KC Chiefs: Another young quarterback might join the AFC West in 2021

The KC Chiefs won’t spend a draft pick on a quarterback, but another team in the AFC West very well could. 

The AFC West is home to two young, promising quarterbacks. Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs is one with Justin Herbet of the Chargers being the other one. These two make the AFC West interesting, as they’ll go head-to-head twice a year for likely the next decade, assuming Herbert doesn’t drop off after winning the Offensive Player of the Year.

The Chiefs and Chargers won’t have to draft a quarterback early on for quite some time due to having their franchise signal-callers, but a team we could see spend a first-round pick on a quarterback is the Broncos.

Denver just drafted Missouri product Drew Lock in the second round two years ago but after a mediocre season in 2020 plus John Elway no longer serving as the GM, the Broncos aren’t tied to Lock anymore. This could lead to them trading up from pick No. 9 and attempting to land either Justin Fields, Mac Jones, or Trey Lance, depending on who is left after the top three picks are made (we know quarterbacks are going with the first three selections).

Jordan Dajani of CBS Sports wrote a mock draft in which he had the Broncos trading up from No. 9 to No. 7 and taking Trey Lance of North Dakota State with that pick. Lance would be a project at quarterback for the Broncos, but if he pans out, things could get fun in the AFC West.

The KC Chiefs could have another young signal-caller to deal with twice a year.

The Broncos have struggled to find a long-term option at quarterback ever since Peyton Manning retired following their Super Bowl title in the 2015 season. They’ll need to be aggressive in finding one, as the Chiefs aren’t leaving the top of the division anytime soon and now they also have to deal with Herbert twice a year. Finding a quarterback is critical for Denver.

If the Broncos were to draft one of the three players mentioned above, that’d put them in a division with Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert, and Derek Carr (who would be the oldest in the division despite being just 30 years old). That’s a young group of gunslingers and would give the AFC West consistency at the quarterback position for years to come (assuming the Broncos’ pick pans out).

Of course, we all said the same thing about the AFC West when the Broncos took Lock with their second-round pick two years ago, and here they are now, potentially looking to move on. Nothing is permanent in the NFL, but if the Broncos draft a first-round quarterback, the division would have three quarterbacks under the age of 26. It’d make things a lot more interesting, that’s for sure.

Throw in that the Broncos actually have a pretty talented roster and a young quarterback could be just what they need to give the Chiefs a run for their money in the division.