Each week leading up to the 2019 NFL draft, our draft expert Eric Edholm will be breaking down a position of need for the Denver Broncos along with the top prospects at those positions – their strengths, weaknesses, draft range and how they might fit in with the Broncos. Today, we start with the quarterbacks.

The Broncos have two quarterbacks on their roster – Garrett Grayson and Joe Flacco. The team’s trade for Flacco just became official Wednesday, but the agreement has been in place almost a month now.

Asked how Flacco might fit in with his new team after coming over from the Baltimore Ravens, Broncos president of football operations/general manager John Elway praised his new starter’s arm strength, winning track record and high usage under center. To that last point, Elway said that Flacco fits the system that the team plans to run offensively under new coordinator Rich Scangarello.

That last part is important to consider for whatever quarterback the Broncos might draft. It appears Elway, Scangarello and head coach Vic Fangio are seeking a QB who can fit their scheme rather than shape the plays around their passers’ strengths.

Flacco is the presumed Day 1 starter but more is needed. Grayson has been on three rosters since he was a third-round pick out of Colorado State by the Saints in 2015 and has one regular-season appearance (with zero passes attempted) to his name. Kevin Hogan is free to sign with another team after the Broncos did not extend him a tender as a restricted free agent.

Denver is likely to draft a quarterback in April, and they could add a fourth arm for training camp, possibly an undrafted rookie or another unsigned free agent.

2019 draft outlook

A year after five quarterbacks were drafted in the first round, this year’s class is not considered as strong. That said, as many as four QBs could be off the board in the first 32 picks, and we could see Oklahoma’s Kyler Murray and Ohio State’s Dwayne Haskins go in the top five. There is some depth to this QB class, and one or two later-round selections could emerge as surprise performers.

Here are our top five prospects for the 2019 class:

1. Kyler Murray, Oklahoma (5-foot-10, 207 pounds)

Pros: This past season’s Heisman Trophy winner followed in the footsteps of Baker Mayfield, the top pick in the 2018 class, and hardly missed a beat in the Sooners’ high-powered offense. Murray’s combination of arm strength and rare athleticism made him a threat every time he had the ball in his hands, and defenses had to cover the entire field with Murray’s ability to throw inside or outside the pocket and with off-platform throws.

Murray’s poise was also on display in the College Football Playoff loss to Alabama in which he struggled in the first half and the Sooners fell behind, but Murray rallied the team back to make it a close game with some terrific play down the stretch. Murray can beat a defense with his scrambling ability, but he also proved to be difficult to sack and showed easy throwing mechanics, even on passes 50 yards downfield. He’s a unique prospect who has confounded some NFL scouts in terms of coming up with comparable talents.

Cons: At a shade over 5-10, Murray would be one of the shortest NFL quarterbacks in a generation; Doug Flutie is the last sub-5-11 QB to start a game — in 2003. Murray also was a first-round pick of the Oakland Athletics a year ago, and most NFL teams believed he would not turn down a baseball career and a lucrative signing bonus in that sport. He has also only started one season at the college level, having backed up Mayfield in 2017 after transferring from Texas A&M.

Murray occasionally will airmail his passes and likely will need some mechanical refinement. He won’t be considered an ideal fit in a traditional dropback offense run predominantly from under center. Even having played behind a massive offensive line in college, Murray might have some issues seeing tight windows downfield and might have to operate more often outside the pocket. His lean build — perhaps even more so than his height — has some NFL teams concerned about how much punishment he can take as a runner and whether he can hold up physically for the long haul.

How he might (or might not) fit with the Broncos: After hearing Elway’s comments about shotgun-heavy offenses and wanting his quarterbacks to fit the offense they hope to run, it’s clear Murray is not ending up in Denver barring some bizarre turn of events. Besides, he’s expected to go higher than the team’s No. 10 overall pick, perhaps as early as No. 1 to the Arizona Cardinals.

2. Dwayne Haskins, Ohio State (6-foot-3, 231 pounds)

Pros: Another player who faced tough circumstances in his debut season as the starting quarterback, Haskins was able to deftly deal with the distractions cast from the suspension of head coach Urban Meyer and turn in a brilliant campaign with 50 TD passes and a Rose Bowl victory. A thickly built pocket passer with great arm talent and good accuracy, Haskins flicks the ball with ease and usually hits his targets in stride.

