On Tuesday, the Denver Broncos and New Orleans Saints made a deal for Sean Payton. Which players benefit the most from this hire? It is a great day for Broncos Country, as Sean Payton, a potential Hall of Fame caliber head coach, will now be the new head coach of the Denver Broncos, as was reported on Tuesday.
This may just propel the team back into relevancy after a historically bad year under Nathaniel Hackett. The team now has a direction with Payton as the head coach and will likely have a strong offensive identity.
Sean Payton is an elite offensive mind who has constantly crafted top-five scoring offenses. This should come as cautious optimism for the Broncos as their offense has been holding them back for years.
So, which players are going to benefit the most from the Sean Payton hire?
Broncos who benefit most from the Sean Payton hire
Russell Wilson, QB
This is the most obvious choice, so let’s get it out of the way. Russell Wilson had a Hall of Fame career for ten years in Seattle before wanting to be traded to Denver. The 2022 season was not kind to Wilson as he endured his worst year by a mile.
Wilson has been nothing but an efficient passer his entire career. He’s got one of the highest passer ratings in NFL history for a reason. Besides the fact that Payton is an elite offensive mind, he’s also predominantly worked with a short quarterback in particular for just about his entire tenure as a HC in Drew Brees.
You’d think someone in Payton, who has been highly regarded for years as an elite offensive mind, who has worked with smaller quarterbacks before, would be able to squeeze the best out of Russell Wilson.
Broncos who benefit most from the Sean Payton hire
Jerry Jeudy, WR
This is another obvious choice as one of the biggest beneficiaries of the Sean Payton hire. There have been countless receivers to go through Payton’s Saints over the years that have performed at extremely high levels.
Being a master play designer, and someone who can clearly scheme to his players’ strengths, we should see Jeudy explode in year four. Toward the end of the 2022 season, the Broncos’ stud receiver was able to string together some excellent play.
He’s got a unique skill set that perhaps only a handful of other playmakers in the NFL have. His route running, decent size, and underrated speed make him a threat in different ways.
I think we’ll see Jeudy simply get the ball a ton more in 2023 and hopefully beyond than he did his first three years in Denver. The “slant boy” nickname was pinned to WR Michael Thomas, who had some very elite years with Payton.
And to be honest, that shouldn’t be seen as a slight to Thomas, as he was extremely prolific for several years and was a huge reason why the Saints were able to score a ton of points during his prime years.
Perhaps the way that Sean Payton used Michael Thomas is the way he can use Jerry Jeudy on the Broncos.
Broncos who benefit most from the Sean Payton hire
The entire Broncos offensive line
One thing that the New Orleans Saints had during Payton’s years was a damn good offensive line, and that should not change when he arrives in Denver and builds his staff. From 2016-2020, someone by the name of Dan Roushar was the Saints’ OL coach.
During that stretch, much like previous years in New Orleans, the Saints had some elite offensive lines that were able to keep Drew Brees upright to allow him to pick apart defenses. What makes this even more impressive is that Brees’ lack of mobility was evident, so the pocket had to hold up more often than it would for more mobile quarterbacks.
Roushar was let go after this season but would be a logical choice to follow Payton to Denver. Also, given that Payton had some say in personnel decisions, the Saints also had some elite players along the offensive line, so perhaps Payton has a strong eye for picking out OL talent.
Denver Broncos deal for Sean Payton is a steal
The Denver Broncos will acquire head coach Sean Payton from the New Orleans Saints. The compensation is proof that the move was a steal for Denver.
Heck, I don’t see why someone like Mike Munchak couldn’t come back in this scenario either. I do think we’ll see a very, very veteran and experienced coaching staff in Denver, and the offensive line needs that the most.