The Denver Broncos aren’t going to reach for a quarterback at No. 12 during the 2024 NFL draft, but that declaration comes with a bit of an asterisk.
Broncos coach Sean Payton and general manager George Paton said Thursday that they will take positional value into account during the draft.
“Historically speaking, our league has always valued certain positions: quarterbacks, tackles, corners and pressure players,” Payton said. “That factors into the grade…. Do we factor in the position they play relative to [their rank]? Yes. We are in these group studies in the fifth round and in the middle of the fifth round, let’s say [there are] six players, and one of them is an edge player and the others are a tight end or guard. I don’t know if there is any such thing as they are equal, but the edge player has more value.”
Payton and Paton both used an example of a pass rusher to explain position value, but the more notable position to watch is quarterback. Denver might consider taking a QB higher than his big board rank, but only “within reason.”
“We are going through all sorts of clusters throughout the draft,” Paton said. “We may have a guy in pod two — so to speak — who is No. 1 and another guy who is No. 7. The other guy may be an edge player, so we value him more. To answer your question: If it is within reason.
“Now you don’t want the huge reach, but if they are in similar graded areas or pods, then you take the value position. Whether it’s quarterback, whether it’s edge or cornerback, you know what they are. They are a premium. You can’t reach too much for those guys.”
So, yes, the Broncos are taking positional value into account, but they’re also careful to not swing too far and overdraft a player based on their position.
Next week’s draft will be televised on ESPN, ABC and ESPN Deportes. The Broncos hold eight draft picks this year (view them here).
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