NFL Draft prospect's surprising take on Sean Payton could shake up Broncos board

Entering the 2024 NFL Draft, the Denver Broncos are one of several teams looking for a new franchise quarterback to lead them to glory.

While most would expect Denver to target a signal caller in Round 1, the team could opt to go in a different direction in hopes of landing a signal caller in later rounds. The reason for that? South Carolina's Spencer Rattler — who is viewed by several draft analysts as one of the better quarterbacks not projected in the first-round tier.

Rattler met with Payton at the combine and spoke about Payton's coaching wisdom throughout his career and developing positive feelings during meetings with the Broncos organization. This would be a good fall-back option if Denver doesn't fall in love with any of the remaining quarterbacks left on the board by the time they pick, such as Washington's Michael Penix Jr or Oregon's Bo Nix.

The Denver Broncos could shake up the first round by not taking a QB and instead opting for another position

Regardless of what they choose to do and which quarterback they choose to take, the Denver Broncos have to take one. Rolling into 2024 with any form of a backup quarterback playing the role of a starter would be a disaster considering how difficult the AFC West is. Need we remind folks that Kansas City and Patrick Mahomes still exist? Isn't Jim Harbaugh now leading the Charge in LA? How about Antonio Pierce rolling with the Raiders?

Sean Payton clearly was not a fan of Russell Wilson and decided to move on, all while having the Broncos absorb an enormous amount of dead cap. In fairness to Payton, he didn't ask for Wilson — that was on Nathaniel Hackett and general manager George Paton, the latter who still works with Denver and has been given a second chance to redeem himself. Keep in mind, that Denver has not been to the playoffs since winning Super Bowl 50. They are desperate to taste ANY form of postseason success.

The clock is ticking. If Denver does pick Spencer Rattler and he turns out to be a star while the first-rounder Denver takes is also a key asset for Rattler, then Denver did the right thing. If this experiment goes south, the fans in the Mile High City will be once again looking to the football gods asking for forgiveness for any sins they may have committed in hopes of bringing glory back to Denver.