Broncos free agency: Tracking every move in George Paton’s first year

The 2021 offseason marks the first year since 2011 that John Elway will not be calling the shots in the Denver Broncos front office. New general manager George Paton left his role as the top assistant to Rick Spielman with the Minnesota Vikings after years of getting calls from other NFL teams to work with the “sleeping giant” in Denver.

Although the Broncos were a disappointing 5-11 in 2020, the roster had plenty of pieces when Paton was hired as general manager to be excited about. Just one week into the 2021 offseason and free agency signing period, fans all over Broncos Country are getting an idea of what Paton is all about.

When he was hired, Paton promised an aggressive but not reckless approach.

So far, so good.

No one was really quite sure what to expect from Paton — this is his first time ever running the show after spending time in just about every other front office role throughout his career — but he has been making some impressive moves.

Before he stepped down as the team’s general manager, John Elway talked about wanting to get fresh eyes on the roster he’s built five years following the team’s victory in Super Bowl 50.

Based on the initial wave of moves, it’s clear that Paton was not lying or pumping us all with fluff when he dubbed the roster a sleeping giant. He clearly liked what he saw but knew where work needed to be done.

Let’s take a look through all of Paton’s moves in his first year on the job as a general manager in the NFL with the Denver Broncos.

1. Justin Simmons signs record-breaking contract

The ultimate decision to sign safety Justin Simmons to a long-term contract has always been an absolute no-brainer on paper.

The Broncos posted a graphic of Simmons’ “resumé” up to this point, and it speaks volumes.

Since he was a third-round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, Simmons has been one of the Broncos’ best and most consistent players on either side of the ball. As the graphic states, he has played over 3,200 consecutive snaps, more than any other active defensive player.

This guy doesn’t come off the field because he has made his presence non-negotiable.

John Elway franchise-tagged Simmons in the 2020 offseason, but for whatever the reason or reasons, Simmons became the first and only player in Elway’s tenure who was franchise tagged and not signed to a long-term deal before the following deadline to do so.

George Paton gave Simmons the tag as well, but this time, he followed it up by throwing away the tag and giving Simmons the bag. As in, he made Simmons the highest-paid safety in NFL history at $15.25 million per season on a four-year deal.

Simmons received $61 million in total money over the course of a four-year deal with $35 million in guarantees.

Rewarding Simmons with a long-term contract was a huge move not only for the team on the field but for players who have been drafted in the last three or four years by the Broncos who are coming up with their rookie contracts.

Simmons is now the example — if you do everything right, you will be taken care of.

2. Shelby Harris re-signed for three years

Speaking of doing everything right, Shelby Harris is one of the best stories in recent Denver Broncos history, isn’t he?

Harris came to the Broncos as a reserve/futures player after floating around between a couple of other teams as a former seventh-round draft pick of the Raiders.

The first big contract George Paton handed out as GM of the Broncos was a three-year, $27 million deal for Harris, a 29-year old defensive lineman who has become a fan-favorite in Denver and also a favorite of head coach Vic Fangio.

Harris, known for having the “best hands on the team“, has been tremendous since getting his first real shot at playing time under head coach Vance Joseph back in the 2017 season.

After playing two years on a very team-friendly contract, Harris played one season on a restricted free agent tender, then came back to the Broncos in 2020 for just over $3 million when it was projected he could get at least $10 million on the open market.

It is no wonder Harris was emotional when he met the media after getting a $27 million payday from the Broncos.

It’s huge to have Harris in the fold. He’s tremendous on the field, but he’s equally important for the Denver Broncos in the locker room and off the field.

Once again, Harris is an example of a guy who has done everything right and has now been rewarded for it.

3. Von Miller’s contract option picked up

If you were a first-year general manager, how would you have gone about Von Miller‘s situation?

Would you want one of your first orders of business to be cutting Von Miller?

That would be a tough sell to a fan base, I’d say. In the end, George Paton made the right decision to try to ask Miller and his agent about potentially re-doing his contract to lower a 2021 salary cap hit that is north of $22 million.

A number of fans in Broncos Country have scoffed at Von Miller’s price, but there are three issues to take with that.

1. It’s Von Miller.

2. It’s not your money.

3. The Broncos are not hurting for cap space.

Keeping Von Miller does not and has not limited the Broncos from making other big moves. While the team did move on from Kareem Jackson and some other veteran players, it would have been a huge mistake to let go of Miller without a big-time addition coming over in his place.

Miller looked like he was about to play out of his mind after the offseason he had in 2020 following a significant bout with COVID-19. Once Miller recovered from the virus, he hit the gym and posted photos and videos looking like he’d been put in the same machine that spit out Captain America.

