Denver Broncos draft: George Paton unlikely to do this at 64
Even after the Russell Wilson trade, the Denver Broncos are set to have eight picks in the 2022 NFL Draft. What will be George Paton’s draft approach?
Set to enter his second draft with the Denver Broncos, General Manager George Paton has built a Super Bowl-caliber roster.
After having a very strong 2021 draft and free agency period, he built upon both of those in what has been the best free agency period of any team across the league.
After making a huge trade for Russell Wilson, which included multiple first and second-round picks in 2022 and 2023, Paton still has eight total draft picks at his disposal.
However, Denver will not pick until the 64th overall selection, which is the last pick of the second round. If not for trading Von Miller, Denver wouldn’t pick until the 75th overall selection.
Having eight picks, and half of them in the top 115 is solid, especially with a very deep draft class at multiple positions.
However, in the weeks approaching the draft, I’m beginning to think that George Paton will not, under any circumstances, trade up significantly from this spot.
George Paton values draft picks. He likes having a lot of them. During his introductory press conference last year, he simplified it for us.
The more draft picks, the more darts, and the better chance at hitting a bullseye. Having a strong cupboard of draft capital has been true with Paton during his days in Minnesota.
He has also commented on how strong this draft is expected to be in the middle rounds, and you couple that with a desire to have a lot of picks, and I just cannot see how George Paton makes a noticeable move up the draft board from pick 64.
However, I do think it is possible that he may move up at some point during the 2022 NFL Draft.
But, seeing how Paton has operated and seeing as he just gave away a plethora of valuable draft capital for Russell Wilson, I’m more likely to believe he’ll kick back and relax until pick 64.
I think this is doubly true when you consider the needs he filled in free agency and how strong the roster is.
The Broncos needed help along the front seven, and Paton delivered help with Randy Gregory and D.J. Jones.
Denver needed help in the secondary, so he added a strong slot cornerback in K’Waun Williams.
They also needed help at the most important position in sports, and Paton delivered there.
The more I think about this, the more I think Paton is going to take the best player available at 64. Or, if he does want to trade up, he won’t make a big move, perhaps into the 50s if a player he likes begins to fall down the boards.
I do think many teams have a general draft philosophy of taking the best player available no matter what.
However, I’m a firm believer in drafting for need, no matter where you’re picking.
To me, the biggest need remaining on the Denver Broncos’ roster is a running mate for Josey Jewell. While it is possible that the team can sign someone to play next to him, it’s very unlikely to find a long-term solution this late in free agency.
If I was George Paton, I’d look at making an inside linebacker my first pick at 64.
No matter what he elects to do, I find it unlikely he makes a big move up the boards.