George Paton’s mistakes are beginning to show themselves
Denver Broncos general manager George Paton has made a ton of moves as the decision-maker for the team, but his mistakes are beginning to show. Perhaps George Paton was not a home run hire like some thought.
Through two offseasons, he’s made a ton of moves, and many of them have been excellent. Drafting Patrick Surtain II, Javonte Williams, Quinn Meinerz, Baron Browning, Caden Sterns, and perhaps even rookie Montrell Washington have been great moves.
Are mistakes mounting up for Denver Broncos GM George Paton?
Signing DJ Jones in free agency was a nice addition, and K’Waun Williams has played well. He made a big trade for Russell Wilson, fired Vic Fangio, and hired Nathaniel Hackett. I’d say the organization is in a slightly better place than when he took over, but his mistakes are beginning to show, and he’s made mistakes with some of the most important people and positions in the organization.
To be as direct as possible, it’s clear that Nathaniel Hackett was the wrong hire. In his three years as the offensive coordinator for the Green Bay Packers, Hackett was able to watch as Aaron Rodgers won back-to-back MVP awards.
Unfortunately for Paton, general managers in the NFL do not get many chances to hire their head coaches. Paton may only get one more shot at a head coach hire before he runs out of time. His trade for Russell Wilson was seen as excellent when it happened, but unless Wilson’s performance is being severely hurt due to coaching, it appears as if he traded for a player who is over the hill.
Two other notable free agent additions on the defense were Ronald Darby, who Paton signed to a $30 million contract, and Randy Gregory, who Paton signed to a $70 million contract. Both players came with significant injury concerns, yet George Paton handed them the largest paydays of their careers.
Darby missed six games, or 35% of the 2021 season because of injuries, and left the game on Thursday with another. Randy Gregory has never played a full season and is set to miss about a month after receiving a small knee procedure. Why did George Paton take this big of a risk?
In the NFL, team building does involve taking risks in free agency, but I think risks can be taken in a smarter way, like not investing serious money into injury-prone players, because the best ability is availability.
He also has severely neglected the offensive line. The interior is rough, to say the least, and right tackle is still an issue. George Paton drafted Quinn Meinerz, who appears to be a total dog on the inside, but for whatever reason, did not try and upgrade the center and left guard positions, both of which are struggling a ton right now.
Dalton Risner has been below average since 2020, and I personally do not think Lloyd Cushenberry is good enough to start in the NFL. He is still, at this point, a below-average center. Signing Billy Turner to play right tackle was smart, but he also came with an injury concern and has not started a game yet for the Broncos.
Cameron Fleming was brought back as well and has been poor at right tackle. Why hasn’t George Paton done more to upgrade the offensive line? It’s a clear issue, and he should have known that Russell Wilson would be taking more sacks than normal because of his style of play, so Paton should have done more with the line, in my opinion.
George Paton, early in year two and after a 2-3 start in 2022, appears to have made more mistakes than I think people are willing to admit.