Rumor: Sean Payton is willing to give up a king’s ransom to move up to acquire a top quarterback

A recent report/rumor from draft insider Tony Pauline states that Broncos head coach Sean Payton is willing to mortage the future to trade up and get his quarterback.

Tony Pauline, a longtime draft insider who works for Sportskeeda, had an interesting report/rumor drop this morning. He is saying that there is talk that the Broncos head coach is ready to give up a king’s ransom to acquire one of the top quarterbacks in this draft, specifically Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy.

As for the package the Broncos would need to give up to get this potential deal done, Pauline states “Any package to move up will include at least one future first-round pick, as well as cornerback Patrick Surtain II and the 12th overall pick”.

Including Surtain, a 24-year-old shutdown corner who is one of the best players at his position in the league and is entering the prime of his career would certainly sting. However, if the Broncos want to move up for a quarterback, that is the price they will need to pay in all likelihood to get a deal done.

Pauline and many others have stated the Saints getting jumped by the Chiefs to draft Patrick Mahomes has not set well with Payton. He and the Saints were dead set to draft Mahomes but the Chiefs jumped them and the rest is unfortunate history for us Broncos fans. The theory now is that an already aggressive Payton is going to do whatever it takes to make sure he gets his guy.

Pauline says the Broncos do have a backup plan. If they cannot move up for a quarterback, which is probably more likely than not right now, they plan to trade back into the bottom third of the draft and select Oregon quarterback Bo Nix. He is viewed as a great fit for Payton and is their rumored backup option if they cannot land McCarthy.

Now, as always, we should be cautious with these reports and rumors. We are one week away from the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft and reports and rumors will be coming daily and right up to the start of the draft. A lot can and probably will change in the next seven days so it should be interesting how it all plays out.

If this report/rumor is true, it would be a costly trade-up for the Broncos, and one, if they hit on the quarterback, could drastically change the future of this franchise. However, if they make this deal and they miss on the quarterback, it will be catastrophic for the Broncos and likely keep them at the bottom of the AFC for years to come.

So now I ask you Broncos Country. Would you be happy with Payton including Surtain in this rumored “King’s Ransom” to trade up for a quarterback? Or would you rather keep Surtain and the picks and move back for Bo Nix?