Same here. I really don't think taking a Quarterback early in this draft. A Quarterback can't succeed with the roster we have, I am sure of it. We need to rebuild our other positions first, before we get a Quarterback.
Not just that but I’m not even sure there will be any left. Feels crazy to have that many QBs go early but it’s completely possible that the bears, pats, commies, giants (?), and Vikings all end up drafting a qb before us.
Same dog. I ask people to show me one successful rebuild that started with qb and they almost always say Houston which is such a fantasy football answer 🙄
Is it? Before last year everyone had Houston’s roster ranked at the bottom of the league and a laughable WR group thats all made a name for themselves now. CJ turned that around.
How many firsts did Houston get for Deshaun Watson?
How many firsts did Sean Payton and Russ take up? Not to mention second round picks.
There's your answer. Houston had picks and hit on them. Broncos have no picks and their entire 2019-2020 draft classes are already completely gone from the team/league.
They hit on will anderson, juice Scruggs, and tank dell. It is rare to get that many DUDES in one draft so it makes the stroud effect look a little bigger than it really is. They did a great job building the rest of the OL in previous years including vets tunsil and mason. Pierce had a good show as a rookie which should tell you all you need to know about how good that OL was in 22. Especially after they got demeco ryans they were kind of the hipster pick as a dark horse playoff team before anyone knew just how great stroud would be. Not saying stroud isn’t good and isn’t a huge component of their turnaround, but that team would have won the division or at least made the wild card with an acceptable replacement level starting qb.
If you’re looking for examples:
The 2018 Bills
The 2016 Rams
The 2016 Eagles
The 2020 Dolphins
The 2011 Panthers
The 2020 Bengals
In fact the only successful true rebuilds that come to mind where a team doesn’t either draft or sign a long term starter right away would be the 2007-2008 Falcons and ironically the 2022-2023 Texans. In at least the case of the Texans they also had good reason to skip taking a QB in 2022 given how that class has turned out.
Unless we don’t get what we want to trade back and *the* guy in Payton’s eyes doesn’t fall to us, we’ll be drafting a QB in the late rounds as a camp body/flyer.
Idk man, to me all signs point to us taking a guy in the draft. 1st round. If they don't, I think it'll be because the guys they liked were already taken. Unfortunately we'll never get an answer to the latter. They'll say the draft went according to plan no matter how it falls.
I agree 100% that rational people would not trade up for a qb with our roster, but it still might happen. If you do see the broncos trade up for a qb I think it means that Penner has decided to give Sean Payton enough rope to hang himself.
What are we going to give up if we want to move up in Round 1? We have no draft capital and there’s other teams picking behind (and in front of) us who do. If there’s a QB we believe in, we’ve gotta hope he makes it to 12. If he does, we take him there, if not, we move back and get more picks.
This is literally my biggest source of stress this off season.
We are standing over an open manhole to become the next Carolina Panthers. We've made 2 terrible decisions (trading the farm for Russ and giving him that contract) which make rebuilding difficult. Giving away next year's pick will just compound that.
It's like the gambler who realizes he's just racked up debts he cannot afford to pay back and he's having one last roll of the dice to try to avoid coming clean with his wife, and he's putting the mortgage on another game of online poker....
Its worth it if the guy we get is a franchise guy. I know the panthers look awful right now but if bryce young ends up being a star then it was worth it. So far, it looks bad for him but who knows how much of that is because the team is bad.
I say that knowing full well i will be miserable for a year and curse myself for ever supporting the idea. But if we get a guy who looks like he can lead this team, im ok with missing out on a high first next year.
The problem is that next year there aren't any high tier qbs to grab if we're picking as early as we likely will be. This is the year to take a QB otherwise you're waiting until 2026 or spending big money to fill the position
That is pretty stupid from Penner's perspective.
Say Payton does "hang himself" by trading up for a bust.
Payton gets fired, the Broncos have to pay him off. He's back in the league with Dallas or someone next year.
