Why Baker Mayfield's rise is the best thing to happen for the Broncos this offseason

INDIANAPOLIS — “And there it is—for the first time in his career Baker Mayfield is going at it with Philip Rivers as he runs down the Chargers’ sideline after the 37-yard completion at Mile High.”

If that’s Dave Logan’s call the first game of the Denver Broncos’ 2018 season, there’s no doubt the excitement level in Denver will be a Mile High.

While there’s no certainty that a Baker Mayfield-led Broncos team would be successful in the short-term, or long-term for that matter, one thing that is certain is Mayfield would bring an incredible energy and hopeful spirit that the team has so desperately missed since Peyton Manning hung ‘em up as he walked into the sunset.

However, if the Broncos don’t land Mayfield—whether because they missed him or passed on him—he’s still given them hope this offseason.

At the end of January, the quarterback standing just above six-feet tall turned heads and opened eyes of NFL executives around the league in Mobile, Alabama during Senior Bowl week. Mayfield was dishing out dimes and swag so much so he muddied the waters on who may be the draft’s top quarterbacks.

For months, the consensus had been USC’s Sam Darnold, and UCLA’s Josh Rosen weren’t just the top-two quarterbacks in the 2018 draft, but the sure-fire first two picks. Now, with the emergence of Mayfield and Josh Allen—who was brilliant in the Senior Bowl game—certainties at the top of the draft have vanished.

This allows executives over in Dove Valley to exhale and breathe more freely than they have in the past few months.

As 2017 unfolded and the Broncos’ losing streak grew game-by-game—before ending at eight—it became more clear that Denver needed an upgrade at quarterback. As that came into focus, the belief continued to grow that Denver would fill this void with a top free agent quarterback on the market, and rightfully so, as decision-maker John Elway has consistently pointed to this idea all offseason, most recently at the NFL Combine.

But what if the Broncos don’t land Kirk Cousins, Case Keenum, Sam Bradford or another veteran name in free agency? That’s where Mayfield has given the Broncos shining rays of hope.

Up until the Mayfield-Allen rise of recent, it didn’t appear the Broncos had any legitimate options to find their franchise quarterback with their No. 5 overall pick. Instead, it appeared Denver would either need to reach at No. 5, trade up in the first round or even wait for a later round.

Now, not only are Mayfield, and Allen considered real options at that spot, there is a chance that one—and potentially both—could be drafted ahead of Denver’s pick.

Bad news for the Broncos, right? Wrong.

Even if both quarterbacks were to go in the top-four picks, it’s highly unlikely—as it’s never happened before—that all four picks would be quarterbacks. Thus, at least one of the four top quarterbacks would fall to the Broncos at No. 5, and heck, if the Mayfield-Allen rise continues, Darnold or Rosen could be the player, or players, to fall.

If the Broncos do get their quarterback of the future in free agency, the Mayfield-Allen rise still benefits them, and could perhaps even benefit them more. A draft rich in top quarterback talent, not only benefits teams who are searching for their franchise man, it can greatly help teams that already have their quarterback, especially early in the first round.

As history has proven, teams are willing to trade virtually anything in order to move up to the proper position to draft what they believe is their franchise signal caller.

In 2012, the Washington Redskins traded three first-round picks plus a second and fourth-round pick just to move up four spots in the draft to select Robert Griffin III. That didn’t work out for them in the long-haul, but regardless they weren’t afraid to mortgage the future.

Four years later, the Philadelphia Eagles made two trades to jump from No. 13 overall to No. 2 to select Carson Wentz. While that deal looks to be working out just fine for the Eagles, they nearly had to give an arm and a leg to pull that deal off, trading away two first-round picks, a second-round pick, a third-round pick, a fourth-round pick, a starting linebacker and a starting cornerback.

Finally, last year, the Chicago Bears gave the San Francisco 49ers two third-round picks and a fourth-round pick in order to move up one spot, from No. 3 overall to No. 2, which they then used to select quarterback Mitchell Trubisky.

This year, while the Cleveland Browns and New York Giants will get to select a QB before the Broncos, teams such as the New York Jets, Arizona Cardinals and Buffalo Bills all sit behind Denver and appear desperate for a quarterback, which could provide a great opportunity for Elway to cash in on the starving teams.

“I think we’re going to explore all options in free agency and see where that goes. Obviously, we’ve got the fifth pick in the draft, too,” John Elway said at the 2018 NFL Combine. “That will all play into it. We’ll continue to look at all of the options out there when it comes to quarterback.”

Thanks to Baker Mayfield and Josh Allen becoming legitimate top-five picks, the Broncos don’t have to have all of their eggs in the Kurt Cousins basket. In the NFL, a desperate team rarely makes good decisions. With the Mayfield-Allen rise seemingly real, the Broncos don’t have to live or die on one option anymore.