With one changed draft pick, the Broncos ... - would have an exciting young QB - maybe avoid hiring Hackett - don't have Russell Wilson - have all the picks from the Wilson trade - don't spend $242 million on Wilson The butterfly effect is real. sports.yahoo.com/russell-fly-ef…

And the thing that makes this chain of events so crazy is that Patrick Surtain II is a fantastic player. Denver drafted a star cornerback and it unintentionally set in motion events that are probably going to set the franchise back for years. Already a legendary "what if" moment.

@YahooSchwab Bad GMs/leadership and least give fans the would’ve/should’ve/could’ve discussions. Broncos look prime for a double digit playoff appearance drought by 2025.

@ChipNshoulder The thing is, I don't think he's a bad GM. He's a good GM who made two incredibly big mistakes at HC and QB, it seems. I don't know how you reconcile those two things, but I do believe Paton is a good GM overall.

@YahooSchwab Which coach would you pair with Fields if the Broncos drafted him and didn't hire Hackett?

@TyGreen14 We'll never know but it's at least possible it's Kevin O'Connell, who might win NFL Coach of the Year.

@YahooSchwab This may forever be the example of “take your swing at QB in draft when you can, not the expensive bet on downside of career” Great stuff

@YahooSchwab Great work! And another "what if" that never gets talked about...."what if the Broncos traded up in 2017 and got Mahomes?" that would have changed the next 15 years for two franchises.

@MarkStopa It's just crazy because in a vacuum, Surtain was a great pick! I think I'd take him as my first CB off the board (maybe Gardner) if we were redrafting the entire league. But it just set forth these series of events ...

@YahooSchwab The problem with playing the what if game is that the Broncos passed up Jordan Love and Jalen Hurts for Jerry Juedy (who is pretty close to bustville) and KJ Hamler (who has been buried on the depth chart) so to say Surtain changed thier fortunes is kind of cherry picking.

@Hawksfan2016 It is cherry picking, of course. I chose that particular scenario to write about. If I wrote about every decision by every GM of every team, I'd be here a while.