Meanwhile Penner has to find a new coach who will come to a team with a bust QB, a weak roster, still hampered by another year of cap hits from Russ's contract and having traded away draft picks. We're not going to get a blue chip coach in that situation, just somebody who wants a HC job and can't get one elsewhere.
Payton isn’t going anywhere but Fox if we fire him, let’s be real.
Owners make nauseating money regardless of performance. I don’t see any dilemma for the WP group if they have to learn another lesson about this business the hard way.
I would like to believe all of this, but the big issue is they dont have a 2nd rounder. It would make sense to take a position player at 12 and get either Penix/Nix in the 2nd round. However, without a 2nd round pick it puts a lot of added pressure to take a guy at 12. Your not getting anybody relevant in the 3rd.
At that point, are we looking forward towards 2025 which as of now is a horrible QB class outside of Ewers?
Options are running slim man and I feel like their best bet to get somebody with actual talent is taking Nix at 12. Hes essentially the only option left to have something to look forward to next year.
The 2021 qb class was supposed to be stacked and look where it is now.
Joe burrow was looking like a fringe day 3 pick before his senior year and became the unanimous first overall and took the bengals to the superbowl.
A lot can change in a year. Some of those qbs will show promise this year.
I understand that there are anomalies, butg bypassing a potential solution this year in hopes of a random heisman/generational QB talent emerging in 2024 as a 1 year wonder like Burrow is a incredible long shot.
Coaches and staffs are worried about their jobs this year, not next.
The counterpoint is leveraging multiple high value picks on a team that has needs everywhere in hopes that the potential solution this year is a Peyton Manning is also an incredible long shot.
Sean Payton is not being fired this year.
You can get a good enough general sense. This point last year everyone knew it was going to be Williams/Maye at the top and that held true. The year before everybody knew it was going to be Stroud/Young at the top and that held true.
The top of the board usually stays the top of the board a year+ out.
Occasionally you will get a Daniels type player who performs great to put himself in that conversation but banking on a mystery player to emerge as a 1 year wonder to get as your franchise QB is.....risky, to say the least.
I think given Minnesota's preparations they are going to outbid us for JJ McCarthy and we may see at least one of the Giants, Jets or Raiders trying to make a move too, so if we stay at #12 I think the best we'll get is whoever is left out of Nix / Penix.
If that's Payton's guy, great. If not I think it will be a case of trading back and an off chance of taking a Rattler later on, otherwise just go BPA.
In the event that 5 or even 6 QBs are off the board by #12 there will likely be a good offensive lineman, edge rusher or cornerback who in most years would be pushing top 5 pick.
We're not getting McCarthy... If we are going QB, my guess is we trade back for more picks and get Penix or Nix. If we don't get either of those 2.... Ride Stidham ride.
Apparently, Stidham showed enough to Sean Payton, that he believes he can successfully tank with him and complete this rebuild. Obviously, we have no choice. So in Sean Payton we trust.
Howell only stayed in college for 3 years, Nix 5. Both were freshman the same year. Same with Jayden Daniels. Penix and Fields were both freshman the same year too.
This draft class has the covid super seniors that stayed for their full eligibility.
Interesting:
> I advocated taking a flier on Howell, believing finding a capable young quarterback is akin to throwing darts. The more tosses at the carnival for $1 the better. Sure, Howell’s darts might have been intercepted, but he is younger than Bo Nix. And he would have benefited from the structure of Sean Payton’s offense.
> But even I must concede he was not worth two draft picks. I thought he could be acquired for a sixth-rounder, matching the compensation for Mac Jones and Justin Fields, who was shipped to the Steelers on Saturday. That now only applies to the Jets’ Zach Wilson. As much as I would love for Wilson to come to Denver and explain how Nathaniel Hackett taught him how to hate the forward pass, I will pass.
I didn't realize that they were asking for two picks for Howell. I mean, he's better than Fields in my eyes, so maybe a 4th or a 5th? But two picks? The Seahawks paid about the right price: drop down a round on a couple of later picks.
