2021 Super Bowl Eve Mock, Check this one out!

[KWHIT97]

Another year we get to watch Tom Brady in the Super Bowl. This time against our arch nemesis Mahomes and the Chiefs. It's a bitter pill to swallow but should only drive the front office to do whatever is necessary to get us back to relevancy. I feel, and i think new GM George Paton feels, that this roster is close and doesn't need completely overhauled. However, there are a few positions that could use a shot in the arm. So without further ado, here is my newest addition of "boy if only they'd do this." Enjoy!

Lots of different numbers as to what our current cap is projected at. For reference purposes only, I'm using overthecap.com for my numbers.

Current Cap Space:

15 Million

Roster Cuts

CB A.J. Bouye
TE Nick Vannett
QB Jeff Driskel
CB Duke Dawson

These cuts are inevitable and will put our available cap space at;

32 Million

Now, to save more money we look at 2 contracts that need some attention. We extend and completely re-structure these 2 deals;

LB Von Miller (3 yrs 33 million) 2021 Cap Hit 10 mill
DE Jurrell Casey (3 yrs 24 million) 2021 Cap Hit 7 mill,

We keep these 2 cagey vets around and basically sign them both to 2 year deals with options to keep for year 3 or dump for next to nothing. People want Miller to retire a Bronco, I would love to see what Casey is capable of in Fangio's D when healthy.

Those 2 moves free up roughly 13 million in cap space to put us at;

45 Million

Now, onto our impending Free Agents:

S Justin Simmons (6 yrs 87 million) 2021 Cap Hit 10 mill
DE Shelby Harris (3 yrs 27 million) 2021 Cap Hit 5 mill
RT Demar Dotson (1 yr 1.5 million)
S Will Parks (1 yr 1.5 million)
S Trey Marshall (Original rd tender)
WR Tim Patrick (2nd rd tender)
TE Troy Fumagalli (Original rd tender)
RB Philip Lindsay (2nd rd tender)
LB A.J. Johnson (2nd rd tender)

After taking care of our own, our cap space heading into FA is roughly;

25 million

Not alot, but enough to make a few under-the-radar signings.

***Trade***

Just prior to Free Agency Paton shocks Broncos Country with a couple trades;

Broncos get QB Gardner Minshew
Jaguars get 2021 6th rd pick

Broncos get CB Mike Hughes
Vikings get 2021 7th rd pick

Cue the over reaction. No matter what you say, this is a nice move by Paton. Minshew is on a cheap deal and provides great experience should Drew fail again. MUCH cheaper 1 year option as back-up to Drew than signing a FA, IF, Drew is the guy moving forward. As far as Hughes goes, here's a very talented guy who was a 1st round pick but has had injury and inconsistency issues. Sometimes a fresh start is all a player needs. Still on his rookie deal, Paton taps his former team for depth at the CB position.

Free Agency:

LB Lavonte David (3 yrs 36 million)
CB William Jackson (3 yrs 21 million)

2 HUGE signings. David gives us a legit LB who will push Johnson on the inside. He can cover RBs and TEs or stop the run, he will be the best ILB we've had since Al Wilson. David's only question is age, as he is over 30. However this has been his best year yet and he definitely has a few good years left. Jackson replaces Bouye on the outside and makes us legitly 4 deep at CB, Ideally Jackson will man an outside spot, Callahan will play the slot, and Ojemudia and Hughes will battle for the other outside spot.

Before we head to the draft, let's look at our defense;

NT- Purcell, Agim
DE- Harris, Casey, Jones, Williams
ILB- David, Jewell, Johnson, Strnad
OLB- Miller, Chubb, Reed
CB- Jackson, Callahan, Ojemudia, Hughes, Motley
FS- Simmons, Marshall
SS- Jackson, Parks

Talk about stacked. If everyone stays healthy there's zero reason we shouldn't have a top 10 defense this year.

Draft:

Heading into this draft Paton is in love with 3 guys with that #9 pick. They are all 3 rated as top 5 prospects so if one falls a little he might have to move up to nab one. Paton is already eyeing that #4 pick and has been in talks with the Falcons days before the draft.

To understand how this all transpires, let's first understand the first 3 picks;

*One thing to note here. Before the draft the Jets send Sam Darnold and a haul of picks to the Texans for DeShaun Watson, putting the Texans at #2. Then, in a shocking turn of events the Texans offer the #2 pick, JJ Watt, and a mid-round pick to swap with the Jags and get the #1 pick. They overpay but dump a ton of salary in the process, they are in full rebuild mode. New GM Nick Caserio is making a name for himself early, wow, Now here are your 1st 3 picks;

1. Texans- QB Trevor Lawrence
2. Jaguars- QB Justin Fields
3. Dolphins- WR DeVonta Smith

Wow what a re-set for the Texans, they get their guy to replace Watson and still have plenty of draft capital thanks to the Jets. Urban Meyer supposedly was an influence in helping Ryan Day get Fields to Ohio St. He gains JJ Watt, a mid-round pick, and a nice consolation prize in Fields. Dolphins get Tua his former teammate to throw to.

Uh oh, one of Paton's guys has fallen to #4, he swings a trade with the Falcons in what has already been one of the craziest opening nights in draft history.

