Denver Broncos 4 top needs in 2022 according to GM George Paton

What are the primary needs for the Denver Broncos heading into the offseason? GM George Paton identified areas the team will look to address.

What are the top needs for the Denver Broncos heading into an incredibly important offseason in 2022?

All offseasons are important, let’s be real.

For the Denver Broncos lately, it feels like every offseason is the team’s most important because the team is in an embarrassing playoff drought and they are in a division with three of the NFL’s best quarterbacks.

And right now, the Broncos don’t have one of their own. Looking at the 14 teams in the playoffs, 10 of which drafted their starting QB (not including the 49ers, who just traded a bounty of picks for Trey Lance as well), it’s clear that the Broncos have one specific area they need to start with this offseason.

Denver Broncos GM George Paton acknowledges a few areas of need for 2022

In this one-on-one interview with Alexis Perry, Denver Broncos GM George Paton gave some interesting notes on what the team’s primary needs will be heading into the 2022 offseason.

Specifically, Paton named four areas we can take a bit of a closer look at, starting with the most obvious of all.

1. Quarterback

"Unfortunately, they’re not falling off trees. We’re looking and we will look. We’ll cast a wide net there too like we do at every other position. There is an urgency to get the right guy, the right quarterback, but you just can’t force it. George Paton to Broncos TV"

One of the other things Paton stated in this interview was that “in the big moments of games, we need to make big plays and that’s what the good teams do.”

Now you could read into that statement a variety of ways, but to me, that statement starts and ends with your quarterback. You need your quarterback to be able to make big plays with the game on the line, and Paton obviously understands that.

There is no one way to get a quarterback in the building, but if this year’s playoff teams are any indicator, it’s a much safer bet to get your guy through the NFL Draft.

That may not excite everyone in Broncos Country given the fact that this year’s QB class is not exactly widely renowned and revered, but that doesn’t mean George Paton doesn’t like some guys from it.

Paton has made the rounds this year, traveling to a number of college games to watch the top QB prospects in the 2022 class.

Everyone in Broncos Country seemingly has their hearts set on a guy like Aaron Rodgers or Russell Wilson, and perhaps rightfully so. Those guys would represent the cream of the crop and among the best offseason acquisitions in league history, if Paton could pull it off.

But what happens if neither is on the block? What happens if the best guys you can realistically go out and get this offseason are players like Jimmy Garoppolo? Because that possibility may soon become the reality.

Among the top QB prospects in the 2022 NFL Draft class are Pittsburgh’s Kenny Pickett, Ole Miss’ Matt Corral, Liberty’s Malik Willis, Nevada’s Carson Strong, North Carolina’s Sam Howell, Cincinnati’s Desmond Ridder, and Western Kentucky’s Bailey Zappe.