Broncos' Anderson on landing Cousins: 'It would be huge'

Kirk Cousins has made a favorable impression on the Denver Broncos.

Shortly after Von Miller spoke glowingly about the Washington Redskins quarterback, Broncos running back C.J. Anderson followed suit. Cousins is expected to be an attractive open-market catch after the Kansas City Chiefs agreed to send quarterback Alex Smith to the Redskins in a deal on Tuesday.

"It would be huge having a guy like Kirk. ... It would be huge to come to us, a veteran team," Anderson told NFL Network. "We know some pieces are going to change, but if we can keep some of the pieces on our offensive end -- myself, (wide receiver) Emmanuel (Sanders), DT (wide receiver Demaryius Thomas) -- our offense can be what we want it to be."

Anderson was quite clear when asked if the quarterback position is the missing piece for the Broncos.

"Oh yeah, most definitely," the 26-year-old said. "If (general manager John) Elway can make it happen ... We need to find a way to make that happen."

Miller said on the Dan Patrick Show on Wednesday that Cousins is aware of just how much he values him. The Super Bowl 50 MVP said that "A lot of teams would kill to have a quarterback like that" after Cousins led the Redskins to a 27-11 win over the Broncos on Dec. 24.

"He knows exactly how I feel about Kirk Cousins and what he'd mean to our team," Miller said on Wednesday. "And what he would mean to a lot of other teams. He's the hot quarterback on the market right now. ... Yeah, we need Kirk. We need Kirk. I'd like to have Kirk. We have great quarterbacks now. Kirk could take us over the edge."

Cousins is expected to fetch a high price on the free agent market this year. He is coming off a season in which he completed 64.3 percent of his passes for more than 4,000 yards with 27 touchdowns and 13 interceptions for a 93.9 passer rating.

The Broncos have had trouble getting consistent production out of the quarterback position since Peyton Manning retired after winning the Super Bowl two years ago.

In 2017, Trevor Siemian, Brock Osweiler and Paxton Lynch combined to complete just 58.7 percent of their passes for 3,668 yards with 19 touchdowns and 22 interceptions for a 73.0 passer rating.

The Broncos could also look toward the quarterback position with the fifth overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.