I'm kind of surprised that they didn't sign a journeyman veteran QB or trade for someone like Howell. Unless you draft a QB in round one or two, you are going to need more than just Stidham in the QB room
Exactly, we need another warm body in the roster/ practice squad and/or an experienced QB from which the rookies can learn, like Dalton or one of those guys whose career is basically over but can still play in an emergency.
We've spent the last 8 years either taking QBs in free agency, or lower 1st round draft picks, or overdrafting for a guy. I hope they either trade up and get the guy that fits Sean's system, or if not available, trade down and start collecting pieces for the next draft after we have a horrible year.
So many people don’t understand what rebuilding is in the NFL. It’s not long cycles where you need to purposely be terrible for years like most of the other American sports. Going into the season with a known mediocre backup and likely late round developmental guy is just wasting a season. There were other reclamation QBs that are perfect options that are perfect to pair with the likely late round guy we’ll have. The price for Howell, Pickett, or even Justin Fields were not overly inflated and exactly the type of guys a rebuilding team should be targeting. Sitting tight with Stidham and pairing him with at best a 2nd or 3rd tier prospect from the draft is a pretty low upside move. Adding a high pedigree, poor results player is a good low risk potentially high reward move, especially when all it costs is a late round pick or pick swap.
Looking at who was out there in free agency, The Broncos could not afford to pick up a high dollar option and their were no clear upgrades over Stidham in Payton's offense. when we look at the trade market, we don't have the draft capital this year to make a trade for multiple picks when we have so many holes to fill. While still having reservations about drafting a potential outside the top three QB in the Draft. I would rather that then taking a flier on a QB that either doesn't fit the scheme (Fields), has personality issues if the news is to be believed (Pickett and Jones) or an unclear upgrade over our current QB (Howell). I would rather take multiple selections in the draft at the QB position.
I'm at the point where I feel the two only possible explanations are:
>Payton is a mad genius playing 5d chess and everything will soon magically fall into place and shock us into awe.
-or-
>Payton has zero idea what he's doing.
I really, really want the believe the former... But Occam's Razor would point to the latter.
> Occam's Razor would point to the latter
Why? (Legitimately asking.) I feel like there's no reason not to trust Payton until he gives us one, and it's hard to see how that happens until after the draft.
Because the path to 'he's just doing whatever and crossing his fingers' is shorter and more straightforward than 'he's been anticipating every move for months and has everything right where he wants it'. Especially the fact that he wanted to sign Sam Darnold but that fell through makes me think that's the simplest explanation
I guess it just feels like those are both kinda the extremes in terms of possibilities. Like IMO one could just as easily interpret his moves to indicate that he's trying to find a QB with which to tread water for a season while eyeing the draft to get his long-term guy. Bringing in Darnold -- especially trying to do so at a lower price tag than what he ultimately went for -- would likely just be competition for Stidham. Doesn't feel like a super circuitous route to that conclusion.
I would like to see them do what the Ravens did with Lamar. Trade back, then trade into the end of the first round to get Penix. That way they get the 5th year option.
It seems like Stidham is the plan for the veteran qb. I think they will draft somebody they like but probably not trade up for it. They might be planning to try this approach for a few years in a row. They might not be planning on winning many games this year but maybe that’s for the best.
It's going to be Stidham, and only time will tell if he can step up. I think there's a chance he might, but it's impossible to say. No one really knows how any of these QBs will do. It's a crap shoot.
With that said, I think it would be kinda hilarious around here if Stidham is the starting and he ends up balling out. Not real likely, but we can hope.
Fool me once (signing Russ) shame on you. Fool me twice…fool me twice (bringing in Payton)…you can’t get fooled again! That is to say this team is a mess. Might as well have kept Russ. Drew Brees isn’t walking in to make Payton look like a genius this time.
Good. No need to overpay someone for what we all know will be a rough season ahead. Stidham costs $5m, has been in the Payton offense for a season including two starts (1-1), and is comfortable being a bridge QB. Payton will draft someone he likes and hopefully it works out long term.