The Broncos have gotten four games — four games — with both Miller and Chubb on the field and Vic Fangio calling the shots. It would have been a shame if the team had moved on from him just to open up cap space when they had other ways to do that.

Obviously, George Paton saw that.

4. CB Ronald Darby signed to three-year deal

The first outside free agent George Paton signed as a general manager — at least, once the negotiating window opened up — was Washington Football Team cornerback Ronald Darby.

Darby just turned 27 in January, but the Denver Broncos will already be his fourth NFL team.

Drafted by the Buffalo Bills, Darby has been traded to the Philadelphia Eagles and signed as a “prove-it” free agent by Washington. His issue has never been about talent, but availability.

After tearing his ACL in Philadelphia, Darby changed his approach in the offseason and managed to stay on the field for over 1,000 snaps in all 16 games of the 2020 season.

Proving he could stay healthy was huge for the former Florida State star, and he convinced the Broncos to the point that they were willing to give him a three-year contract worth $30 million. That’s a nice payday for anybody, but frankly with the way the cornerback market had been moving in years prior, it looks like a nice bargain.

This year’s free agent cornerback market has been very team-friendly across the board although a couple of players like Shaquill Griffin have signed for deals more in line with where last year’s market was heading, between $14-15 million per season.

Darby pencils in as the Broncos’ CB1 or CB2 based on one of the next moves that Paton made, and addresses arguably the team’s biggest offseason need.

5. CB Kyle Fuller signed to one-year deal

When Vic Fangio came over from the Chicago Bears, he left a defensive unit that had a number of All-Pro players, including cornerback Kyle Fuller.

In Fangio’s final season with the Bears, Fuller picked off seven passes and earned All-Pro recognition, establishing himself as one of the best cornerbacks in the entire NFL. He followed that up in 2019 with another trio of interceptions, earning Pro Bowl honors for a second straight season.

After the 2020 season, the Chicago Bears had some obvious salary cap issues especially with the league’s cap number going down in general. Fuller, who just turned 29 years old, was an unfortunate casualty of their cap issues.

For the Broncos, there was nothing unfortunate about it.

Fuller’s veteran presence at the cornerback position is one thing, his fit in Fangio’s defense is another.

The Broncos now have four bonafide studs in the secondary and three players who have proven that their best football comes in the Fangio brand of defense (Fuller, Simmons, Bryce Callahan). Ron Darby will likely soon prove the same.

Getting a player like Fuller is a game-changer for the Denver Broncos and is something that gives you confidence this team can make a huge leap in the 2021 season.

He signed a one-year deal with the Broncos worth $9.5 million and $9 million fully guaranteed. Once again, this deal looks like an absolute bargain for George Paton considering the going rate for players of Fuller’s caliber is easily north of $14 million per season.

6. Restricted free agents and Exclusive Rights free agents

The Denver Broncos took care of some housekeeping when they gave restricted free agent tenders and exclusive rights free agent tenders to a number of players — starters and backups alike — on both sides of the ball.

Tim Patrick, WR

Patrick received a second-round RFA tender from the Denver Broncos, essentially preventing other teams from going after him.

Bringing Patrick back on the second-round tender was a no-brainer after his breakout 2020 season. Patrick became almost the WR1 of the Broncos after Courtland Sutton went down with a season-ending injury.

His value has now been proven with Sutton going down. It will be fascinating to see if 2021 is the final year he plays in Denver before getting perhaps a better chance elsewhere in free agency, but for now, he’s an outstanding playmaker to have among the Broncos’ top four receivers.

Alexander Johnson, LB

The other player to get a second-round RFA tender from the Broncos was linebacker Alexander Johnson, who has become a starter and a very good one.

Johnson was inserted into the lineup after a couple of bad games by the Broncos’ run defense to open the 2019 season, and he has not looked back.

He’s become one of the most consistently good players on that defensive unit for the Broncos.

Broncos ERFA signings

• OT Calvin Anderson
• RS Diontae Spencer
• S Trey Marshall

The Broncos’ group of ERFA players is a pretty important group overall.

Offensive tackle Calvin Anderson will be penciled in as the swing tackle behind Garett Bolles and Ja’Wuan James after getting a couple of chances to start in 2020. The Broncos have been invested in his development and he showed some positive signs in 2020 when he got starts at both right tackle and left tackle, though he showed better on the left side.

Diontae Spencer has become one of the best return specialists in the league and got his first return touchdown in the NFL last season when the Broncos dominated the Carolina Panthers.

Trey Marshall might see increased playing time in 2021 with the Broncos’ present lack of depth at safety, but at present, he’s a depth piece and big-time special teams contributor.