It wasn’t hard to see Haskins’ confidence grow with each start as he appeared to carry the team on his back when it needed him most. Haskins’ confidence also was on display at the NFL scouting combine, according to league sources, who said he was able to easily break down offensive concepts on the whiteboard. OSU’s offense was a system that required full-field reads, and Haskins appeared to go through his progressions and read coverages well, often learning from his mistakes – even during games.

Cons: Athletically, Haskins doesn’t appear special. He can be an effective short-yardage runner if needed (see the Maryland game), but is never going to be asked to be a big part of any NFL team’s run game. It also limits him in terms of moving around the pocket and escaping pressure. He can be heavy-footed and will second guess what he sees, which can lead to hits and sacks.

Like Murray, Haskins also is a one-year college starter. Although the league is changing its view of more inexperienced QB prospects, Haskins’ inexperience certainly shows at times. Purdue seemed to confuse and confound him, and teams did a good job of taking away his deep options by throwing a lot of defensive looks at Haskins and coaxing him into checking down and taking safer options. He also doesn’t appear to throw as well on the run and possesses an unusual, flat-footed throwing motion that might have some QB coaches wanting to fix that.

How he might (or might not) fit with the Broncos: It’s a lot easier to project Haskins fitting into Denver’s system than it is Murray, but even Haskins would need to adjust to running more snaps from under center and changing his eye level when making reads. It’s not as easy of a transition for some as it is others. Plus, with Haskins possibly off the board when Denver’s first-round pick rolls around, we’re not expecting this pairing to happen.

3. Drew Lock, Missouri (6-foot-4, 228 pounds)

Pros: Lock has 50 college starts under his belt for the Tigers over the past four seasons, having been thrown into a tough situation as a freshman amid turmoil surrounding Mizzou’s team that season. He emerged in 2016 and 2017 in Josh Heupel’s spread-based system, putting up huge passing numbers, but Lock adjusted well to running more of a pro-style scheme under new offensive coordinator Derek Dooley, who had spent the previous few years as an assistant with the Dallas Cowboys. Although Lock’s numbers fell off as a senior, two of his top targets — WR Emanuel Hall and TE Albert Okwuegbunam — missed significant time with injuries. Missouri’s receivers also cost him production with easy drops (including many uncontested and downfield) that show up on almost any game tape you watch.

Lock has a cannon for an arm, one of the strongest guns in the entire class. He can shoot the ball with ease and a quick flick of the wrist, often surprising defensive backs with his velocity and distance. Lock also checks the boxes athletically and size-wise and easily could fit in a more traditional NFL offense. Even with some inconsistencies, Lock can make just about every throw in the book and has the type of raw skills that most NFL coaches would want to cultivate and mold.

Cons: Although Lock has made big strides in some ways through his three-plus years of starting, he still is prone to maddening mistakes. He will try to make too much and extend plays too far, and it can lead to some absolutely head-scratching throws. Lock did cut down on his turnovers (and turnover-worthy plays), but he still plays a bit too fast and loose at times. He falls in love with his own arm and will try to rip passes into tough spots instead of using touch and precision to take easier completions.

People around the program believe that Lock has NFL-starter potential but feel that, even with his vast college experience, he should sit and learn for at least a year before he’s thrust into the spotlight. It has less to do with his maturity and more with his needing to refine his mechanics, rid some bad habits and expand his knowledge of NFL defenses and terminology. Lock admitted at the Senior Bowl (where he played well) that Heupel’s simpler system wouldn’t have had him adequately prepared for the NFL after his junior season and that he was just starting to get a feel for verbose offensive verbiage and pro-caliber defensive concepts under Dooley’s guidance.

How he might (or might not) fit with the Broncos: Surely you’ve heard by now how much time Elway reportedly has spent watching Lock, even watching his final college start at home against Arkansas. It was a rainy day for that game, with Lock performing well against a bad Razorbacks defense, but it also helped ease some NFL evaluators’ concerns about some of Lock’s prior struggles in poor weather (watch the second half of the South Carolina game in 2018).

It would be easy to envision a Flacco-to-Lock transition a year from now if the Broncos felt good enough about his upside to consider him with the 10th overall pick. But it also wouldn’t be shocking if Denver felt that was too high to draft a player with some clear areas that need improving, even with his vast upside. We can see the possible connection, and Lock checks a lot of the boxes that Elway seems to want in a QB, but ultimately Broncos fans might want to be prepared for the possibility of another draft pick coming to Denver.