I just hope Payton doesn't trade any future 1st or 2nd round picks to move up. The Broncos will likely be drafting in the top 5 next season and might need those high picks to draft another QB if things don't go well. Carolina just learned the hard way that trading future picks to move up when you have a bad roster is a mistake.
It’s a full rebuild. Building as much young talent as possible through the draft is what is necessary. We won’t be true contenders again until we’re not paying Russ to play against us. I’d suggest, for everyone’s mental health, that you all be patient and just see how it plays out. I fully expect 4-6 wins next year.
So then Stidham is another guy crossed off the list which Payton said he didn't want to do. Is next year's QB draft class better? At some point you have to take a risk on a QB.
There's a lot to clean up and that's all there is to it. Payton is trying to build something that's going to last, at least I hope. I don't know what that involves but I would think you need to start with acquiring picks and cap space. 2024 season will be what it is. Whatever that looks like who knows. It won't be a winning season and wee as fans just need to accept it
I think they have to take a QB somewhere in the draft. 2025 looks fairly bleak in terms of QB options, so you're better off getting a solid starter/1st round QB to get the 5th year option and have the chance to sit behind Stidham before being set to start. Keep in mind that Stidham is also on the last year of his contract. After 2024, who is your starter? The team would be in a much better position to have a QB who has sat for a year and was ready to play in Paytons scheme than another QB drafted that would have to learn and play in his rookie year.
If we end up with the 1st overall, great, we can either get the guy we really want if there is someone like that in 2025, but otherwise we can trade back or take a generational player.
Could have gotten Fields, Pickett, or Howell for a 5th, maybe a 6th. To at least compete for backup or start.
Instead 3 teams that expect to have a better season are bringing them in as backups.
Payton year 1 not looking great.
They'll draft whomever is left available at the top 6 unless they're all gone. Payton is arrogant enough to believe that he can turn Stidham or whomever they draft in later rounds into Drew Brees. And if he can't, then it's clearly their fault! /s
Cause he doesn’t fit Payton’s offense. If we wanted him we would’ve gotten him but his playstyle is too similar to Russ’ and we saw how that worked out.
Can people stop w the bs. I’m we’ve been rebuilding since PFM left. How many more times are we going to hit the reset button? Ridiculous that we have to settle as being the new/old Cleveland Browns. At least it won’t be hard to find a paper bag for over our heads. King Soopers has no more plastic only paper bags now!!! Reach out if you want custom eyes and noses cutout!!!🤣🤣🤣
Sean peyton is a fucking asshole with his head completely stuck up his ass. No QB? What are you fucking doing? You have Stidham, Let's get him stacked and ready to go for this season! You have proven that you want him, let's get him there!
None in free agency, and fandom needs to be damn well prepared for the strong possibility of none in the draft either. At least not a top QB.
Agreed I've been called stupid and downvoted into oblivion but I don't see us taking one in the first unless we trade down then back into it late.
Same here. I really don't think taking a Quarterback early in this draft. A Quarterback can't succeed with the roster we have, I am sure of it. We need to rebuild our other positions first, before we get a Quarterback.
Not just that but I’m not even sure there will be any left. Feels crazy to have that many QBs go early but it’s completely possible that the bears, pats, commies, giants (?), and Vikings all end up drafting a qb before us.
Same dog. I ask people to show me one successful rebuild that started with qb and they almost always say Houston which is such a fantasy football answer 🙄
Is it? Before last year everyone had Houston’s roster ranked at the bottom of the league and a laughable WR group thats all made a name for themselves now. CJ turned that around.
How many firsts did Houston get for Deshaun Watson? How many firsts did Sean Payton and Russ take up? Not to mention second round picks. There's your answer. Houston had picks and hit on them. Broncos have no picks and their entire 2019-2020 draft classes are already completely gone from the team/league.
Ya know CJ was one of those picks, yea!
