If you’re hoping the Pittsburgh Steelers walk away from Day 1 of the draft with a quarterback, things just got a bit more complicated. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Denver Broncos have been receiving calls in recent days about the possibility of trading their No. 20 pick.
With that pick one ahead of the Steelers, it would appear teams are trying to position themselves ahead of Pittsburgh, which has been linked to the quarterback position heavily in recent weeks.
“Broncos have fielded calls in recent days from teams interested in potentially moving up to Denver’s No. 20 selection, per sources,” Schefter wrote on X. “The Broncos currently hold the draft slot in front of Pittsburgh’s No. 21.”
Teams could be looking to move up for any number of reasons. The Steelers have also done extensive homework on the running back group and just about everybody knows they need a defensive lineman. But rumors have been swirling in the media landscape for weeks that a team like the Cleveland Browns or the New York Giants could be looking to get back into the first round to take a quarterback after passing on one at pick Nos. 2 and 3.
When Omar Khan spoke to the media during a pre-draft press conference, he said the Steelers are more likely to stay put or move back than they are to trade up. Don’t expect them to move up a few spots to stave off the threat of getting leapfrogged by another team.
If it’s the Giants who trade ahead of the Steelers, it seems like they have zeroed in on Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart. GM Joe Schoen’s son posted a Dart hype video on social media yesterday before quickly turning his account private (whoops!).
For those of you that think the Steelers were laying a smokescreen with their quarterback interest, maybe it worked. The more teams that select a quarterback ahead of them, the higher chance that their supposed real draft targets fall to them.
The vast majority of Broncos mock drafts have them linked to wide receivers, running backs or defensive linemen. If they covet Derrick Harmon or Kenneth Grant, maybe they stay put. If they are after a receiver or running back, it might make a ton of sense to trade back to still be able to grab Omarion Hampton, TreVeyon Henderson, Emeka Egbuka or others.
For what it’s worth, CBS Sports insider Jonathan Jones strongly suggested the Broncos are looking to move up, not down.
“There’s no question the Denver Broncos are interested in trading up,” he wrote.
The draft begins in under 12 hours, so the clock is ticking down these types of decisions to be made. This is a situation worth watching closely.