4. Daniel Jones, Duke (6-foot-5, 221 pounds)

Pros: Operating behind a porous offensive line and throwing to a less-than-impressive crop of receivers, Jones put up strong numbers — all things considered — and operated with quality mechanics having been groomed by former Peyton and Eli Manning whisperer, David Cutcliffe. Jones possesses good physical traits and surprising athleticism and scrambling ability. (See the North Carolina game for a great display of what he can do in space when a defense doesn’t respect his running ability.)

Jones also showed great toughness in returning to the field a mere three weeks after suffering a broken collarbone early in the season against Northwestern. Although he had some ups and downs after his return, Jones flashed enough high-level quarterbacking skill down the stretch to earn some buzz as a possible first-round pick. He displays nice touch on his downfield passes, hung tough against pressure defenses and never appeared rattled when his receivers let him down with a barrage of dropped passes. Jones also has been credited with a Manning-esque sense of composure, which should help him transition well to the rigors of the NFL.

Cons: Jones’ arm talent appears to be average at best. He wasn’t often asked to rip the ball into tight windows, even with Duke’s pro-style system, but when Jones did it, often led to some hold-your-breath moments. Jones also can sail some passes when he’s asked to get rid of the ball quickly or throw timing routes to a spot, and he could have issues throwing the ball effectively in high winds or poor weather. Jones’ rushing ability was an occasional weapon on the college level, but you’d be hard-pressed to call him a true NFL scrambler in waiting.

Pressure often seemed to throw Jones off his game in college, and he threw too many passes up for grabs. Performing all week next to Lock on the Senior Bowl’s North Team squad, coached by the Oakland Raiders, Jones appeared to be a lesser talent than Lock as the two went through drills and threw the same routes to the same receivers during the week’s practices. (Although to be fair, Jones was named the North Team offensive player of the Senior Bowl game as he did appear to improve steadily throughout the week.)

How he might (or might not) fit with the Broncos: How high Jones goes in the draft remains a mystery. Some feel his body of work is enough to land him in Round 1 while others feel he’s more of a high Round 2 option. If Jones does start to slip a bit, his chances of going to the Broncos is something that we should not dismiss. He’s likely to get a sterling review from Peyton Manning, who remains close to Cutcliffe and who clearly still carries weight in Denver.

And though it might not be the sexiest pick of all time, the Broncos landing Jones near the bottom of Round 1 or higher up in Round 2 might be more appealing from a value standpoint than taking Lock or someone else with the 10th pick. Don’t count out Jones as someone the Broncos will consider seriously.

5. Will Grier, West Virginia (6-foot-2, 217 pounds)

Pros: The Florida transfer really took off when he landed in Morgantown and took the reins of the Mountaineers’ “Air Raid” based offense. He consistently took risks downfield and threatened defenses with his fearless style and stepped up in big moments (watch the Texas and Oklahoma games). After coming across as immature at Florida, Grier was said to be a great leader at West Virginia, commanding the huddle, earning his teammates’ respect and giving them confidence that he was the man to lead them to wins.

Grier has good feel and rhythm in a timing passing game and can operate effectively within the confines of a scheme. Especially impressive on tape was his ability to manipulate safeties with his eyes and draw them away from his favored targets. Grier divvied the ball up well and attacked most of the field horizontally and vertically and had good touch and placement on his passes more often than not.

Cons: Grier’s arm has to be considered below-average when measured against NFL starters, and his mechanics are something that coaches might grapple with. You can see him throwing with flat feet and not torquing his body well to generate the proper velocity on longer throws. As games go on, he tends to let his mechanics get sloppier. Grier also is less effective outside of the structure of the pocket, doesn’t appear to throw effectively on the move (back to those mechanics, we believe) and he might not improve significantly in that area.

Grier also has made some crucial mistakes in pivotal moments, such as taking sacks at too high a rate while holding onto the ball too long and making poor reads and throws in tight quarters, such as when he’s backed up against his own end zone or in the opponent’s red zone. At Florida, Grier was suspended for a year by the NCAA as a freshman for testing positive for a banned performance-enhancing supplement, which is something NFL teams will want to thoroughly vet.

How he might (or might not) fit with the Broncos: We can see the fit from an intangibles standpoint, as Grier’s big-game football character is obvious. But from a football tangibles standpoint, it’s a less-easy match. Say what you will about his success rate for picking quarterbacks, but Elway typically has favored bigger, stronger-armed passers who play in more traditional offenses. Grier appears to be a better projection to one of the other 31 NFL teams in our estimation.