ENGLEWOOD – They could go around the room and get a consensus on the Big 4 quarterbacks.
But what happens if, say, front-office consultant Gary Kubiak likes Josh Rosen, director of player personnel Matt Russell loves Josh Allen, head coach Vance Joseph is bowled over by Baker Mayfield and offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave is smitten with Sam Darnold? (Not necessarily in that order, of course.)
“You can go around a room and probably get four or five different opinions on how they should be stacked,’’ said Broncos general manager John Elway during his pre-draft press conference Thursday at the team’s UCHealth Training Center headquarters.
The Broncos could use the democratic system or they could get real. If the Broncos take a quarterback with their No. 5 overall draft pick, who are they kidding? He will be the quarterback Elway likes.
“Yeah. That’s my job, right?’’ Elway said. “I’ve got to break the ties. Ultimately, it’s going to be mine.’’
Other highlights from Elway’s pre-draft press conference:
*Yes, trading out of the No. 5 draft spot is a possibility." Elway said. "I'm open to trading."
He also said staying put and taking the best non-QB, or QB was a possibility. It’s hard to believe the Broncos would move up. The cost of moving up, for so little gain, doesn’t seem worth it.
*Elway reiterated that even if the Broncos take one of the Big 4 quarterbacks at No. 5, Case Keenum will be under center against the Seahawks on September 9.
“Case is our starter,’’ Elway said. “We’ll cross that road when we get there. Every situation for young quarterbacks is different. I think it’s different in today’s world, and the fact that it depends on what kind of football team those guys step onto. They’re thrown out there and the expectations are formed to come out and play early.”
*The pop-gun arm in the final year or two of Peyton Manning’s career changed the priority of how Elway evaluates a quarterback to where he is no longer drawn to the strong arm.
“I was a lot more six or seven years ago, but then we had Peyton, right?’’ Elway said. “Peyton was more of the cerebral type. I’ve learned a lot since I’ve been doing this job as far as what certain quarterbacks have success with.
“The bottom line is that I believe the one thing is that you got to be able to win from the pocket. No matter what you do, I think the one thing that I’ve learned is as a quarterback you got to be able to win it from the pocket. You can win games but you can’t win championships unless you have the ability to win it from the pocket. Then if you can get out and move around and create, and do those types of things then that’s an added bonus.”
Josh Rosen, anyone?
