Part of being in the NFL means sometimes trying to tell a fib in order to get to where you want to be.
In the case of the NFL Draft, some teams put up smokescreens in an effort to get the player they want.
The Denver Broncos apparently did that in the first round on Thursday night in their efforts to grab Oregon quarterback Bo Nix at No. 12 overall, according to head coach Sean Payton.
“I was actively involved in trying to pretend we were moving forward,” Payton said to the Denver media Friday.
Sean Payton suggests that he baited the #Vikings into trading up for JJ McCarthy when Bo Nix was his guy the entire time 👀pic.twitter.com/3Vgy62hgBl
— JPAFootball (@jasrifootball) April 26, 2024
Payton was alluding to the Vikings as the team that he baited into trading up ahead of them to select their quarterback, which ended up being J.J. McCarthy.
But, Nix was the quarterback that Payton and Denver wanted all along.
In doing so, Denver cost Minnesota multiple draft picks just to move up a few spots in the order.
That’s how the NFL Draft tends to work.
Aggressive teams are a little more likely to fall prey to fibs from other teams, who want them to lose future draft picks down the road.
It isn’t a tactic that will win you a Super Bowl right away, but it can hurt the futures of other teams, which makes your team’s path a little easier.
Regardless, the Broncos now have their quarterback of the future, as do the Vikings.
It will be fascinating to see which of these two quarterbacks and which of these two teams has a brighter future.
NEXT:
Bo Nix Has A Message For Broncos Fans