Another day, more quarterback talk.
The conversation that has defined the Denver Broncos offseason will continue … for a little less than two weeks. So at least there’s light at the end of the quarterback tunnel.
By now it appears that if George Paton decides to take a quarterback in the NFL Draft, he will choose one of two players, Justin Fields and Trey Lance.
For that to happen, the new Broncos general manager may have to trade up to get one of them.
What will ultimately decide what Paton and Denver do in the Draft is predicated on what the San Francisco 49ers do with their No. 3 pick. What 49ers general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan may do is all over the map. They’ve been linked to Fields, Lance and Mac Jones.
In an ideal Broncos betting world, San Francisco takes Jones, the Alabama quarterback.
That leaves Paton with a decision — Fields or Lance?
If the 49ers go with Fields or Lance, that narrows the Broncos’ decision. Would Paton make a trade with the Atlanta Falcons at No. 4 to “get his guy?”
Trey Lance odds
If you’re in the Lance to Denver camp, you’re about to get really happy.
As of Friday morning, a few sportsbooks have the Broncos as the favorite to select the North Dakota State quarterback.
Both Betfred and DraftKings have Denver at +300. To really throw you for a loop, DraftKings has the Broncos tied with San Francisco, which is also the favorite to take Fields (-121). In terms of the Fields’ odds, Denver is now +800. At Betfred, the Broncos are at +400 to take Fields. Both sportsbooks have the 49ers as the favorite.
As Johnny Avello, the DraftKings sportsbook director of operations, said to PlayColorado:
“The thing with the Draft is what you see now, you may not see in two weeks. Things change quickly; especially a couple of days before the Draft. So there’s going to be some trades during that time period. There’s going to be teams forfeiting picks so they can pick higher. They don’t care about drafting higher, so they want to draft lower. Right now, 3/1 to take Lance, that’s not a strong favorite, so that could go either way.”
To add a fun wrinkle to this, the Broncos are scheduled to attend Lance’s second Pro Day next Monday. Paton was in attendance for the first one earlier in the offseason. Now Denver offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur will be there on Monday.
To add in yet another wrinkle, veteran NFL writer John Clayton has the Broncos taking Lance in his latest mock draft.
Broncos Draft odds
In terms of the other NFL betting Draft markets, there are a few other possibilities for bettors.
One is the exact playing position of the Broncos first drafted player. As of Friday morning at DraftKings, quarterback is the favorite at +115.
That is followed by:
- Linebacker +300
- Offensive lineman +400
- Cornerback +500
- Wide receiver +1,400
BetMGM doesn’t offer the litany of markets some of the other sportsbooks have, but the sportsbook is in agreement that the Broncos will go quarterback with their first pick. BetMGM has the odds at -130 to go QB.
That is followed by:
- Offensive lineman +500
- Cornerback +550
- Linebacker +550
- Wide receiver +,1400
- Defensive lineman +1,800
Could the Broncos go defense?
For those in Broncos Country who want no part of a quarterback in the Draft, here’s where it gets really fascinating.
At Betfred, the sportsbook has Denver taking cornerback as their first position drafted at +200.
That is followed by:
- Quarterback +225
- Offensive lineman +275
- Wide receiver +500
- Defensive lineman +550
Betfred also has a market for the player Denver drafts in the first round. The sportsbook has Alabama cornerback Patrick Surtain as the favorite at +300.
That is followed by:
- Fields +400
- Rashawn Slater +500
- Lance +500
What’s hard to wrap your mind around is, if you remember, Betfred also has the Broncos as the favorite to pick Lance. That’s interesting, to say the least.
The talk of quarterbacks has dominated the offseason discussion when it comes to the Broncos.
At least for now, Denver is the favorite to take Lance in the NFL Draft.
But as the last few days have shown, the odds can change in a flash (as they did with Fields). And with it, any possible clarity as to what Paton and the Broncos will do in less than two weeks.