In case you haven’t heard, the Denver Broncos need a quarterback.

Despite swapping late-rouond picks to bring in former second-overall pick Zach Wilson, the Broncos are very much in the market for their quarterback of the future. (You can read our film room on what Wilson will bring to the Broncos here.)

I don’t think the Broncos can get their hands on either of the top two quarterback prospects in this year’s draft, USC’s Caleb Williams and LSU’s Jayden Daniels. By most accounts, they’re locked into the first two picks.

With those two out of the way, here’s who the Broncos should have there eyes on…

Drake Maye, North Carolina

Range: Top 10

If you want tools, Maye is your man. 

He’s over 6-foot-4. He’s stoutly built. He has plenty of athleticism. He has a beautiful deep ball. 

But he’s a boom-or-bust prospect, and that’s why he’s fallen from locked-in No. 2 pick to potential fourth quarterback off the board over the past 12 months. 

Maye’s best work came as a sophomore in 2022. He completed two-thirds of his passes. He threw for 4,321 yards. His 38 touchdown passes far outweighed his seven interceptions. He was sharp, hitting his playmakers and letting them cook. 

But without the same caliber of playmakers in 2024, Maye had to take matters into his own hands. That meant breaking the pocket early, buying time, and trying to fit the ball into windows that weren’t always there. He threw panic interceptions out of sacks. Maye played a chaotic brand of football. 

Maye isn’t polished. He spikes some slants. He sails some out routes. His arm may be the most sporadic of any of the first-round quarterbacks.

Even with his flaws, Maye accounted for the most total yards of offense in the country over the past two years. And he’s the second-youngest quarterback in this class.

I don’t like the Josh Allen comparisons, because I don’t think he has special arm strength and I don’t think he’s enough of an athlete to alter how defenses defend him. He reminds me more of Carson Wentz or Justin Herbert.

Maye has a massively high ceiling, but it will take some great coaching to get him there. If Maye slips past the third pick, which is probably unlikely, I wouldn’t be surprise to see Sean Payton take on the project.

JJ McCarthy, Michigan

Range: Top 10

McCarthy is a unicorn prospect.

What do you do with a 21-year-old who threw the fewest collegiate passes of any quarterback in his class, didn’t play in seven fourth quarters because his team had a large lead and won a national championship?

You look at the practice tape.

That sounds like a joke, but it’s an important part of the evaluation process given that less McCarthy film exists than the other quarterbacks. Former Michigan head coach ran red zone drills extensively every day. The idea was that his team received few reps passing the ball in the red zone in games because it could easily run opponents over, so you’d better get the reps in practice for the few times per year you need them.

McCarthy excelled in practice. He also excelled in game situations. When asked to convert third-down and red-zone opportunities, McCarthy found success.

The Illinois native was a five-star recruit with every tool in the book. He’s prototypically sized with a big arm and the mobility skills to extend plays outside of the pocket. He’s sharp when throwing on the run.

McCarthy’s accuracy can be hit or miss, but there are far more hits than misses. For the most part he’s a clean prospect. The problem is the small sample size and the amount of help he had around him.

McCarthy is unique. He’s got just about everything you could ask for… except for experience. There’s enough unknown to scare some teams off.

Michael Penix Jr, Washington

Range: Mid-First Round

I love MPJ. 

He’s accurate. He’s poised in the pocket. He’s got plus arm strength. He’s battled tested. He’s productive. He’s a winner. He has sneaky athleticism. He’s one of two college quarterbacks to throw for 4,500 yards in two different seasons. The other is Patrick Mahomes. 

I love MPJ. I think he’s a left-handed Joe Burrow.

People have concerns about his injury history. He’s torn his ACL twice and he’s also torn shoulder muscles. All three injuries have ended one of his six collegiate seasons. 

People have concerns about his age. He’ll be 24 before his season. (He’s about seven months older than Burrow was on his draft day.)

Penix is outstanding when throwing to the sidelines. He places the ball perfectly and allows his receivers to make the play. He was helped out by three receivers who will be draft picks this year. 

He’s less proven over the middle. Specifically, questions exist about whether he can feather a ball over linebackers and beneath safeties. He certainly prefers his fastball to his changeup, but I’ve seen enough accuracy and placement to believe he can be solid in the intermediate at worst. 

