Broncos have their eye on specific QB late in draft?

The Denver Broncos have Russell Wilson marked as their starting quarterback, but they may have their eye on a specific quarterback to add to their quarterback room.

In his Football Morning in America column published on Monday, Peter King shared his mock draft. In a note towards the end, he said he expects the Broncos to “sniff around” former Purdue quarterback Aidan O’Connell.

O’Connell played four years at Purdue and passed for 9,219 yards, 65 touchdowns and 30 interceptions over his college career. His best season came in 2021 when he completed 71.6% of his passes for 3,712 yards, 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. The Boilermakers went 17-10 over the last two seasons and were 6-3 in conference both seasons.

In addition to Wilson, the Broncos have Jarrett Stidham and Jarrett Guarantano under contract at quarterback. Stidham was signed away from the Raiders, and new Broncos coach Sean Payton believes the former Auburn QB can be an NFL starter.

O’Connell would likely compete for a third-string job with hopes of working his way up to being a backup quarterback. He is more of a pocket passer than runner and nothing like a Taysom Hill type of player that Payton had in New Orleans.