Denver Broncos

How John Elway and the Denver Broncos stole the show at the NFL Draft

Published Apr. 29, 2016 10:25 a.m. ET

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John Elway always was a a master of manipulating the draft. Thirty-three years after Elway balked at playing for Frank Kush and the Baltimore Colts, eventually orchestrating his way to Denver for what would become a Hall of Fame career, the Broncos' 55-year-old general manager may have pulled off the swap of the offseason, one that stunned draft experts and might have gone a long way to stabilizing the uncertain, almost untenable, quarterback depth chart caused by Peyton Manning's retirement.

Late Thursday night, while most of the East Coast was saying goodnight to what seemed like an everlasting first round, the Broncos sent the No. 31 pick and a throw-in third-rounder to the Seahawks for the right to move up five spots to No. 26 and take Paxton Lynch out of Memphis. It was a surprise move -- most thought the last quarterback taken in the first round would be Carson Wentz, who went No. 2. For the Broncos, though, it was like an insurance policy finally paying out. After playing footsie with Colin Kaepernick and Ryan Fitzpatrick didn't seem to go anywhere, Elway pulled out his trump card: drafting his next quarterback instead of picking from some other team's trash heap.

But the magic of the trade didn't have to do with shoring up a need position or getting someone -- ANYONE -- to put above Trevor Siemian on the depth chart, it was in filling the gap left by Brock Osweiler, the quarterback who was supposed to be Denver's heir apparent to Manning until the NFL's quarterback urgency/craziness made Houston go out and give a guy who went 5-2 (thanks to the league's top defense) with completely pedestrian numbers a $72 million contract with $37 million guaranteed.

Elway was never going to pay that money to an unproven, tall, dropback passer with athleticism, sneakily good footwork that allows him to stay in the pocket, a quick-rhythm that would have fit in nicely with the system Peyton Manning used for four years and a name out of a Point Break sequel.

But while (Brock) Osweiler wasn't going to get $72 million for that, (Paxton) Lynch will -- as he brings all those talents, except with a pricetag that's about one-eighth of what Osweiler received (Lynch should sign for around $9.5 million).

And therein lies the beauty of John Elway's quarterback transfer. No one knows whether Brock Osweiler is going to be any good in the NFL. Seven decent starts with an all-time defense in a system run by the greatest quarterback in history is hardly a harbinger of success. It's going to take a year or two to see whether Osweiler has the NFL goods. Maybe he does. No one know whether Paxton Lynch is going to be any good in the NFL, either. But there's just as much proof and hope that he can be good, and maybe even better, all for a dime-store price that makes him the better investment by a factor of 10. Osweiler seems to be high-price/medium-ceiling. Lynch is low-price/higher-ceiling.

That may not help the Broncos in 2016, but they're coming off a Super Bowl -- this year is all gravy anyway. They can use an old vet like Mark Sanchez to steady a great defensive ship and possibly make the playoffs, then hand the reins to Lynch in 2017, while that defense is still playing top-notch football.

John Elway drafted Von Miller, brought in Peyton Manning, DeMarcus Ware, Wes Welker, Aqib Talib and others and ran a team that made two Super Bowls in the last three years, winning one to give Denver another Lombardi trophy to go along with the two he won as a player. Now, he saved the team tens of millions by getting a quarterback who has just as much upside as the quarterback he let get away. 

John Elway the general manager will never be as good as John Elway the player, but he's getting awfully close.

On the other hand, he did get rid of Tim Tebow. 

Well, nobody's perfect.

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