Poll Reveals Broncos Country's Opinion on What Team Should do With Pick 9
With the NFL draft just around the corner, we decided to poll a substantial group of Denver Broncos faithful to gauge the interest in a few prospects and scenarios the team will be considering at pick No. 9 overall. Should a premier quarterback like BYU's Zach Wilson or Ohio State's Justin Fields fall to the Broncos pick 9, would fans want to see one taken?
Or maybe fans would want to see the Broncos take someone else or even trade back. Here's a breakdown of each option and how Broncos Country answered.
Draft Wilson or Fields (40%)
Drafting Wilson or Fields is growing in popularity within Broncos Country and would be an excellent problem to have as both players are exceptional. They both possess the tools to recharge a franchise and get it back to its winning ways. A convincing case could be made for either player.
Wilson has tremendous upside and has been compared to players like Aaron Rodgers and even Patrick Mahomes by some. Chris Simms, a massive fan of Wilson, would go onto use his last drive against Coastal Carolina, saying, “He throws a 22-yard laser in cut from an awkward position on the money, and the guy gets tackled on the 3-inch line. That is insanity stuff, see that’s Mahomes and Rodgers stuff.”
Wilson’s ability to make every throw in the book has offensive coordinators salivating with the chance to acquire his talents. Fields' case can be made with his exceptional playoff victory against the defending champion Clemson Tigers.
Fields would put on a remarkable performance, one that will be etched in Ohio State history. He took a terrifying shot to the ribs that had Buckeye fans holding their breath with anticipation.
Miraculously, Fields would stay in the game, enduring excruciating pain, grimacing every time he threw the ball, but he made the Tigers pay big time with his play. He tossed a staggering six touchdowns with 385 yards through the air on the way to an impressive 49-28 route.
Trade for a King’s Ransom (30%)
Trading back seems to be gaining some traction in Broncos Country, especially if a talented quarterback falls into the team's lap at pick 9. This has all the makings for a bidding war among quarterback-hungry teams.
Teams like the San Francisco 49ers, New England Patriots, or even a team further back in the draft, could be willing to give up that king's ransom for pick 9 if the right QB falls.
A trade would have the Broncos moving back a handful of spots and acquiring an additional first-round and/or a second- or third-round pick in the process. Stacking picks would Denver to plug multiple holes with premier talent.
Use as Ammo to Acquire Deshaun Watson (23%)
If Wilson or Fields fell to pick 9, this might be just the thing the Broncos need to create a package that is good enough to pry Watson off the Houston Texans' hands. It would give Houston a young, talented signal-caller to replace Watson at a substantially lower price tag, helping the team to avoid mortgaging a significant portion of their draft capital.
Denver would still have to relinquish two additional first-round picks to Houston but might be able to salvage having to forego more second- or third-rounders that could be used to plug much-needed holes in the defense.
Other (7%)
The remainder of Broncos Country fell into the other category for a myriad of reasons. The main reason is the fear of missing out on a premier talent such as Virginia Tech CB Caleb Farley, Alabama CB Patrick Surtain II, or Penn State LB Micah Parsons.
When trading back, the Broncos would invite the possibility that all the players the team covets in the first round will be gone by the time they are on the board to make their selection. Having to spend a first-round pick on a player who does not grade out commensurately can be a nightmare and puts a team in a position where it's reaching for talent that is not worthy of the pick.
Bottom Line
With the popularity of Wilson and Fields continuing to soar within Broncos Country, the chance for either of them to be there at pick 9 is diminishing, but the possibility is still there. Teams picking in the top-10 tend to have a multitude of holes on their roster, and all of them have different evaluations of the talent available in this year’s draft.
Denver has had premier talent fall into its lap before when Bradley Chubb surprisingly fell to the No. 5 pick in 2018. The Broncos had conducted numerous mock drafts, zero of which had Chubb falling to pick 5.
Let's hope history repeats itself, and Denver can seize the opportunity provided and fully maximize it.
Follow Kenneth on Twitter @KennethMHH.
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