Heading into this offseason, there was little doubt that the Denver Broncos needed to add another quarterback to the roster. There were many trains of thought and none of them seemed like a slam-dunk solution.
Instead of signing a veteran such as Sam Darnold, Ryan Tannehill or Jimmy Garoppolo in free agency, the kind of move many fans were expecting, the team chose to stand pat and push forward with Jarrett Stidham as the team’s QB1.
It appeared as though that is how things would look heading into the draft, which opens on Thursday night. But on Monday, the team instead decided to pull the trigger on a trade with the New York Jets to acquire the much-maligned Zach Wilson.
Though many Broncos fans have been up in arms over this deal, it really wasn’t a bad move by the Broncos as they gave up next to nothing to acquire the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 draft.
However, it does lead to some questions about a deal that the team didn’t make.
Earlier this offseason, the Chicago Bears, who hold the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft, decided to trade Justin Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The only thing that the Steelers had to part with was a 2025 sixth-round pick. Sure, that could turn into a fourth-round choice based on playing time, but it’s still a very low-risk, high-reward move.
Broncos trade for Zach Wilson, but missed on Justin Fields
The Broncos absolutely should have been in on those discussions. Of course, we can’t say for sure that they weren’t. After that deal took place, there were reports that Fields declined trades to several teams before the Bears settled on sending him to the Steel City.
If the Broncos were one of those teams, that’s unfortunate. But based on their lack of aggressiveness this offseason, it’s much more likely that they weren’t. That could be because Fields is not seen as a great fit for the kind of system that Sean Payton likes to run and, by comparison, Wilson fits better.
That said, there is little debate about which quarterback has been better on the field between Wilson and Fields. Both quarterbacks were part of the same draft class. Here is a look at how the two have fared with each playing for pretty poor football teams.
| Player | Team | Completion % | Passing Yards | TD | INT | Rushing Yards | Win-Loss Record |
| Justin Fields | Chicago Bears | 60.3 | 6,674 | 40 | 30 | 2,220 | 10-28 |
| Zach Wilson | New York Jets | 57.0 | 6,293 | 23 | 25 | 498 | 12-21 |
It’s clear to see that both of these players have struggled but when you watch them in their first three years in the league, it seems that Fields has much more upside by far. For whatever reason, the Broncos’ front office did not see it that way.
It will be Wilson who gets a chance to reinvent himself and become the player many thought he was coming out of BYU just three years ago.
Many Broncos fans will recall that Fields was on the board when the team went on the clock with the No.9 overall pick in 2021. It seemed quite likely that he would be taken by the team with that pick. Yet, Patrick Surtain II ended up being the name read by Commissioner Roger Goodell.
Perhaps, it was just never meant to be.