With the fifth pick in the NFL draft, there’s no way the Broncos can lose. Even John Elway cannot mess it up. Can he?

If we’re talking touchdown passes or $50 steaks, Elway is a Hall of Famer. But you might as well blindfold Elway, spin him around three times and let him fire a dart at Denver’s draft board. Since taking over as football architect of the Broncos in 2011, Elway’s draft choices have been hit or miss. Mostly miss.

Now for the good news: The Broncos are sitting pretty at No. 5 in the first round. Trade back? Don’t even think about it.

If Elway takes any of the following six prospects with the fifth overall choice, I will stand up and cheer: Penn State running back Saquon Barkley, Southern California quarterback Sam Darnold, Notre Dame guard Quenton Nelson, Georgia linebacker Roquan Smith, North Carolina State edge rusher Bradley Chubb and Ohio State cornerback Denzel Ward.

Now for the even better news: I stunk at algebra, but even I can figure out only four of those six players can be gone before Denver is on the clock at No. 5. With a choice of at least two of these great prospects, Elway cannot mess it up. Can he?

When a team is awarded the fifth pick in the draft, there’s no sugarcoating the reality: The Broncos need talent. They need an impact player. They need somebody able to play now rather than two years down the road. Draft for need? Are you nuts?

If Elway doesn’t get a perennial Pro Bowler with the fifth overall choice, he has failed. Use the fifth pick to take a quarterback and he’d better be the answer at that position for the next 10 years, or the consequences for the franchise will be dire.

Elway cannot go wrong with any of these six players. Here’s the list, ready to copy, paste and post in the Denver war room, ranked in the order of my preference.

Saquon Barkley: If quarterbacks go 1-2-3 to the Browns, Giants and Jets with the opening three picks of the first round, I would consider it very good news for Denver, because the ballyhooed QBs are not the best players in this draft.

As a quarterback, Case Keenum’s strongest attribute is keeping mistakes to a minimum. He’s not leading any team to the Super Bowl. Ever. There’s probably no more than a 25 percent chance that Barkley will fall to No. 5, but if he falls in the lap of Elway, the Broncos would have the focal point of their run-first offense.

Sam Darnold: Cleveland is desperate for a quarterback, and if the Browns employ an ounce of common sense, Darnold will be selected No. 1. But we’re talking about Cleveland, the dumbest franchise in sports.

So, if you believe truth really can be stranger than fiction, what happens if the Browns opt for Baker Mayfield, the Giants pounce at the opportunity to build their defense around Chubb, the Jets go with UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen and Cleveland uses the fourth overall selection on Barkley? Elway smiles for days after selecting Darnold at No. 5, that’s what.

Quenton Nelson: A guard? At No. 5 in the first round? Oh, heck yeah.

No player in this draft was more dominant at his position at the college level than Nelson. He’s the safest bet in this draft class to earn multiple trips to the Pro Bowl. Nelson could transform the Denver offensive line from a chronic concern to one of the top blocking units in the league.

Roquan Smith: We all know the truth, even if everyone in Broncos Country is hesitant to admit it. That defense that won Super Bowl 50 ain’t what is used to be.

Smith is a 21st century linebacker, capable of making tackles from sideline to sideline and also be a weapon when in pass coverage. Von Miller is Batman. Let Smith be his Robin. Related Articles Kiszla: Hey, Fakers. The Nuggets just burst your bubble of invincibility with 114-106 victory

Lunch Special: Denver sports live chat with Mark Kiszla

Nuggets 3-pointers: Anthony Davis gets last laugh vs. Nikola Jokic in duel of NBA’s best big men

Kiszla: After Broncos lose to Pittsburgh and begin another NFL season 0-2, veteran Shelby Harris sounds warning: “We’ve got to change the culture”

Kiszla: How should cute, little Nuggets fight back against big, haughty Lakers? One sharp elbow at a time.

Bradley Chubb: The lone way for a draftnik to get his mock card revoked in 2018 is to project anyone other than Chubb to be the first defensive player chosen.

Nothing short of a trading frenzy by teams desperate to move up and select a quarterback would allow Chubb to be available for the Broncos. Highly unlikely, although stranger things have happened.

Denzel Ward: Broncos cornerback Chris Harris Jr. doesn’t want to hear it. But the “No Fly Zone” is nothing more than a happy memory after the departures of Aqib Talib and T.J. Ward.

There’s no putting that band back together. This young man from Ohio State, however, could return some of the lost swagger to Denver’s secondary. He has the cover skills to work the slot or the corner, and the football I.Q. to be in the starting lineup when the Broncos open the season against Seattle.