7. Signing RB Mike Boone to 2-year deal

So far, the only player George Paton has brought with him from the Minnesota Vikings is…

…running back Mike Boone?

The Broncos signed the former Vikings special teams standout and reserve running back to a two-year contract and he will have a shot now to compete for RB2 duties behind Melvin Gordon along with Royce Freeman and whoever the Broncos draft at the position.

Boone gives the Broncos a tremendous athlete at the position with size, speed, explosiveness, and a lot of work on special teams.

Boone had only 11 carries last season but when he was given an actual shot during the 2019 season in a Week 17 start against the Chicago Bears, he ran for 148 yards on 17 carries with a touchdown.

A former high school wide receiver, Boone is really a fascinating athlete with potentially some untapped upside. The Broncos certainly had a need for some depth at the running back position and after Melvin Gordon’s DUI situation was cleared up, the team brought in Boone to provide value on both offense and special teams.

As much as Boone is coming in to compete for RB2 duties, he could also be coming in to help fill out a special teams unit that could have a bunch of turnover in 2021.

8. Kareem Jackson returns

The Denver Broncos initially declined Kareem Jackson’s 2021 contract option, saving $10 million in cap space (Jackson’s 2021 base salary).

After declining that option, George Paton publicly stated he was leaving the door open for Jackson to return, and that is exactly what happened.

Although he was shopping around for more money (why wouldn’t he?), Jackson ended up signing. a one-year deal to return to the Broncos at $5 million. Playing for half of his original 2021 salary is a tough pill to swallow, but it certainly doesn’t have to do with the way Jackson has played for Vic Fangio’s defense over the past two seasons.

He has 160 total tackles, three interceptions, 14 pass breakups, and a couple of fumble recoveries in addition to providing intangible value in the locker room and as a teammate.

Jackson is a key veteran for this Denver Broncos team to bring back, and having him in the fold at a $5 million price tag?

That’s another huge win for George Paton.

9. Key Departures

RB Phillip Lindsay

The Denver Broncos said goodbye to Phillip Lindsay, whose RFA tender was rescinded after the team signed Mike Boone, and then about a day later, Lindsay became one of about 93 players to sign with the Houston Texans this offseason.

Lindsay got $1 million guaranteed from the Texans and a little over $3 million in total money, essentially the value of a restricted free agent tender.

This is a tough goodbye, there is no question about it. And many fans will not care as much about any other move made this offseason by George Paton because he did not do more to keep Lindsay around.

But it’s very interesting that after watching film on his own and with coaches and scouts in the team that George Paton came to the conclusion to let Lindsay go.

He struggled with injuries in 2020, but there’s no doubt about his ability to be a catalyst for the offense when healthy.

Other current in-house free agents

• OT Elijah Wilkinson
• OT Demar Dotson
• EDGE Jeremiah Attaochu
• CB AJ Bouye
• DL Jurrell Casey
• DL DeMarcus Walker
• DB Will Parks
• CB De’Vante Bausby
• DL Sylvester Williams
• EDGE Anthony Chickillo
• TE Troy Fumagalli
• TE Jake Butt
• LB Joe Jones
• LB Austin Calitro

Although a couple of players on this list have taken visits, none have signed in free agency at the time of this article’s posting. That doesn’t bode well for the Broncos getting compensatory selections in the 2022 offseason, but that is not a problem at this point.

The Broncos could still try to bring a number of these players back if the price is right.

10. The 2021 NFL Draft

The Denver Broncos have an opportunity to really significantly upgrade the roster through the 2021 NFL Draft.

A few of the strongest positions in this year’s draft class are:

• Wide receiver
• Offensive Line
• Linebacker
• Defensive back

The quarterback position also has a number of intriguing guys and five possible top 10 or top 15 selections.

The Broncos will have no shot at Trevor Lawrence and it’s not likely they will have a shot at Zach Wilson who is presumed to be QB2 at this point, but they might have a chance at Justin Fields, Trey Lance, or Mac Jones should they target any of those three.

Given some of the moves the Broncos have made, it wouldn’t be shocking if they decided to go the quarterback route.

The Broncos have previously been projected as a landing spot for some of the top cornerback prospects in this draft, and while that is still possible, it feels much more likely the team will go a different direction with their top pick.

The Broncos could go linebacker, safety, or even running back in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft if they don’t take a quarterback.

Broncos rumors: QB firmly in play for 2021 first-round pick

New Denver Broncos general manager George Paton will be making the rounds at pro days for the top 2021 quarterback prospects. That position is in play.

One way or another, this team needs to take advantage of the excellent depth at linebacker and on the offensive line at some point, and they could be targeting a safety sooner than many thought.