though, why Penix when McCarthy was still on the board? Penix is an interesting prospect but the thought was he was going to be available until late round one to high round two. The Raiders were eyeing him but not with their first round pick because they figured they could get him later.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

On a different note, I heard on the local news this morning that there were an estimated 270,000 at Ford Field for the draft last night. I cannot image that many people packed into that stadium. A friend is going today, courtesy of a vendor.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

The Broncos taking Nix at 12 is more understandable. Denver's next pick does not come until pick 76 in round three, so if they did not take Nix at 12 they would be biting their nails hoping he fell to them in round three or they could work a trade up to get him. So, huge risk that someone else could grab Nix before they got their shot.

The Broncos QB room is going to be really interesting to watch. It now consists of Bo Nix (first round pick), Zach Wilson (former first round pick), and Jarrett Stidham, the likely starter headed into camp. Nix probably starts off as the third QB on the depth chart, likely in a battle with Wilson to be the back-up to Stidham. Those three guys though will be in an open competition to see who is the starter at the beginning of the regular season.

Payton probably expects either Wilson or Nix to take the job from Stidham, who is a decent back-up but a guy you expect someone to beat out to win the starting job. There is a fourth QB on the broncos roster, but I would guess they keep Stidham, Wilson and Nix as the three guys going into the regular season. They got Nix and Wilson out of this draft (traded a 6th rounder to the Jets for Wilson) and Stidham at least begins things as the clubhouse leader.

I have to think Wilson thinks he is the best QB on the roster so we'll see how Payton works with the three of them.