Kansas City Chiefs: Will the Broncos change the AFC West in the first round

The Denver Broncos have the fifth overall pick in the NFL Draft and some are wondering what that could mean for the rest of the AFC West.

If you look at the roster of the Denver Broncos it’s hard to understand why they would have the fifth overall pick in the draft. They have Pro Bowl talent littering both sides of the ball much in the same way the Chiefs had prior to the 2013 draft. Usually when a team has that kind of talent they don’t finish in the bottom five of the league.

With all that talent it’s understandable for people to think that if they hit a home run with the fifth pick that they could become a threat for the AFC West title. For the Broncos, a home run draft pick would be landing a franchise quarterback.

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Mock drafts are pretty mixed on the Broncos and what they’ll do with the fifth pick, some like Mel Kiper of ESPN says they’ll take a quarterback like Baker Mayfield. Others like on NFL Network say the Broncos will trade the pick to someone like the Buffalo Bills who are looking to trade up to get a quarterback of their own.

In terms of the Broncos finding a franchise quarterback to worry about this season, I’ll put your minds at ease and tell you there is not one. We’ve all heard the names of Josh Allen, Josh Rosen, Sam Darnold or Baker Mayfield. They each have good stats and measurables, but I don’t believe any of them will be leading a team to a Super Bowl.

Allen is a small college QB with a big arm who looks the part of an NFL quarterback. He has warts though, and that includes his inaccuracy and lack of dominating lesser talent. His career completion percentage in college was 56.2% which is not good. That stat doesn’t say it all because he is a risk taker so isn’t afraid to throw into coverage, but his tape matches the stat. Even his completions are a bit high, low, outside or behind.

That all being said I believe the Browns will likely take him with the number one overall pick so he won’t be there at number five. Darnold is the next QB on most big boards but I’m telling you he will be a flat bust. He’s inaccurate, he’s careless with the ball and he’s a USC guy which screams bust. My guess is someone like the New York Jets make the mistake of drafting him.

The likely quarterbacks available for the Broncos at five would be Josh Rosen and Baker Mayfield if nobody trades with the Browns at four to take one. Mayfield is a character risk who I don’t think will last long in the NFL with that attitude. So far the only quarterback I can think of who has been successful with that type of attitude is Phillip Rivers. I don’t see Mayfield as being as talented as Rivers so I think he’ll burn himself out of a job pretty quick.

Rosen is probably the most polished quarterback of the bunch, but I think he’s already at his ceiling. I think if he went to a solid team like the Broncos he would be an ok quarterback who would keep the job for a few years. That doesn’t mean he’ll be a great quarterback or one Chiefs’ fans fear. He’s basically going to be on the same level as a Case Keenum.

So with nothing to fear from the quarterbacks and a running back or offensive lineman not being enough to scare teams in the AFC West, it doesn’t appear to be the Broncos year. Then again the one thing the Broncos could do to change that perception is hit a home run with a trade for the fifth pick.

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Teams like the Bills, Arizona Cardinals, and others are desperate for a quarterback and are rumored to be looking to trade up into the top five to get one. If the Broncos could land a huge haul that would really help them this year. Say they could get a later first round and a high second and turn that into Lamar Jackson and Mike Hughes.

That’s upgraded the quarterback position (until Jackson gets hurt and turns into Robert Griffin III) and a corner to go across Chris Harris. That would make them much scarier than any one player they could pick at five. So if you are a Chiefs fan, just hope the Broncos make a pick at five. If they make a pick at five they’ll finish under .500 in 2018. If they make a trade, however, that makes them a dangerous unpredictable team based on what haul they would get.