Caleb Williams of USC Trojans looking on.LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 02: Caleb Williams #13 of the USC Trojans looks on during warm ups prior to the game against the Nevada Wolf Pack at United Airlines Field at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on September 02, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)
An interesting AFC team is reportedly looking to trade up for USC Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft.

Williams is the consensus pick to go first overall in April’s NFL Draft. The 2022 Heisman Trophy winner officially declared for the draft two weeks ago following another productive season for the Trojans.

 

The Chicago Bears currently hold the No. 1 pick, courtesy of the Carolina Panthers thanks to the trade-up for Bryce Young a year ago. Though GM Ryan Poles may be locked in on taking Williams, he could end up trading the pick if there’s an offer he can’t refuse.

According to a report from Tony Pauline of Sportskeeda, Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton wants the team to trade up for a top QB prospect prospect like Williams, North Carolina’s Drake Maye or USC’s Jayden Daniels:
“Last week in Frisco, Texas a rumor circulating the players’ hotel at the Hyatt Regency had Broncos head coach Sean Payton looking for his new quarterback in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Payton wants one of the top passers-Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, or Jayden Daniels. I spoke at length about this with several people including longtime Denver Broncos insider Cecil Lammey, a radio and television personality from the city as well as a writer at DenverSports.com.

I was able to confirm the Broncos are interested in moving up for their quarterback of the future yet such a move would come at an enormous cost and it’s very unlikely to happen…

If Payton and the Broncos can’t trade up they’ll have to decide if they are comfortable taking a different quarterback with the 12th pick of the draft, though any signal caller other than the top three seems like a reach with that selection.”

Pauline added that the Broncos would probably have to trade superstar cornerback Patrick Surtain II if they were to move up in the draft. Surtain is the Broncos’ lone bonafide All-Pro-level player and will most certainly have his fifth-year option picked up this offseason.

The Broncos are widely expected to move on from quarterback Russell Wilson, who was benched for the club’s final two games of 2023 because of his refusal to adjust the injury guarantees in his contract.

Getting a top QB prospect like Williams, Maye or Daniels is easier said than done. But GM George Paton must find a way to make a move for a quarterback of his coach’s liking, assuming Wilson is indeed on his way out of Denver.