DENVER — If the Broncos adore Trevor Lawrence as much as the next team in search of a franchise quarterback, no trade price is too high. It was that way with John Elway in 1983.

It’s that way for Elway now.

Four first-rounders? The Jacksonville Jaguars, who will own the No. 1 pick and the right to draft the Clemson star, have holes other than quarterback to fill. Who knows? Maybe they’re hungry for more draft picks. Maybe they’ll bite.

Name a Bronco and he should be on the trade table, too. Bradley Chubb, Justin Simmons, even Courtland Sutton. With a grumpy 32-47 record in the five seasons since the Super Bowl 50 parade, there’s not a player on the payroll who has earned the prized distinction of an untouchable.

Go big, or go home for the playoffs.

When the game clock strikes 00:00 Sunday against the Raiders at Empower Field at Mile High, the 2021 Broncos will be on the clock. The hole at quarterback is probably going to be filled with Drew Lock, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Lock could turn out just fine, thanks.

“We still have high hopes for Drew that with a good offseason and a lot of hard work this offseason, a lot of film study, he can come back and be a very good quarterback in this league,” Elway said via the team’s website.

But what if the Clemson quarterback at the top of everybody’s draft board has Elway’s eye?

His contract as general manager runs out in 2021. If I were John Elway — Lord knows 12-year-old me figured that was a possibility — I’m scrapping this football business and setting up daily 10 a.m. tee times at Cherry Hills. Who’s got time for injury reports, star free agents getting DUIs and fines for not wearing a mask?

Shoot, if I’m in that position, let me know how the Super Bowl turns out. I’ll be tucked away by a fireplace next to the Gunnison River in Almont.

Maybe that elusive franchise quarterback is Lock, who’s managing the league’s fourth-from-worst scoring offense but is only in his second season as a pro. Or maybe it’s Lawrence, who won a national championship as a Clemson freshman and will be the No. 1 pick no matter who’s in position to make it.

Yes, it would take a king’s ransom, and maybe one half of Pikes Peak, to get that deal done.

But let me throw a theory your way that I’ve been tossing around. Sports bar wisdom — back when there was such a thing — is that Elway got cocky after Super Bowl 50. The wise guys figured No. 7 thought he could build a roster that was good enough to cover up the quarterback cracks like he used to do as a player. But I don’t believe that’s the case. I believe Elway still viewed all those Super Bowl appearances in the 1980s and ’90s as a team effort that required a complete roster with good players all over the place. Throw in the fact the Broncos had just won Super Bowl 50 with marginal quarterback play, and he ran it back.

But let’s be real. Elway was the only Super Bowl QB in the ’80s who never had a running back, wide receiver or tight end selected to a Pro Bowl the same year as the big game. Those were Elway’s Broncos, through and through, carried to the ultimate stage by a prodigal quarterback.

That in mind, maybe Elway’s issue hasn’t been arrogance. Maybe it was his view that football is the ultimate team game and the quarterback is just one piece. Maybe it was a humble look back at his playing career that implored him to pass on quarterback Josh Allen in favor of Bradley Chubb, or think the Broncos could get away with signing journeyman Case Keenum.

But a QB who’s just a guy won’t cut it in the AFC West — not with 25-year-old Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert, 22, firing cannon shots across the bow. And isn’t it worth a mention the Broncos have never been to a Super Bowl unless a first-round quarterback was guiding the way?

When the Broncos passed on Allen to take Chubb, the team envisioned a Chubb-Von pass-rushing tandem that would make life tough on Mahomes. That hasn’t happened, not even close. If Miller doesn’t return in 2021, the Broncos got one full season of seeing that pair together.

And in that one season they didn’t score a sack or force a turnover over the first three games.

You need an awesome quarterback to win in the NFL. The top three seeds in the AFC playoff bracket right now are led by Mahomes, Allen and Ben Roethlisberger. That’s not breaking news to anybody. But one of the greatest quarterbacks jumping up to the No. 1 pick to draft the next great quarterback sure would be.

Think of it this way. Elway’s taken some shots since Super Bowl 50. What’s the one way his legacy in the front office would be as bulletproof as his legacy as a franchise quarterback?

Leaving behind another franchise quarterback for Colorado to enjoy for the next 15-20 years.