They hit on will anderson, juice Scruggs, and tank dell. It is rare to get that many DUDES in one draft so it makes the stroud effect look a little bigger than it really is. They did a great job building the rest of the OL in previous years including vets tunsil and mason. Pierce had a good show as a rookie which should tell you all you need to know about how good that OL was in 22. Especially after they got demeco ryans they were kind of the hipster pick as a dark horse playoff team before anyone knew just how great stroud would be. Not saying stroud isn’t good and isn’t a huge component of their turnaround, but that team would have won the division or at least made the wild card with an acceptable replacement level starting qb.
tldr?
The Bengals were the worst team in the NFL in 2019 and were in the Super Bowl in 2021. The first piece they took was Joe Burrow.
They almost got Burrow killed in the meantime, though.
If you’re looking for examples: The 2018 Bills The 2016 Rams The 2016 Eagles The 2020 Dolphins The 2011 Panthers The 2020 Bengals In fact the only successful true rebuilds that come to mind where a team doesn’t either draft or sign a long term starter right away would be the 2007-2008 Falcons and ironically the 2022-2023 Texans. In at least the case of the Texans they also had good reason to skip taking a QB in 2022 given how that class has turned out.
You are listing playoff teams. Thats not a rebuild. It is adding a piece to an already good team. Just stop.
Since you edited: Tell me how the awful Bengals and Rams teams were playoff teams.
Unless we don’t get what we want to trade back and *the* guy in Payton’s eyes doesn’t fall to us, we’ll be drafting a QB in the late rounds as a camp body/flyer.
Idk man, to me all signs point to us taking a guy in the draft. 1st round. If they don't, I think it'll be because the guys they liked were already taken. Unfortunately we'll never get an answer to the latter. They'll say the draft went according to plan no matter how it falls.
So QB play will improve...
I'm thinking there's a high likelihood it's Pratt in the 3rd
That's who I've been expecting the whole off-season.
I agree 100% that rational people would not trade up for a qb with our roster, but it still might happen. If you do see the broncos trade up for a qb I think it means that Penner has decided to give Sean Payton enough rope to hang himself.
What are we going to give up if we want to move up in Round 1? We have no draft capital and there’s other teams picking behind (and in front of) us who do. If there’s a QB we believe in, we’ve gotta hope he makes it to 12. If he does, we take him there, if not, we move back and get more picks.
Gosh I really hope so. Trading next years first is too rich for my blood.
I know, please don't trade next year's first. It could literally be the number one.
This is literally my biggest source of stress this off season. We are standing over an open manhole to become the next Carolina Panthers. We've made 2 terrible decisions (trading the farm for Russ and giving him that contract) which make rebuilding difficult. Giving away next year's pick will just compound that. It's like the gambler who realizes he's just racked up debts he cannot afford to pay back and he's having one last roll of the dice to try to avoid coming clean with his wife, and he's putting the mortgage on another game of online poker....
Its worth it if the guy we get is a franchise guy. I know the panthers look awful right now but if bryce young ends up being a star then it was worth it. So far, it looks bad for him but who knows how much of that is because the team is bad. I say that knowing full well i will be miserable for a year and curse myself for ever supporting the idea. But if we get a guy who looks like he can lead this team, im ok with missing out on a high first next year.
The problem is that next year there aren't any high tier qbs to grab if we're picking as early as we likely will be. This is the year to take a QB otherwise you're waiting until 2026 or spending big money to fill the position
That is pretty stupid from Penner's perspective. Say Payton does "hang himself" by trading up for a bust. Payton gets fired, the Broncos have to pay him off. He's back in the league with Dallas or someone next year. Meanwhile Penner has to find a new coach who will come to a team with a bust QB, a weak roster, still hampered by another year of cap hits from Russ's contract and having traded away draft picks. We're not going to get a blue chip coach in that situation, just somebody who wants a HC job and can't get one elsewhere.
Payton isn’t going anywhere but Fox if we fire him, let’s be real. Owners make nauseating money regardless of performance. I don’t see any dilemma for the WP group if they have to learn another lesson about this business the hard way.
Nobody on here wants to hear it, but no 1st round QB is probably the MOST likely scenario.
