Will Broncos get a top five pick in the 2018 NFL draft?

Kiz: Know the real bummer of it all? With Kansas City in a free fall, it appears the AFC West could be won with a 9-7 record. But as linebacker Von Miller said after Sunday’s loss at Oakland, he can’t worry about any other team. All Miller can hope for is just one victory. So it’s come to this: Is the best thing Broncos Country can root for down the stretch of this forgettable season a top five pick in the 2018 NFL draft?

Jhabvala: A top five pick and an entire offseason makeover. This was a team that opened the season clicking on all cylinders. Looking at how they played in Weeks 1 and 2, with wins over the Chargers and Cowboys, they appeared to be a team that could get back to the playoffs and make a solid run. I still believe that home loss to the then-winless New York Giants was the dagger. The Broncos have been in a tailspin ever since and each outing seems to be worse than the previous one. I don’t see how things will get better until they find a true starting quarterback, maybe a franchise quarterback.

Kiz: The Broncos are not good at football, although they aren’t bad at hockey fights. When Denver fans start dreaming about a top five pick in the draft, however, it makes everybody realize: 1) The Broncos have had a real good run of success since 2011, and 2) There are so many truly wretched NFL teams that competition for a top draft choice is fierce. Right here, right now, these are the only teams that Denver is definitively better than: The Niners. The Browns. That’s it.

Jhabvala: You are correct. What’s unfortunate is that the defense still has quite a bit of talent — a pair of Pro Bowl corners, a deep edge rushing group, Domata Peko at the nose. But their performances, and often their play calls, are just bizarre. And the frustration is clearly building with each loss. This season seems like a waste, but not if it can yield a starting quarterback in April in the draft. Related Articles Broncos power rankings roundup: How the national media ranks Denver entering Week 3

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Kiz: The schedule does Denver no favors. The Dolphins, Jets and Colts are all among the worst 10 teams in the league, and each of them needs a top draft pick as desperately as John Elway does. Those are three very winnable games for Denver, even if it plays bad football. In a season when the Broncos have messed up almost everything, maybe messing around and finishing 6-10 would be an appropriate, if frustrating, conclusion to it all.

Jhabvala: Their schedule was brutal with all backloaded road games. But these are teams they should be beating. They should have crushed the Giants at home. They should have done the same to the Bengals in Week 11. They should be able to beat the Dolphins in Miami, and the Jets at home and the Colts in Indy. But if they lose out, they’ll be thinking about much more than finding a quarterback. They could be on the hunt for a new coaching staff, too.