***Trade***

Broncos get #4 pick and 2021 6th rounder
Falcons get #9 pick, #40 pick, and QB Drew Lock

It seems obvious Paton isn't sold on Lock as he's been tied to virtually every available QB on the market thus far. With this trade he moves up get his guy and gets one of his late picks back. The Falcons move back 5 spots, get the 40th pick, and a young QB to groom behind Ryan for a year. It's a win-win no matter how you slice it. According to the trade chart most teams use the values equal;
Falcons- 1,850 pts + Lock
Broncos- 1,825 pts

Our Draft;

1. (#4) QB Zach Wilson- BYU
So, this is Paton's #1 target heading into the draft. Wilson is an exciting prospect with all of the tools. He reminds me of a better version of Baker Mayfield crossed with John Elway, This is the kid we build our franchise around. Don't like it, go watch some stuff on him, you'll instantly fall in love. Major upgrade over Drew from day 1. Training camp opens with an open competition between he and Minshew, either way our QB room just got a whole lot better. Plus, we now have a QB on a rookie deal for at least 3 years while we continue to build the rest of the roster. LOVE THIS MOVE!

3. (#71) LB Baron Browning- Ohio St.
We may lose Jewell after the season, and we don't know if Strnd will fully recover from his injury. Browning is blue chip player who has flown under the radar. We get a steal here.

***Trade***

Broncos get #97 pick
Jets get WR Tim Patrick

We gain a 4th to get player we covet. The Jets use one of their remaining picks after the Watson deal to get him a stud WR. Look, I love Patrick but the fact is our WR room is full and Cleveland might be ready to take his spot. Get some value for him here.

4. (#97) RB Javonte Williams- North Carolina
Paton falls in love with this back. Williams has the making of a bell cow and is a find here.

4. (#104) LB Justin Hilliard- Ohio St
Here is a guy who should be a day 2 pick but has had some bad luck. Von's not getting any younger and we need depth on the outside. Not sure where he fits yet but Vic will find a home for him.

***Trade***

Broncos get #132 pick
Bengals get LB A.J. Johnson

Again, there's a player who fell that Paton covets. Johnson is made expendable with the signing of David and the drafting of Browning and Hilliard.

5. (#132) OT Walker Little- Stanford
Talk about a faller. This guy has some character flaws and a bad injury history but the talent is undeniable. We need an answer at RT. Between James, Dotson, Anderson, and Little one of them has to rise to the top and be the guy, right?

5. (#135) S Reed Blankenship- MTSU
Need some more depth here, this guy is talented but is a project.

6. (#162) CB Camryn Bynum- California
Well-sized CB prospect here.

7. (#201) DT Mustafa Johnson- Colorado
Local boy takes Walker's spot on the roster.

7. (#216) QB Davis Mills- Stanford
Project comes in and competes with Rypien for #3 job.

There ya have it, bold right? We find our young stud QB to go with our slew of weapons on offense. Wilson is gonna be something special, and our answer to Mahomes and Herbert in our division. We also get a good RB for when Gordon and/or Lindsay leave in 2022 and hopefully an answer at RT. We're stuck with James, at least for the time being. Hopefully Dotson and Little can push him to be a better version of himself.

On defense there's a theme. A good mix of youth (Jones, Chubb, Ojemudia, Jackson, and Simmons) to go with some wiley vets (Harris, Casey, David, Von, Callahan, and Jackson) and I'd say our D has a real nice 2-3 year window of eliteness while our young offense grows. Then we have draftees like Browning, Hilliard, and Blankenship to fill voids when guys like Von, David, and Jackson move on.

All in all an amazing haul. Maybe a little far-fetched, but if Paton wants to make this team his own, here's a good place to start!

[Kyousukeneko]

I have been seeing Little go higher. and I think that Johnson is worth more then a 5th round pick. yes he may be a bit older and stuff but he has been playing lights out and due to his legal fights he has more tread on the tires and I believe he will play a bit older then a lot of mob.

[JvDub95]

Tell you what KWHIT, you definitely put in a lot of work on these mocks

I agree Johnson is probably more valuable than a 5th but if Denver doesn't land Watson this is a hopefull plan B for me. I'd like to land any one of the top 3 QBs in the draft

[DiveInstructor]

KWH....holy cow. You do some serious work! Great post. I'm nowhere near your abilities in understanding and evaluating the team, so I would have to generalize my opinions on how to rebuild.

Win now: Only way to do this is to spend big for a QB and get Watson. It certainly doesn't ensure he'll take the team to the SB, but out of the FA QB's, he's really the only solid candidate to do so. If the Broncos did this, I'd think they'd have to trade by letting Casey and Simmons go, but maybe hold on to Von for that defensive threat. In the draft, they'd be pushed back to a 3rd round pick, and there I'd suggest going defense or RB. Use the remaining cap space to bring in players with strong character and solid health but maybe not top notch talent at those positions of need (CB, LB, OL).

Win in the future: Unfortunately, the Broncos need that franchise QB, which is a huge need and a difficult one to satisfy. Since the odds at getting one improve the higher you go in the draft, then I'd say trade up and go for Wilson. Maybe use a player like Simmons or Von to trade and maybe a 2nd or 3rd round pick next year. But, don't use any more draft picks to make the move. Bring in OL with that 2nd for depth and maybe a start next year, RB in the 3rd, and defense in later picks. Free up the cap space they can with what's left, and get vets with solid reputations and decent health to help the team's young players.

Sorry Lock wasn't in this plan. But, he'd still be on the team, and with his experience, he should be able to fight for the position if Wilson is brought in, or at least his resume if Watson comes in and works out.

[armedequation]

im not sure i understand placing 2nd tenders on johnson and patrick but trading them for a 4th and 5th.

im not saying i agree with the opinion but i have seen some say that wilson is a "better drew lock":

Player Comparison: Drew Lock. Some team sources have said that Wilson is a better version of Drew Lock, but they have very similar skill sets with arm strength, mobility, and a gunslinger style of play.

I havent watched much tape but supposedly a knock on wilson is read progressions and sailing the ball high when under pressure. Id have to watch to know or maybe someone who has watched tape can chime in on wether this is true or not.

nice work put it! was like reading a script of draft day

edit: drew lock comp was on walter football. just read that david pollack compared him to mahomes and rodgers lol so yeah...