For a Super Bowl winner, the Denver Broncos are certainly entering the offseason with a lot of question marks and quite a bit of uncertainty. And this isn't just, "we acquired a couple of important rental pieces at the trade deadline that eventually helped us win it all and now we're not sure if we should re-sign them or let them walk," kind of uncertain, but more like "the fundamental makeup of one side of our team is about to change and we're not yet 100 percent certain what direction we'll be going in the near future," kind. Quarterback Peyton Manning isn't expected back in Denver, whether of his own volition or not, and longtime backup Brock Osweiler is an impending free agent with contract demands that may be outside the realm of what Broncos GM/VP of player-personnel John Elway is willing to reach. As such, the Broncos are reportedly considering all their options, including a quarterback in the 2016 NFL Draft.
And according to Charlie Campbell of Walter Football, a pair of signal-callers have already drawn their collective focus. Per Campbell, North Dakota's Carson Wentz and Mississippi State's Dak Prescott are high on the list of draft-eligible signal-callers that Elway and Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak are considering attempting to select. Unfortunately, Wentz is expected to go very high in the first-round come April and with the Broncos' first selection not coming until the end of the round, that makes a player like Prescott a much more realistic option.
Prescott, per Campbell, is a player the Broncos are "enamored" with after he put on a positive display at the Senior Bowl. Prescott is a mobile quarterback, able to move the chains with his legs and excel outside of the pocket - a must in Kubiak's rollout-heavy offensive scheme. But he also comes with significant accuracy issues, though, as Jimmy Kempski of Philly Voice noted already this offseason, he's improved greatly over his four seasons with the Bulldogs.
In 2015, Prescott completed 66.2 percent of his passes - the highest percentage of his college career - and managed 29 touchdowns passing to just 5 interceptions. Combine that with his 588 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground and it's easy to see why Kubiak, Elway and Co. may see a future NFL starter in Prescott.
That being said, he remains a project with some significant flaws. Prescott probably won't be ready to step on the field from Day One and his accuracy issues aren't limited to one area - as Kempski points out, when he misses, he misses high, low, left, right and just about everywhere in between.
But with the Broncos reportedly considering a short term, three-year bridge-type deal with Osweiler, drafting a project like Prescott makes ample sense. Give Osweiler the reins of the team and allow him to sink or swim on his own merits while developing a potential future starter in Prescott. Sounds good in theory, at least.
Prescott, however, isn't likely to be selected until Day Two of the draft. For their first-round pick, Campbell suggests the Broncos are honing in on the defensive line and specifically Jarran Reed from Alabama. Reed, a player the Broncos apparently "love," is a 6-foot-4, 313-pound behemoth who started for two years on the vaunted Crimson Tide defense. Reed didn't fill out the stat sheet during either 2014 or 2015, but he's considered an elite talent for his ability to create disruption on the interior. He's a powerfully built two gapper who excels at stopping the run, but needs work on his pass rush.
While the Denver defense is already the best in the league, adding to a position of strength could help them continue their dominant ways in the coming seasons.
