Panthers trade for Sam Darnold is amazing news for Broncos

With the Carolina Panthers dealing for former New York Jets quarterback Sam Darnold, this is absolutely amazing news for the Denver Broncos when it comes to their 2021 NFL Draft plans.

Denver Broncos fans should be ecstatic about the Carolina Panthers trading for former New York Jets starting quarterback Sam Darnold.

While Carolina gets a long-term starting quarterback, and a possible upgrade right away over Teddy Bridgewater, the Broncos now have one less quarterback-desperate team picking ahead of them in the 2021 NFL Draft. Denver has the No. 9 overall pick and the Broncos may not have to move up to get take either Justin Fields out of Ohio State or Trey Lance out of North Dakota State.

The Denver Broncos inadvertently benefit the most from the Sam Darnold trade

So with Carolina firmly out of the picture to take a quarterback, let’s see how the dominoes could fall in the lead-up to the Broncos picking at No. 9. The first three picks are expected to be quarterbacks with Trevor Lawrence to the Jacksonville Jaguars, Zach Wilson to the Jets at No. 2 and either Mac Jones or someone else to the San Francisco 49ers in the top three picks.

The Atlanta Falcons are probably not taking a quarterback at No. 4 with Matt Ryan still under contract for a few years. The Cincinnati Bengals are all set with Joe Burrow at No. 5. Same with the Miami Dolphins and Tua Tagovailoa at No. 6.

The only other team to watch is the Detroit Lions at No. 7.

As with the other teams picking Nos. 4-6, the Lions are very likely to roll with their guy Jared Goff under center for at least a year and change before diving back into the draft market for a quarterback. Even if four quarterbacks are taken in the first eight picks of the draft, the Broncos should still be able to get Lance or quite possibly a falling Fields at No. 9 to replace Drew Lock.

Ultimately, the Broncos are in too good of a spot to not take a quarterback this year. Even if Lock still has some untapped potential, he has not shown enough in a year and a half to be given the benefit of the doubt for a Denver team that needs to win now for head coach Vic Fangio to keep his job. Overall, Lance to the Broncos at No. 9 feels incredibly likely after this high-profile trade.

The Broncos now have no excuse to not pursue a quarterback.