The Denver Broncos can't and won't pass up on the golden opportunity in front of them

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — In an upset for the ages, when John Elway walked into his pre-draft press conference on Thursday afternoon, he didn’t make his usual joke about how he wasn’t going to reveal anything.

Interestingly enough, that turned out to be a harbinger of things to come.

If you brought your microscope to the press room at Denver Broncos headquarters on Thursday, one thing appeared to be clear—the Broncos aren’t going to pass up on the unique opportunity they have in front of them in the 2018 NFL Draft.

With the fifth overall pick in their pocket—a pick they don’t plan to have again anytime soon—Elway and his Broncos have a golden chance to get their quarterback of the future. A quarterback that can wear Orange & Blue for 15 years. A quarterback that can ensure the Broncos won’t go 5-11 anytime soon. A quarterback that will further the legacy of greats to play in Denver.

Sorry, Vance Joseph.

While Joseph has made an impact in many of the decisions this offseason, as the organization attempts to put him in the best situation to succeed right away, this decision is too big to base off of one season.

“That’s part of my job,” Elway said, “To figure out what is best for the organization, not only now, but also long-term wise.”

One would imagine Joseph would prefer a player that can help his team win instantly, but this is a decision that could impact the team long after Joseph’s and even Elway’s tenure in Denver.

As we listened to Elway on Thursday, it wasn’t his direct words that made his intentions more clear, but the semantics.

Will you consider drafting a quarterback?

“We will take the best player that is best for the Denver Broncos—whoever is there.”

Regardless of position?

“Yes.”

Are you open to developing a quarterback behind Case Keenum?

“Yeah. I mean, Case is our starter, so we’ll cross that road when we get there.”

Are you more drawn to big-armed quarterbacks like you?

“I was a lot more six or seven years ago, but then we had Peyton [Manning], right? Peyton was more of the cerebral type. I’ve learned a lot since I’ve been doing this job as far as what certain quarterbacks have success with. The bottom line is that I believe the one thing—you got to be able to win from the pocket. No matter what you do, I think the one thing that I’ve learned is as a quarterback—you got to be able to win it from the pocket. You can win games, but you can’t win championships unless you have the ability to win it from the pocket. Then, if you can get out and move around and create, and do those types of things, then that’s an added bonus.”

As the conversation went on and continued to surround the quarterback position, it seemed clear from an outsider’s view that quarterback has been  a main topic—if not the main topic—in the Denver Broncos building over the last couple months.

As it should be.

“We’ve stacked them, got them in order,” Elway said of the quarterbacks. “How we think they fit, who fits us and who doesn’t. We’ve been through that process… You can go around a room and probably get four or five different opinions on how they should be stacked. But the bottom line is once you come to a consensus of maybe where the first and second ones are—if you have that consensus then you’re doing pretty good.”

I’ve gone back and forth on this, but here’s what it comes down to for me—it’s not every year that there are four quarterbacks worthy of a top-five pick, and to find yourself in the top five during one of those years is a blessing. Oh, and next year, let me tell you, the quarterback class ain’t pretty. You ever heard of Drew Lock? Clayton Thorson? Jacob Eason?

I bet you knew all about Josh Rosen, Baker Mayfield and even Josh Allen one year ago.

Put aside the signing of Case Keenum—on an extremely reasonable two-year contract. Put aside the failed Paxton Lynch experiment. Put aside the Broncos’ struggles in drafting quarterbacks. This is a risk you have to be willing to take if you want to be a championship football team. Peyton Manning ain’t walking through that door, and the best free agent since ‘The Sheriff’ is freezing up in Minnesota.

As the Broncos welcomed in all four of the ‘big four’ quarterback prospects—and not one other true candidate to go in the top five—it felt like they were trying to fall in love.

On Thursday, Elway looked like a man with love in his eyes, and though he did say there isn’t a consensus on how the team brass ranks the top four QBs, he also confirmed that he is the great tiebreaker.

In one week, the Broncos will be on the clock, and it sure feels like Elway won’t let this golden opportunity slip away.