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Grading George Paton’s first year as Broncos GM

By Travis Wakeman

Oct 31, 2021; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos general manager George Paton before the game against the Washington Football Team at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 31, 2021; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos general manager George Paton before the game against the Washington Football Team at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports /
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Denver Broncos, George Paton
Denver Broncos general manager George Paton. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports /

Forming the Broncos’ 53-man roster following the preseason

Paton made a flurry of moves following the preseason to get down to the league-mandated 53-man roster before the regular season kicked off.

There were no major surprises within the team’s final cuts, though putting in waiver claims on both Mike Ford and Nate McCrary never really made any sense.

The Broncos cut McCrary three weeks later and had already cut Royce Freeman, who appeared to initially survive roster cuts, to make room for McCrary.

Paton also made a couple of trades to add players to the roster.

First, he received a fifth-round pick and a seventh-round pick in 2022 from the Detroit Lions in exchange for wide receiver Trinity Benson and a sixth-round pick in 2023. Benson had shined during the preseason, so I wasn’t thrilled to see him go, but it’s hard to argue with that kind of return for a player who was once undrafted and had basically done nothing in the league.

He then sent a sixth-round pick in 2022 and a seventh in 2023 to the San Francisco 49ers in order to get linebacker Jonas Griffith and seventh-round choice in 2022. Griffith seems to have a bright future and he is obviously a player Paton likes.

Grade: B-

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