Just over one year ago, the Denver Broncos hired George Paton to be the team’s new general manager.
It was a huge move for the Broncos to hire George Paton following the decision by John Elway to step down as the team’s general manager. Though Elway would remain in the role of president of football operations, it signaled a change in the team’s direction.
Paton was chosen as the man for the job and he got right to work in rebuilding an organization that was starving for a return to the postseason. He did inherit a bit of a mess though, one with an incomplete roster, mainly due to so many questions at the quarterback position, along with a head coach that he did not select himself.
That said, Paton demonstrated a high football savvy with many of his moves in 2021 as he began to shape the Broncos’ roster in his vision. This included a bold trade on draft day as well as moving one of the greatest players in team history.
So how did Paton’s first year in Denver grade out? And how does that set him up for success heading into the free-agent signing period in 2022, which is just over one month away?
Here’s a year in review for the Broncos’ general manager.
Early moves for Broncos
To begin with, Paton came in and started to trim some fat off the roster to create room for capable replacements.
Most of these were minor moves, but he did decide to part ways with two of the most disappointing players from the 2020 season, both of which the Broncos had acquired through trade, Jurrell Casey and A.J. Bouye.
Both players missed a huge chunk of the 2020 season with injuries despite each coming with high expectations placed on them.
Bouye played in just seven games for the Broncos and was pretty quiet when he did. An appearance from Casey was even more scarce, as he appeared in just three games. That was unfortunate for Denver, as they caught him on the tail end of what was a stellar career for nine seasons with the Tennessee Titans.
Paton was correct to move on from both of these guys and it was good he didn’t see if there was any meat left on either of those bones. Both players had productive careers, but they were basically busts for the Broncos.
Grade: A
Broncos free agency
When the free-agent signing period began, it was clear that Paton and his staff were intent on upgrading the cornerback position. That was the biggest hole on the roster, so it was the right spot to target.
He signed both Ronald Darby and Kyle Fuller. Both of those moves looked promising at the time, but neither paid off well in 2021. They weren’t the worst moves, but they were far from good ones.
Paton also signed some familiar faces to him from his time with the Minnesota Vikings in Mike Boone and Shamar Stephen, but both of them were fairly quiet in Denver.
The biggest moves he made were to re-sign two of the best defensive players on the roster in Justin Simmons and Shelby Harris. Those were considered to be the biggest moves the team needed to make entering the offseason (outside of the quarterback spot) and Paton accomplished that.
Simmons was given a four-year, $61 million extension while Harris was given a three-year, $27 million extension.
However, and there is a however here, it wasn’t a perfect month of March for Paton, though some Broncos fans may disagree.
The decision to place a right of first refusal restricted free-agent tender on running back Phillip Lindsay only to rescind that two days later, making him a free agent, was utterly horrible.
Perhaps Lindsay wasn’t the biggest back in the league and perhaps he wasn’t a bright spot in Pat Shurmur’s offensive outlook, but I don’t know what more you would want a guy to do. Lindsay was literally one of the best stories the Broncos have had in the last five years and the Broncos just inexplicably washed it away.
It didn’t make sense then and it likely never will. So, the grade down a notch for that reason.
Grade: C+
Broncos 2021 NFL Draft
There is a lot to get into here.
Of course, the Broncos started the draft off by sending a sixth-round pick to the Carolina Panthers for Teddy Bridgewater. This was sold as a move to create competition for Drew Lock, but it never really seemed like true competition.
The Broncos had their quarterback and as a result, Paton navigated through the draft by not even looking at quarterbacks, including the move to pass on Justin Fields in the first round, a move that quickly drew the ire of Broncos Country.
Of course, the move that I still haven’t let him off the hook for was passing on Micah Parsons with the No. 9 overall pick. Leading into the draft, that was the player I was practically begging him to select. It worked out pretty well for the Dallas Cowboys, who did select him.
That being said, it’s hard to argue with the results of Paton’s draft class.
First-round pick Patrick Surtain looks like a future star, as does running back Javonte Williams. Baron Browning and Quinn Meinerz both look to be huge future contributors and Caden Sterns and Jonathon Cooper provided excellent value in later rounds.
Paton knocked it out of the park with this draft.
Grade: A-
Broncos summertime/Training camp
In my opinion, Ja’Wuan James is the worst free-agent signing in team history.
During the offseason in May, the Broncos were given the news that James tore his Achilles tendon while doing some personal training. A little over one week later, the Broncos made the decision to part ways with the oft-injured offensive tackle.
Paton did a good job filling his spot, given the circumstances, by signing both Bobby Massie and Cameron Fleming to compete for the job. Massie would win that battle and become the team’s starting right tackle.
Paton also added a third tight end in veteran Eric Saubert and he filled in nicely when his number was called during the season.
Training camp ran smoothly for the team as Paton and his staff evaluated the roster. None of the undrafted free agents signed by the team made a serious impact but linebacker Andre Mintze showed enough to be kept around.
Paton was forced to clean up a mess he didn’t make with James, but he did a good job with what he had to work with.
His grade in getting the team prepared for the season through the summer reflects that of a general manager who was on top of things and looking to get the most competitive team on the field that he possibly could.
Grade: B+
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-
Broncos in-season trades
Paton was not afraid to make moves during the season, which was nice to see.
He started by acquiring Stephen Weatherly from his old Vikings team, along with a seventh-round pick in 2023 for a seventh-round pick in 2022. Weatherly fit in nicely with the Broncos and is a player the team should invest in for the future.
Days later, he was able to get linebacker Kenny Young from the Los Angeles Rams and a seventh-round pick in 2024 for a sixth-round pick in 2024. Though Young would end the season on injured reserve, this was great value and he is a player that could be big for the team in years to come.
Paton got another sixth-round pick in 2022 from the Philadelphia Eagles for Kary Vincent. I feel like the team may have given up on Vincent too soon but again, he was a seventh-round choice and Paton upgraded by one whole round with the return he got.
Then there was the big move. The trade of Von Miller, the best defensive player in Broncos history. Miller went to the Rams, who were giving away picks like candy in order to get to the Super Bowl.
Paton was able to secure second and third-round picks for Miller, which was actually great value for a player at that stage of his career. Von and the Rams got what they wanted out of the deal, as they won the Super Bowl.
In all, this is what Paton’s in-season trades amount to.
Received: Stephen Weatherly, Kenny Young, a second-round pick in 2022, a third-round pick in 2022, a sixth-round pick in 2022, a seventh-round pick in 2023 and a seventh-round pick in 2024.
Gave up: Von Miller, Kary Vincent, a seventh-round pick in 2022, a sixth-round pick in 2024.
Not bad, even if it was hard to say goodbye to Von.
Grade: B+
Firing of Vic Fangio, hiring of Nathaniel Hackett
There were actually reports following the season that the Broncos may keep Vic Fangio around. Thank goodness those were not true because he had more than worn out his welcome and Paton was right to recognize that.
The Broncos were going nowhere with Fangio and change was absolutely necessary. It was also admirable that Paton conducted such a widespread head coaching search, interviewing 10 known candidates for the open vacancy before settling on Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett.
It remains to be seen whether or not that was a good move, but it’s certainly an exciting one. The trend in today’s NFL is to bring in young, offensive-minded head coaches and that is what Paton did with this hire.
Grade: A
Broncos Country should be quite encouraged entering the 2022 offseason. Paton is a general manager who displays a high football acumen as well as an ambitious side that is not afraid to make tough and maybe even risky moves for the betterment of his football team.
Year one was a success for Paton and we can only hope that year two is even more fruitful.
Overall Grade: B+