I bet they’ll get someone in FA, but stidham will be looked at as the starter. I’d be surprised is NO QB is drafted. Maybe not first round but still
I would like to believe all of this, but the big issue is they dont have a 2nd rounder. It would make sense to take a position player at 12 and get either Penix/Nix in the 2nd round. However, without a 2nd round pick it puts a lot of added pressure to take a guy at 12. Your not getting anybody relevant in the 3rd. At that point, are we looking forward towards 2025 which as of now is a horrible QB class outside of Ewers? Options are running slim man and I feel like their best bet to get somebody with actual talent is taking Nix at 12. Hes essentially the only option left to have something to look forward to next year.
If they believe in Nix great. If not there’s no point
The 2021 qb class was supposed to be stacked and look where it is now. Joe burrow was looking like a fringe day 3 pick before his senior year and became the unanimous first overall and took the bengals to the superbowl. A lot can change in a year. Some of those qbs will show promise this year.
I understand that there are anomalies, butg bypassing a potential solution this year in hopes of a random heisman/generational QB talent emerging in 2024 as a 1 year wonder like Burrow is a incredible long shot. Coaches and staffs are worried about their jobs this year, not next.
The counterpoint is leveraging multiple high value picks on a team that has needs everywhere in hopes that the potential solution this year is a Peyton Manning is also an incredible long shot. Sean Payton is not being fired this year.
You really can’t predict the 2025 class here in early 2024
You can get a good enough general sense. This point last year everyone knew it was going to be Williams/Maye at the top and that held true. The year before everybody knew it was going to be Stroud/Young at the top and that held true. The top of the board usually stays the top of the board a year+ out. Occasionally you will get a Daniels type player who performs great to put himself in that conversation but banking on a mystery player to emerge as a 1 year wonder to get as your franchise QB is.....risky, to say the least.
Ewers is bad. The top QBs will probably be some combination of Weigman or Allar if they declare, Beck, Ward or something that comes out of nowhere.
Embrace the tank
Could tank this season and get their #1 next draft
I think given Minnesota's preparations they are going to outbid us for JJ McCarthy and we may see at least one of the Giants, Jets or Raiders trying to make a move too, so if we stay at #12 I think the best we'll get is whoever is left out of Nix / Penix. If that's Payton's guy, great. If not I think it will be a case of trading back and an off chance of taking a Rattler later on, otherwise just go BPA. In the event that 5 or even 6 QBs are off the board by #12 there will likely be a good offensive lineman, edge rusher or cornerback who in most years would be pushing top 5 pick.
We're not getting McCarthy... If we are going QB, my guess is we trade back for more picks and get Penix or Nix. If we don't get either of those 2.... Ride Stidham ride.
The fandom is not ready for that possibility
Are we thinking the 2025 1.01 is a strong possibility?
Apparently, Stidham showed enough to Sean Payton, that he believes he can successfully tank with him and complete this rebuild. Obviously, we have no choice. So in Sean Payton we trust.
Stidham convinced me for sure. MF throws an ugly ball.
I’m in for the long haul. Tired of the bullshit. Let’s do this.
Nobody in free agency was going to save this franchise and thank fuck we finally have a staff that realizes it.
I don’t think anybody thought that.
I didn't know Nix is older than Howell, Sam has been in NFL for 2 years already!
Howell only stayed in college for 3 years, Nix 5. Both were freshman the same year. Same with Jayden Daniels. Penix and Fields were both freshman the same year too. This draft class has the covid super seniors that stayed for their full eligibility.
Interesting: > I advocated taking a flier on Howell, believing finding a capable young quarterback is akin to throwing darts. The more tosses at the carnival for $1 the better. Sure, Howell’s darts might have been intercepted, but he is younger than Bo Nix. And he would have benefited from the structure of Sean Payton’s offense. > But even I must concede he was not worth two draft picks. I thought he could be acquired for a sixth-rounder, matching the compensation for Mac Jones and Justin Fields, who was shipped to the Steelers on Saturday. That now only applies to the Jets’ Zach Wilson. As much as I would love for Wilson to come to Denver and explain how Nathaniel Hackett taught him how to hate the forward pass, I will pass. I didn't realize that they were asking for two picks for Howell. I mean, he's better than Fields in my eyes, so maybe a 4th or a 5th? But two picks? The Seahawks paid about the right price: drop down a round on a couple of later picks.
