ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- This will be the seventh draft John Elway has overseen as the Denver Broncos' chief football decision-maker.
At the moment, the Broncos have 10 picks, and if they use them all it would comprise the largest draft class of Elway’s tenure. The Broncos also have an open spot on the depth chart for a quarterback, so there is some math to be done there.
Though coach Vance Joseph has discussed adding a veteran presence to work alongside Trevor Siemian and Paxton Lynch, history suggests Elway will be looking in the draft. The rub is that the Broncos want Siemian and Lynch to battle it out in training camp for the starting job, and Joseph has repeatedly said they are "1 and 2 -- one of them will start and the other one will be the 2."
That means a third quarterback, who will be needed for minicamps and training camp, is either a developmental prospect with a spot on the practice squad his most likely future, or a veteran who fully understands the Broncos' plan to have Siemian and Lynch battle it out to start.
Joseph has entertained the philosophical scenario in which a veteran quarterback comes in and has the potential to win the job.
"Right now, today, we’ve got two quarterbacks in our building that are going to be 1 and 2," Joseph said this past week. "We have to add a third in some capacity. Now, could that third outplay our 1 and 2? if he’s that good, absolutely. But right now, we have a 1 and 2 in our building."
Opinions vary widely around the league about the quarterbacks at the top of the draft board, including Patrick Mahomes II, Deshaun Watson and Mitch Trubisky. But down the board, Elway has consistently shown he’s thinking quarterback in almost every draft class, no matter how stocked he feels the team might be at the position, so if the board falls right another one could be on the way.
Elway has selected a quarterback in four of the past six drafts. Three of those quarterbacks -- Siemian, Lynch and Brock Osweiler -- have each started at least one game for the team.
In 2013, Elway used a seventh-round pick on Zac Dysert with Peyton Manning and Osweiler on the roster. And in 2015 Elway used a seventh-round pick on Siemian, again with Manning and Osweiler on the roster.
Joseph said this past week that it "makes no sense" to bring an older, veteran quarterback in to be the team's No. 3.
"We’ve got two guys, and it’s going to be a competition," Joseph said. "That’s going to make both guys better. Whoever wins the job is going to play for us, but that guy behind him is going to get better through the competition. We’ve got those two young guys that we’re happy with. One is going to start and one is going to be that second guy."
But down the board, big-framed passers like Penn’s Alek Torgersen, Virginia Tech’s Jerod Evans and Central Michigan’s Cooper Rush are the kind of QBs to keep an eye on, because Elway has made no secret he prefers the big-stature guys behind center.
Joseph and Elway have consistently said they like -- really like -- the two quarterbacks they have, but they will still give plenty of thought to using a draft pick on another one.