Denver Broncos: Would loss to Jets put them in the Trevor Lawrence sweepstakes?

The 2020 season hasn’t gone according to plan for the Denver Broncos at 0-3.

There was a lot of optimism for the Denver Broncos entering the 2020 NFL season, mostly because of how well Drew Lock played down the stretch last season and the fact that they added a lot of offensive weapons through the 2020 NFL Draft.

Unfortunately for Denver, they’ve yet to win a game this season and, while injuries are very much to blame for that, even when Lock was the starter, the team fell to the Titans late in the game and weren’t moving the ball against Pittsburgh.

Prior to the season, Broncos fans surely thought their Thursday night matchup against the New York Jets in Week 4 would result in a win. But now, with Lock out and the team opting to start Brett Rypien at quarterback, a loss is certainly on the table.

If the Broncos do lose this one and fall to 0-4, could they be legitimate contenders to land the number one overall pick and take Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence?

Could the Denver Broncos enter the Trevor Lawrence sweepstakes?

It would seem pretty quick to give up Lock just two years into his career but, at the same time, Lawrence is considered to be a “can’t miss” prospect and you don’t pass on those guys. It’d provide the Broncos an opportunity to trade Lock and maybe get more draft picks in the process, as he’d still be an appealing quarterback for teams in need of a young signal-caller.

Something to consider here, however, is that Lock is slated to return in the next few weeks and that will definitely perk things up offensively for the Broncos. Denver had a rough start last year too but ended up finishing the season at 7-9 because of Lock (he was injured to start his career) and that’s why the Broncos had so much optimism coming into this season.

If Lock returns and plays poorly and the team continues to lose, then “Tanking for Trevor” could be in full effect here for the Broncos. They’ve been searching for their next quarterback of the future ever since Peyton Manning retired after their Super Bowl-winning season and it hasn’t gone well. Lock gave them hope, but again, if he didn’t lead them to a decent record after his return, going all-in for Lawrence wouldn’t be a terrible idea for Denver.

While an 0-4 start would be devastating for a Broncos team who had playoff aspirations this year, it could end up pushing them to the best quarterback in the 2021 NFL Draft. For a team that has really just been missing a quarterback in recent years, that could be best-case scenario for the Denver Broncos.