Evans: The Broncos master quarterback plan … according to me

Everyone seems to be having the same conversation and asking the same question: What do you think the Denver Broncos should do at quarterback?

So, I might as well give my two cents worth.

1. Let’s start with this: The Broncos are a flawed football team.

They have a ton of holes to fill on the offense and more than you may want to admit on the defense.

They have almost a dozen free agents, none of whom I consider must re-signs.

They have some veterans for whom it may be time to say goodbye (Aqib Talib, Brandon Marshall, Emmanuel Sanders).

This is a roster that could see upward of 20 players needing to be replaced, all from a 5-11 team. The fact is, there’s a lot of work to be done.

2. … Which is why I would not go after Kirk Cousins.

I don’t think the expense is worth it – $30 million a year for a quarterback who has a career losing record, only one playoff appearance, and a team in the Washington Redskins that knows him the best but seems curiously reluctant to commit to him?

I believe Cousins is a good quarterback. The problem is you’d be paying great quarterback money.

I fear that in Broncos fans’ thirst for better quarterback play, anything compared to what we’ve seen the last three-plus years has people wanting to go hell-bent after Cousins.

That would be a mistake.

3. Cousins would make the Broncos immediately better.

Oh, I have no doubt about that. They instantly morph from a 5-11 team into an 8-8 type squad.

But what about the rest of this flawed team?

You’ve pretty much taken away the ability to upgrade through free agency. Sure, I hear all about how you can work around the salary cap. In some cases, yes. But not all.

Paying Cousins and Von Miller the two richest contracts in football for an offensive and defensive player will hamstring this team financially.

4. Which leaves us with the draft.

If this team is looking to turn over its roster dramatically, it will have to be done through the draft.

That means under the best of circumstances stringing together two or three strong drafts, which assumed a lot considering the recent poor drafts turned in by this John Elway-led front office.

It’s better to save the money you would pay to Cousins to use on multiple players in free agency.

5. That means the Broncos need to look to the draft for a quarterback.

At some point, this franchise needs to figure it out and draft and develop a quarterback.

They can’t just throw up their hands in despair and say their history of drafting QBs is awful, and Elway can’t draft another quarterback because he’s 0-2 with Brock Osweiler and Paxton Lynch.

Figure it out.

Modern-day Super Bowl history shows conclusively that teams win with their own homegrown quarterbacks.

6. Here’s what I would like to see the Broncos do.

Don’t draft a quarterback at No. 5.

Does it concern anyone else that of the group that includes Josh Allen, Josh Rosen, Sam Darnold, and Baker Mayfield there is very little consensus on how these quarterbacks rank?

To me, that speaks to none of these guys being a sure thing. I think this whole group is overrated.

7. I would take the best football player available at No. 5.

I would even trade back a bit in the first round and gather more picks.

I believe the Broncos would have a far better chance of getting a quality player that would make a more immediate and lasting impact on this team then one of these quarterbacks would.

8. So where do they get a quarterback?

Easy. Use their high-second round pick or move up into the late-first round and grab a Mason Rudolph or Luke Falk.

Now, before you recoil in horror, tell me how is exactly that Rosen, Allen, Darnold, or Mayfield is guaranteed to be better than a Rudolph or Falk, especially considering how many current starting quarterbacks have been taken in rounds two through four?

They are names like Wilson, Prescott, Carr, Dalton, and Cousins.

Don’t wrinkle your nose in distaste at the idea of picking a quarterback there.

9. Next, you get a solid veteran capable of starting until the young kid is ready.

That can be a Josh McCown or a Sam Bradford or a trade for a Tyrod Taylor or A.J. McCarron.

Not only can you win with those type of quarterbacks, it would give you time to properly develop the kid.

10. And oh, by the way …

… I’m not totally writing off Paxton Lynch or Chad Kelly.

Both of them can still be given a chance to show they belong in the mix.

11. My plan is perhaps lacking sizzle, I get that.

But sizzle and winning the offseason often times doesn’t mean jack.

Do you, as a Broncos fan, want instant gratification, or do you want to build this back up the smart way?

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