“We have a plan in place”: George Paton opens up on the Broncos’ QB search

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The first wave of free agency came and went with the Denver Broncos not making a move at quarterback. In fact, not even a peep on the QB front from George Paton’s front office.

But that doesn’t mean a move won’t be made.

“We’re monitoring it,” Paton said on Thursday, talking about the quarterback market. “We’ve evaluated all of the quarterbacks.”

The run on free agent quarterbacks began on Tuesday when Andy Dalton, Tyrod Taylor and Jacoby Brissett — experienced veteran quarterbacks — flew off the board. A source told DNVR, the Broncos were not interested in Dalton before he signed with the Chicago Bears.

The official start of the new league year came and went on Wednesday. No quarterback movement. Same story on Thursday.

“We like Drew Lock,” Paton stated on Thursday, in the Broncos’ first in-person media session in over a year, as the team introduced free-agent acquisitions Ronald Darby and Mike Boone.

“We have a plan in place,” he added.

Throughout the offseason, Paton has been adamant the Broncos want to provide competition to Drew Lock. But free agency isn’t the only way to add that competition.

“There’s free agency. There’s the draft. There’s trades. There’s a lot of ways to acquire a quarterback,” Paton stated. “Fortunately, we have a quarterback here and we have a nice quarterback room. We do want to bring in competition. We’re not going to force it. So we’re monitoring the market right now.”

The free agent quarterback class has significantly thinned out since the legal tampering period opened on Monday. Currently, Alex Smith headlines the class, followed by Nick Mullens, C.J. Beathard and Joe Flacco.

However, the trade market is more fruitful, and an area the Broncos have been linked to. Possible quarterbacks available via a trade include Garner Minshew, Marcus Mariota, Nick Foles and Sam Darnold.

And, of course, there’s the draft. When asked if a quarterback was in play for Denver’s first-round pick, No. 9-overall, Paton wasted no time.

“Yeah, it is in play for a quarterback,” Paton stated.

Paton and the Broncos are doing all of their necessary homework on the quarterbacks in the draft too. On Friday, Paton was on North Dakota State’s field to take in Trey Lance’s Pro Day. He’ll continue to be in attendance at other quarterbacks Pro Days in the coming weeks.

“Yes, I’ll be out a lot looking at all positions, but definitely quarterback,” Paton said about the upcoming Pro Days.

Outside of Trevor Lawrence, who is widely believed to be the No. 1 overall pick, there are a handful of other quarterbacks believed to be first-round picks including Zach Wilson, Mac Jones, Justin Fields and Lance.

While Paton and the Broncos have been ultra-quiet along the quarterback front to start free agency, it doesn’t mean they aren’t looking and a move won’t eventually be made.