Even after the Teddy Bridgewater trade, the Denver Broncos move up in the 2021 NFL Draft and grab a new franchise quarterback in this final 7-round mock draft.
Much of the debate around the 2021 NFL Draft has centered on what the San Francisco 49ers will do with the No. 3 pick, specifically which quarterback they’ll take after Trevor Lawrence and Zach Wilson come off the board. But what’s clear is that the Denver Broncos will have to trade up from No. 9 if they want either of the quarterbacks remaining after San Fran picks.
Denver, of course, made a trade the day before the draft in which they landed Teddy Bridgewater from Carolina in exchange for a sixth-round pick and with the Panthers paying a large amount of his salary.
After a strong offseason in which the defense was made to look elite again under head coach Vic Fangio, the Broncos still need to assure themselves at quarterback that they have things set for the future. They don’t want to be the next iteration of the Chicago Bears.
Thus, quarterback should still be in play for the Denver Broncos as we run through their final 7-round mock draft. For this mock draft, I will be using the mock draft simulator on the NFL Mock Draft Database.
Denver Broncos trade into top five to still draft a QB in final 2021 mock draft
Broncos get: No. 4 and 2022 sixth-round pick
Falcons get: No. 9, 71, 114, 152 and 237 in the 2021 NFL Draft and a 2022 third-round pick
The first three picks in the draft are guaranteed to be quarterbacks. Lawerence will go to the Jags, Wilson to the Jets and, according to multiple reports around the NFL, it seems as though that Mac Jones will end up being the pick for the 49ers. That leaves the Broncos with Justin Fields and Trey Lance.
Even with the Broncos trading a sixth-rounder for Teddy Bridgewater, this doesn’t take them out of the quarterback battle at all. They are partially paying for Bridgewater’s contract and only gave up a late pick, which tells me that they don’t view him as a likely starter. Even with Denver having Bridgewater, if you can trade up for a player like Justin Fields, you do it.
In terms of who Fields is as a prospect, he is as good as they get. He didn’t show it often at Ohio State but he has some legit wheels and agility in the open field. Most quarterbacks who are athletic or who use their feet tend not to have great accuracy but, with Fields, that couldn’t be further from the truth as accuracy may be his greatest strength.
While Fields is a great prospect, he does have some flaws. A lot has been made of Field’s processing ability and, yes, he has struggled with it at times — but not to the extent that many have made it seem to be. Fields was also surrounded by some monsters at receiver with Garett Wilson and Chris Olave, two of the top receivers heading into next years draft
Lock didn’t work but that is no fault of the Broncos. Denver drafted Lock where they should have, gave him some time, and surrounded him with offensive weapons to help him out. Did Lock have the perfect situation? Probably not; but he didn’t do nearly enough to be still considered the starter on this team.
If you add Fields to this roster, you will see what the weapons on this Denver offense can really do.
Other Players Considered: Trey Lance, Kyle Pitts, Penei Sewell