The Denver Broncos have made one thing clear this offseason. If they are going to make a change at the quarterback position, it will be for someone they consider a top-tier player. Trading up in the 2021 NFL Draft to land one of the top quarterback prospects in this year’s class, like Ohio State’s Justin Fields, would constitute a splash move.
The Broncos have been on the teams mentioned as a possible landing spot for Deshaun Watson, another quarterback that would be considered a top-tier player. If Denver is unable to pry Watson out of Houston, they will have to go in a different direction. Moving up in the draft could be the solution.
In this mock draft, the Broncos traded up to the No. 3 spot with the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins would move back to No. 9 and acquire multiple picks in the process.
Already armed with the No. 18 pick in this year’s draft as well, Miami would be in an excellent position to upgrade the weapons around Tua Tagovailoa, their first-round pick from 2020.
With the third pick in the draft, the Broncos would then select Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields. Fields would give them the long-term answer under center they have been looking for since John Elway retired into the sunset.
Denver would still have Drew Lock on the roster. It would make sense to see what they could get for him on the trade market, as they could try and recoup some of the draft capital that they would be sending out to the Dolphins to move up into the third spot.
With Fields in the mix, the Broncos would have the future foundation of their offense set. There are a plethora of weapons already in place at wide receiver with Courtland Sutton, Jerry Jeudy, K.J. Hamler, and Tim Patrick. Noah Fant is a rising tight end and Melvin Gordon is a strong dual-threat running back.
Usually, when quarterbacks are selected high in the first round, they are going to a team with a lot of rebuilding to do. That wouldn’t be the case in Denver, as they have some foundational pieces on both sides of the ball.
Fields, the Broncos would hope, would be the answer to help elevate an offense ready to take the next step forward.
