Good morning, Broncos Country. The offseason is in full swing for the Denver Broncos. Since losing in the AFC Championship game to the New England Patriots, they have made a lot of moves with their coaching staff. Additionally, the franchise has been diligent by signing a handful of players to future contracts to round out their roster.
With nearly $30 million dollars in cap space and five draft picks in the top four rounds, the big focus for the Broncos this offseason is adding talent. Whether via
free agency and the 2026 NFL Draft, the Broncos have the resources to be movers and shakers. They have a strong roster, but there is no doubt they need to make a few splashes to compete at a high-level next season.
The man currently tasked with leading the charge in both regards is General Manager George Paton. Arriving in Denver from Minneapolis in January of 2021, Paton has been the Broncos’ top front office man for the past five seasons. In that time, he has played an integral role in helping forge the franchise back into a competitor. However, he is entering the final year of his contract with the team.
At his end-of-the-season press conference, Broncos owner and CEO Greg Penner was asked about Paton and Head Coach Sean Payton’s relationship and their working dynamic moving forward after falling short of the team’s ultimate goal this past season. Penner offered nothing specific, but lauded the duo’s working chemistry, though was non-committal on discussing Paton’s long-term future with the franchise.
“We’d love to have both of them here long term. I think the partnership they’ve created and how they work together, it’s very complementary. In terms of their contracts, those are things that we’ll always deal with on a personal basis in private and take that as it comes,” stated Penner.
Talent evaluation, scouting, and drafting have been big strengths of Paton’s. In most of his draft classes, the Broncos have found impact players—Pro-Bowlers and All-Pros. That is definitely something the franchise struggled to do routinely under prior management. What he has helped accomplished there the past half decade has been impressive.
Additionally, Denver has been relatively successful with a good portion of their free agent signings, though several big contract players (Randy Gregory comes to mind) never panned out. Alongside new ownership, Paton’s has also done a tremendous job getting ahead of the curve with extensions to key players like Jonathon Cooper, Quinn Meinerz, Zach Allen, Patrick Surtain II, and Nik Bonitto.
On the flipside, the biggest blemishes on Paton’s resume in the Mile High City were the following: the failed trade and extension of Russell Wilson, as well as the hiring of Nathaniel Hackett a handful of seasons ago. Both those moves received a lot of criticism and rightfully so. Those would usually be backbreakers for any GM due to the negative implications they had.
However, count me in as someone who believes Paton’s successes in the first areas have done a good job making up for those poor decisions. He has played a critical role helping navigate them to the success they are having today. In fact, a good amount of front office staff and personnel have received promotions in recent years due to their involvement in Denver’s great turnaround. That’s not by accident. The Broncos have a good formula for success that teams are trying to replicate.
Overall, I don’t think moving on from Paton would be a good move. I’d like to see an extension worked out with him this offseason. How about you, Broncos Country? Do you think the Broncos should extend George Paton or go in a different direction at general manager moving forward? Let me know in the comments section.
As always, thank you for reading. Here is today’s slate of articles for Horse Tracks.