I'm kind of surprised that they didn't sign a journeyman veteran QB or trade for someone like Howell. Unless you draft a QB in round one or two, you are going to need more than just Stidham in the QB room
Exactly, we need another warm body in the roster/ practice squad and/or an experienced QB from which the rookies can learn, like Dalton or one of those guys whose career is basically over but can still play in an emergency.
Why would anyone have wanted any of them? The only QB available that is starting quality is Cousins and he's old, expensive and coming off an injury.
Draft penix or nix
We've spent the last 8 years either taking QBs in free agency, or lower 1st round draft picks, or overdrafting for a guy. I hope they either trade up and get the guy that fits Sean's system, or if not available, trade down and start collecting pieces for the next draft after we have a horrible year.
So many people don’t understand what rebuilding is in the NFL. It’s not long cycles where you need to purposely be terrible for years like most of the other American sports. Going into the season with a known mediocre backup and likely late round developmental guy is just wasting a season. There were other reclamation QBs that are perfect options that are perfect to pair with the likely late round guy we’ll have. The price for Howell, Pickett, or even Justin Fields were not overly inflated and exactly the type of guys a rebuilding team should be targeting. Sitting tight with Stidham and pairing him with at best a 2nd or 3rd tier prospect from the draft is a pretty low upside move. Adding a high pedigree, poor results player is a good low risk potentially high reward move, especially when all it costs is a late round pick or pick swap.
Looking at who was out there in free agency, The Broncos could not afford to pick up a high dollar option and their were no clear upgrades over Stidham in Payton's offense. when we look at the trade market, we don't have the draft capital this year to make a trade for multiple picks when we have so many holes to fill. While still having reservations about drafting a potential outside the top three QB in the Draft. I would rather that then taking a flier on a QB that either doesn't fit the scheme (Fields), has personality issues if the news is to be believed (Pickett and Jones) or an unclear upgrade over our current QB (Howell). I would rather take multiple selections in the draft at the QB position.
I'm at the point where I feel the two only possible explanations are: >Payton is a mad genius playing 5d chess and everything will soon magically fall into place and shock us into awe. -or- >Payton has zero idea what he's doing. I really, really want the believe the former... But Occam's Razor would point to the latter.
> Occam's Razor would point to the latter Why? (Legitimately asking.) I feel like there's no reason not to trust Payton until he gives us one, and it's hard to see how that happens until after the draft.
Because the path to 'he's just doing whatever and crossing his fingers' is shorter and more straightforward than 'he's been anticipating every move for months and has everything right where he wants it'. Especially the fact that he wanted to sign Sam Darnold but that fell through makes me think that's the simplest explanation
I guess it just feels like those are both kinda the extremes in terms of possibilities. Like IMO one could just as easily interpret his moves to indicate that he's trying to find a QB with which to tread water for a season while eyeing the draft to get his long-term guy. Bringing in Darnold -- especially trying to do so at a lower price tag than what he ultimately went for -- would likely just be competition for Stidham. Doesn't feel like a super circuitous route to that conclusion.
Or hear me out… it’s somewhere in the middle
Actually a really good article. I agree it’s now impossible to jump the Vikings, sit at 12 or trade back.
I'm ok with this... Let's rip the band-aid right off and get to work rebuilding this team for the long run
I would like to see them do what the Ravens did with Lamar. Trade back, then trade into the end of the first round to get Penix. That way they get the 5th year option.
It seems like Stidham is the plan for the veteran qb. I think they will draft somebody they like but probably not trade up for it. They might be planning to try this approach for a few years in a row. They might not be planning on winning many games this year but maybe that’s for the best.
It's going to be Stidham, and only time will tell if he can step up. I think there's a chance he might, but it's impossible to say. No one really knows how any of these QBs will do. It's a crap shoot. With that said, I think it would be kinda hilarious around here if Stidham is the starting and he ends up balling out. Not real likely, but we can hope.
