As free agency starts it appears Denver will sign Case Keenum to a 2 year 36 million dollar deal. This move leaves huge questions marks for Denver moving forward. Is this going to be Case’s team for the next two years and beyond? Or will Denver still use their 5th overall pick to grab another quarterback? Denver’s draft strategy heavily depends on how those questions will be answered. Will we take that fiery competitor? Or will they take This Guy Fucks out of Notre Dame?
Option 1.
Draft a quarterback at 5. We saw the Chicago Bears sign Mike Glennon to a short deal last year. Similar to what Denver will sign Keenum for. The Bears still used a high pick to take Mitch Trubisky. Ultimately Trubisky ended up starting most the year, and now the Bears have released Glennon. The move ended up being low risk for the Bears as they have their franchise guy in Trubisky, and they easily moved on from Glennon. This could be Elway’s goal with signing Keenum. If that’s his plan Denver should be able to get a guy they like at 5 whether it be Darnold, Mayfield, Rosen, or God forbid Allen. Out of those 4 guys the only 1 who needs a year to sit is probably Allen. Which may mean Denver needed a short term veteran to play for a year while Allen learns from the bench. That could mean Elway wanted Allen all along, hence Keenum signing a short term deal.
Option 2.
Stay at 5 and draft a guy who can make an impact instantly. This guy fucks, aka Quentin Nelson, would be the best case scenario for Denver at 5. He’d be able to step in at the left guard spot instantly and hopefully be a Pro Bowl caliber player for a decade. Denver’s offensive line was improved last year, and when fully healthy they looked better than expected. So TGF would only go to solidify an improving group. Personally if Denver couldn’t get TGF I’d want them to take Barkley. He can run, catch, and block making him an every down back. The last 2 seasons we’ve seen teams, Dallas in 2016 and Jacksonville in 2017, use high picks on running backs and those teams both won their divisions that season. The idea you can’t use a high pick on a running back is starting to become an outdated idea.
Option 3.
Trade back. If those two prospects are gone at 5 Denver should be able to trade back. Buffalo has a huge question mark at quarterback after trading Tyrod Taylor. Denver might be able to get a deal done trading their 5th pick for Buffalo’s 12th and 22nd picks. Other mid round picks would be involved I’m sure, but who has the time to speculate on that. One of those top quarterbacks should be available at 5, so this move would make sense for both teams. With the Gotsis arrest this week Denver could use those picks to take BPA on both the offensive and defensive lines.
Option 4.
We resign this guy to take us back to glory.
Overall it’s unclear whether Elway actually has faith in Keenum to be a long term solution. Or if Keenum is even capable of that. But the draft will let us know what Elway is thinking and how much he actually believes in Keenum. Until then we can all argue back and forth about how much Denver fucked up by not getting Kirk Cousins.