Denver Broncos 7-Round 2024 NFL mock draft after 1-5 start

The Sean Payton era has not gotten off to a great start, as the Denver Broncos are now 1-5 after falling to the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday Night Football.

There is plenty of turmoil surrounding the team at the moment, so let's take a break from all the uncertainty and look forward to the 2024 NFL Draft with a seven-round mock to kick off a full-blown rebuild for the Broncos.

We'll be using Pro Football Network's simulator for this mock, and there will be no trades this time.

Denver Broncos 2024 NFL mock draft: 7-round projection

Denver gave up a lot for Russell Wilson and signed him to a huge contract. But with each passing week, those moves are looking more and more like gigantic mistakes.

Wilson has thrown 12 touchdowns to four interceptions this season, but he's averaging just 7.1 yards per attempt, and while he is performing better than last year, he looks nothing like the player the Broncos thought they were adding. Wilson will be 35 in November and, although cutting him this offseason would lead to an impossible dead cap hit, it would save the team a lot of space both in 2024 and even more so down the road. So it is possible for Denver to cut its losses and move on.

Enter Drake Maye. The 21-year-old has been one of the most prolific passers in college football over the past two seasons and has the makings of a franchise cornerstone. He possesses excellent size at 6-foot-5, 220 pounds, a cannon arm, and the ability to make plays off-schedule. He shows good pocket movement and a soft touch downfield and displays a good understanding of the finer mental aspects of the position.

Caleb Williams went first overall to the Chicago Bears in this mock, but the Broncos are more than happy to come away with Maye, setting their franchise on an entirely new course.