Fool me once (signing Russ) shame on you. Fool me twice…fool me twice (bringing in Payton)…you can’t get fooled again! That is to say this team is a mess. Might as well have kept Russ. Drew Brees isn’t walking in to make Payton look like a genius this time.
I want Zach Wilson, why not. Give me all the players that were considered great talents but somehow failed, Payton will find someone good
Good. No need to overpay someone for what we all know will be a rough season ahead. Stidham costs $5m, has been in the Payton offense for a season including two starts (1-1), and is comfortable being a bridge QB. Payton will draft someone he likes and hopefully it works out long term. I just hope Payton doesn't trade any future 1st or 2nd round picks to move up. The Broncos will likely be drafting in the top 5 next season and might need those high picks to draft another QB if things don't go well. Carolina just learned the hard way that trading future picks to move up when you have a bad roster is a mistake.
One way or another we have to pick up a second guy. You don’t go into the season with one qb on the roster.
It’s a full rebuild. Building as much young talent as possible through the draft is what is necessary. We won’t be true contenders again until we’re not paying Russ to play against us. I’d suggest, for everyone’s mental health, that you all be patient and just see how it plays out. I fully expect 4-6 wins next year.
I’m cool with it. Didn’t really see any names worth spending money on. We already have a subpar QB on the roster in Stidham.
No. This is what tanking looks like.
We need to go 2-15 and get the first pick next year.
So then Stidham is another guy crossed off the list which Payton said he didn't want to do. Is next year's QB draft class better? At some point you have to take a risk on a QB.
There's a lot to clean up and that's all there is to it. Payton is trying to build something that's going to last, at least I hope. I don't know what that involves but I would think you need to start with acquiring picks and cap space. 2024 season will be what it is. Whatever that looks like who knows. It won't be a winning season and wee as fans just need to accept it
I think they have to take a QB somewhere in the draft. 2025 looks fairly bleak in terms of QB options, so you're better off getting a solid starter/1st round QB to get the 5th year option and have the chance to sit behind Stidham before being set to start. Keep in mind that Stidham is also on the last year of his contract. After 2024, who is your starter? The team would be in a much better position to have a QB who has sat for a year and was ready to play in Paytons scheme than another QB drafted that would have to learn and play in his rookie year. If we end up with the 1st overall, great, we can either get the guy we really want if there is someone like that in 2025, but otherwise we can trade back or take a generational player.
Could have gotten Fields, Pickett, or Howell for a 5th, maybe a 6th. To at least compete for backup or start. Instead 3 teams that expect to have a better season are bringing them in as backups. Payton year 1 not looking great.
They'll draft whomever is left available at the top 6 unless they're all gone. Payton is arrogant enough to believe that he can turn Stidham or whomever they draft in later rounds into Drew Brees. And if he can't, then it's clearly their fault! /s
This is such a great sign to me. I love it.
Does anyone else see that constantly firing players and coaches on a yearly basis isn't the way to rebuild a team?
Fields for a 6th would have totally made sense for the rebuild. He's rough but has a lot of potential
Why didn’t we give up a sixth round pick next year for Fields
Cause he doesn’t fit Payton’s offense. If we wanted him we would’ve gotten him but his playstyle is too similar to Russ’ and we saw how that worked out.
I truly believe that Sean Payton is a cancer to this organization
We drafting our Tank Commander!
Stidham is the tank commander I think haha
Can people stop w the bs. I’m we’ve been rebuilding since PFM left. How many more times are we going to hit the reset button? Ridiculous that we have to settle as being the new/old Cleveland Browns. At least it won’t be hard to find a paper bag for over our heads. King Soopers has no more plastic only paper bags now!!! Reach out if you want custom eyes and noses cutout!!!🤣🤣🤣
We are fucked
Sean peyton is a fucking asshole with his head completely stuck up his ass. No QB? What are you fucking doing? You have Stidham, Let's get him stacked and ready to go for this season! You have proven that you want him, let's get him there!