Who will be the Broncos’ quarterback Sunday is the million dollar question in the NFL. 

With third-string quarterback Jeff Driskel testing positive Thursday and now Drew Lock, Brett Rypien and Blake Bortles all being considered as close contacts by the NFL, the Broncos don’t have any QBs left to play against the Saints on Sunday. 

Enter undrafted rookie wide receiver Kendall Hinton and third-string running back Royce Freeman. 

Hinton and Freeman have some quarterback experience, with Hinton playing in high school and four years at Wake Forest before moving to receiver and Freeman playing a lot of wildcat in high school and at Oregon. 

Right now, if the game isn’t postponed or canceled, it looks as though one of them will be the starter. And their high school coaches couldn’t be more excited to tune in. 

“I’m telling you right now,” said Darius Robinson, Hinton’s high school coach at Southern Durham (N.C.), “the NFL and Denver, are going to see something special.”

“He has a great arm. He was a great athlete,” said Victor Cruz, Freeman’s high school quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator at Imperial High School (Calif.). “But he never played quarterback. We did put him in the wildcat formation, but that was about it.”

Freeman is certainly the least likely option for the Broncos, having only thrown the ball once both in high school and college, both on trick plays and both for touchdowns. Freeman rushed for 5,621 yards and four touchdowns at Oregon. 

“If they’re going to expect him to sit back in the pocket and pass, it’s going to be a long day for the Broncos,” Cruz said of Freeman. “But if they’re going to run some little packages with him, some RPOs with him to allow his running skills to be used, he’ll do OK because he’s a great athlete. But if you want him to sit back in the pocket and throw all day, it probably won’t be good for the Broncos. But he’s a hell of an athlete, I’ll tell you that.”

As for Hinton, he’s played quarterback the majority of his career. 

He was a standout dual-threat quarterback out of Southern Durham High School, rated as a three-star by 247Sports and signing to play at Wake Forest. 

“Leadership and intelligence,” Robinson said of Hinton. “He changed plays at the line of scrimmage as a sophomore. We always told him if he saw something at the line of scrimmage that needed to be changed, to only do it if it made the play better. And he was almost 100% accurate at that because of his intelligence. He knew what he wanted to do and his athleticism and God-given talents took over.”

Hinton helped lead Southern Durham to a state championship in 2013 as a junior and as a senior passed for 3,258 yards and 30 touchdowns while rushing for 835 yards. 

At Wake Forest, he threw for 1,504 yards, eight touchdowns and seven interceptions while rushing 881 yards and 12 touchdowns. He moved to wide receiver before his senior season, catching 73 passes for 1,001 yards and four touchdowns. 

“The spin he puts on the ball when he throws the ball, the ball gets out of his hand really quick and he has a really tight spiral,” Robinson said. “And whenever Kendall is in command, he’s a dual-threat guy with his speed, agility and decision making. He can throw it as well as he can run it.

“Whatever game plan is in place, I’m pretty sure Kendall is going to expose someone when they’re not paying attention and taking him for granted. His athleticism and intelligence are going to take over.”

Robinson added that Hinton was a tremendous leader for his program, being a 4.0 student and someone who continuously gave back to the community and does to this day. 

He fully believes, if given the opportunity Sunday, Hinton will shine for the Broncos. 

“Kendall was that guy that as long as we had him at quarterback, we always had the chance to win the game,” Robinson said. “He’s a magical kid. He just does great things and you guys in Denver are really going to see how good this young man is.”

Whether or not Hinton or Freeman will see the field Sunday is widely unknown, as well as if the game will even be played. 

But one thing is for certain: If the Broncos do play the Saints at 2:05 p.m. Sunday, Robinson and Cruz will be tuned in. 

“If we have to get the NFL ticket, we’ll get the ticket,” Robinson said with a laugh. “We’re going to do whatever we can to watch this game and watch Kendall.”