Old comments from Sean Payton make it clear tank is on for Russell Wilson replacement

Sean Payton's Denver Broncos are horrific. They stumbled to 1-5 on the season after their latest catastrophe vs. the division rival Kansas City Chiefs. Denver has the second-longest active playoff drought in football going on eight years, only to be outdone by the decade-plus-long streak plaguing the New York Jets. But you know what could save both awful franchises? Better quarterback play!

Right after Denver lost badly to Kansas City on Thursday Night Football to kick off Week 6, Sam Monson of PFF shared a three-minute clip from one of Payton's guest appearances on The Herd With Colin Cowherd. During his year out of the NFL, Payton regularly appeared on The Herd, bringing hard-hitting insight to the masses about the game we love. He also dropped an ironic breadcrumb of sorts.

Payton believes that USC's Caleb Williams is a generational talent at the quarterback position, a talent worthy of tanking for. While players and coaches don't tank, organizations do. He recalls a time when Lovie Smith's 2014 Tampa Bay Buccaneers pulled players to help ensure that they would be in a position to take Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston No. 1 out of Florida State way back in 2015.

With how utterly craptastic the Broncos are on offense, maybe Payton's Broncos will start the tanking process and be in the best position possible to select Russell Wilson's replacement in Williams?

Denver would have had the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft if the season ended last week. That would have put the Broncos in a fantastic spot to take UNC's star quarterback Drake Maye.

Sean Payton may have tipped hand on Denver Broncos' new tanking ways

Look. The Broncos may have one of the bleakest futures in the sport currently. Yes, they have their first-round pick this offseason, but Wilson is terrible. His play has been so bad in Denver that it might cost him a shot at getting into the Pro Football Hall of Fame whenever his career does finally wrap up. Although Denver is awful at drafting quarterbacks historically, Williams and Maye are can't-misses.

What is important to understand is the Broncos are not the only struggling team in dire need of a new quarterback. Depending on how the Chicago Bears feel about Justin Fields the rest of the way, they could be in the market for him. The New England Patriots are horrific. Maybe teams like the Las Vegas Raiders, Minnesota Vikings or Washington Commanders are in the market for a quarterback as well?

Regardless, there is so much left in the season to realistically think the Broncos are completely done with this year, have thrown in the towel and have embraced full-blown tank mode. These players and coaches need to put good tape out there for whatever could come after what looks to be another lost season in Denver. Maybe the Broncos end up with Williams, or maybe they ride it out with Wilson?

Either way, this has been a disastrous start to the Payton era of Broncos football through six games.