The Denver Broncos may look at a quarterback in the draft after the way Peyton Manning dealt with an injury last season and names like Bryce Petty, Brett Hundley and Taylor Kelly could be targets and this comes as the team may also look at Maxx Williams to help replace Julius Thomas and also with a contract situation looming for Demaryius Thomas.
The Broncos suffered another disappointing playoff loss last season and now the pressure is on to get back to the postseason with Manning getting older. The Broncos have a new head coach in Gary Kubiak after John Fox was let go and that puts a focus on this season for Manning. The offense may change a bit, but the results are expected to be the same and the Broncos are hoping Manning can hold up for another year.
The team has Brock Osweiler as the backup now, but there is a good chance the team goes for a QB in the draft at some point this year. Kubiak clearly will be there longer than Manning -barring some unforeseen issues-and that means he could be looking for a long term quarterback option to take over once Manning leaves. Kubiak should feel mostly secure in his job, as he once was the backup and offensive coordinator for exec John Elway, who seed Kubiak as "his guy" now that Fox is gone. Manning has the chance to take the Broncos to the playoffs again, but after the way he broke down at the end of last season, the team may want some more insurance behind him.
Petty is coming off of a strong run with Baylor and he could be the third quarterback off the board behind Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota. According to Pro Football Talk, Petty is meeting with the Packers ahead of the draft and he also has had interested from the Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns and the Dallas Cowboys. Manning had another great season with 39 touchdowns and 4727 yards passing, but he was not as effective down the stretch and that could be a concern for the team this season.
Kubiak said that he will try and help Manning get through the year and there is a chance the team could look at using Osweiler or a rookie backup in certain spots to help with that. One thing that will help Manning is Demaryius Thomas staying with the team and that looks secure after the Broncos used the franchisee tag on him this offseason. Thomas is not working out with Manning this offseason, but according to ESPN.com, Thomas is ready to come back, even if he doesn't get the contract he wants.
According to Jeff Legwold on Twitter, Thomas plans on staying away from the offseason conditioning program, but he will not "make waves" if he doesn't get a long term deal. The two sides have until mid-July to get a deal done and if that doesn't happen, Thomas may sign the one year franchise offer. The team may also look at tight ends in the draft to replace Thomas, with Maxx Williams of Minnesota and Clive Walford of Miami the top rated players.