The other concern is his ability to make plays from outside the pocket. He’s a true pocket passer who can drop backs and make multiple reads, but he rarely tried to escape and make a play. I’m willing to live like this. Plenty of the NFL’s greatest passers worked almost exclusively from the pocket. I’ll take his toughness and shiftiness within the pocket over another quarterback’s ability to escape and play off-script.

Penix might be more of a pilot than a plane. He may not be able to succeed without elite talent around him. (I’d say the same thing about Burrow). But he gives his playmakers opportunities and that’s the No. 1 job for a quarterback. 

To me, Penix is the perfect fit for Sean Payton. He hangs tough in the pocket. He has elite accuracy. He’s capable of making multiple reads. He can play the quick game. He has every tool you could want for a pocket passer. 

Bo Nix, Oregon

Range: Mid- or Late-First Round

Nix has played a lot of football.

He was the No. 1 dual-threat quarterback in the 2019 recruiting class. He immediately started at Auburn, holding own that job for three years. Then he transferred to Oregon for his final two seasons. He holds the all-time college football record with 61 starts at quarterback.

Nix’s time in Auburn was ugly. His time in Oregon was great. He has improved significantly in over the past half decade.

In his final season, Nix led the nation in passing touchdowns, yards per pass attempt and total completions. He was sixth in passing yards. He set a new NCAA record for completion percentage. He finished third in Heisman voting.

The numbers point toward Nix being a first-round lock, but his long journey in college football means he’s already 24 and, more importantly, the Oregon offense makes it tough to give a real evaluation to him.

Nix got rid of the ball quickly at Oregon—which is generally considered a good thing—but that’s because many plays only had one read. The Ducks ran plenty of RPOs and quick-hitters. Nix proved he can make pre-snap reads and take advantage of defenses, but he is unproven as true dropback passer. He rarely sat back in the pocket, made multiple reads and then hit his man. It isn’t his fault (he wasn’t asked to do this by the Oregon coaching staff) but it leaves a big question mark when I comes to the most important part of the job for a quarterback: winning from the pocket.

As Brian Baldinger said on the DNVR Broncos podcast, Nix has played five years of football but only has about 50 NFL throws on tape.

Nix is great at extending plays. He’s very accurate when throwing on the run. He might be at his best in the scramble drill.

The blueprint for Nix is readily available; put him in a talented offense and run a bunch of quick-hitters to weapons who can do most of the damage after the ball is already in their hands. But what happens on 3rd & 8, when an RPO won’t get the job done? Can Nix do something he hasn’t proven he can do?

And on the other hand, are any of the other quarterbacks incapable of doing what Nix can in the quick game? Shouldn’t any first-round quarterback be able to make a pre-snap read and hit a slant? Maybe they aren’t quite as sharp as Nix—his ability to change arm angles and find windows to get the ball out of his hand shouldn’t be ignored—but Nix’s skillset isn’t very difficult to replicate.

For Nix to become a Pro Bowl-caliber quarterback, he’ll need to add something to his game that he hasn’t yet. And that thing—progressing through reads from the pocket and picking teams apart in the middle and deep portions of the field—might be the hardest part of the job.

Spencer Rattler, South Carolina

Range: Day 2

Three years ago today, Rattler was the favorite to be the next first-overall pick in the NFL Draft.

But things changed quickly.

Rattler had a slightly slow start to his third season at Oklahoma. Then, in the sixth game of the season, the wheels fell off. The Sooners went down 35-17 in the Red River Rivalry. Head coach Lincoln Riley put Caleb Williams in the game. The freshman led the comeback, and stole Rattler’s job.

Rattler’s dreams of the first-overall pick died.

After the season, the former No. 1 quarterback recruit in the country transferred to South Carolina, where he played the past two seasons. The results were modest.

Rattler brings poise to the quarterback position. He’s tough. He’s willing to deliver a pass with traffic in his face. He’ll wear a hit with no fear. That was an important quality, considering he played behind what some analysts called the worst Power 5 offensive line in the country this year.

Rattler is a little undersized at 6 feet tall, but he’s strong. His arm isn’t freaky strong but it’s better than most. He has polished footwork. He doesn’t always make the right decision, but a quarterback who makes multiple reads with a couple of mistakes is better than one who only ever makes one.

The biggest concern with Rattler is his “hero ball” tendency. He trusts his arm a little too much and tries to hit windows that aren’t always there. But he didn’t always have much to work with, so that tendency is unsurprising.

Rattler has played a lot of football. He’s a gamer. He’s tough. He might have some limitations, but I have no doubt he could keep up with Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson in a quarterback competition.

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