2021 NFL Draft: Predicting landing spots for the top 10 quarterbacks
45. Scouting Report. QB. Jamie Newman. player. Pick Analysis. Wake Forest. 7
The Denver Broncos could be much bigger players in the 2021 NFL Draft at the quarterback position than Jamie Newman, who will likely go sometime in the third round.
New general manager George Paton has gone through his in-depth film evaluation on 2020 starter and former John Elway second-round pick Drew Lock, and after watching that film, he has been going on the pro day circuit to see some top QB prospects.
Of note, Paton has been to Provo to see Zach Wilson, he’s been to Columbus to see Justin Fields, and he’s been to Fargo to see Trey Lance.
The Denver Broncos could very well go with a quarterback with their top pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, but they could also come away from that pro day circuit and think that what they saw from Drew Lock they liked better than what they saw from the guys they’ve got a realistic shot at from those pro days, which would at this point seem to be Justin Fields or Trey Lance.
Paton has passed on three opportunities to see Mac Jones in person — the Senior Bowl and his two pro days — so unless the Broncos are trying to veil interest there, they would be drafting Mac without Paton seeing him throw in person.
Paton has talked early on about his relationship with the scouting staff in Denver and how well they’ve been working together early on, and director of scouting Brian Stark undoubtedly had a big hand in the team picking up a handful of Demon Deacons in the 2020 NFL Draft class (Justin Strnad, Essang Bassey, and Kendall Hinton).
As heavily as the Broncos scouted Wake Forest in 2019, it’s entirely possible that this team has liked Jamie Newman for quite some time.
George Paton did not attend the Wake Forest pro day, but the Broncos were represented there, and if the team intends to move forward with Drew Lock (or maybe trade for Sam Darnold) an upside play like Newman could make some sense on day two or early day three.