Denver Broncos general manager George Paton spoke to the media on Monday afternoon, along with team owner Greg Penner and team president Damani Leech. Several topics were discussed by the Broncos' brain trust, ranging from the team's coaching decisions to the future stadium, all the way to player personnel and Paton's roster construction so far. Paton was open and honest, and the conversation with the media was very thorough.
The Broncos added a major piece with Jaylden Waddle to the wide receiver position a few weeks back, and rumors of trading away players ran rampant almost immediately. With Waddle, Denver is now incredibly deep at the receiver spot, but it caused some to speculate that the Broncos could turn around and trade one of their other wideouts. It would thin out the Broncos' position group, and I'm not terribly sure it makes any sense to move from a position of strength anyway.
Whether it be the likes of third-year receiver Troy Franklin, All-Pro special teamer Marvin Mims, or possibly even the often-injured 2025 draft selection Pat Bryant, Denver is strong at the position. The Broncos did also reach a new deal with receiver Lil'Jordan Humphrey to bring him back to Denver, but his contract is incredibly easy to move on from and doesn't tie the Broncos to Humphrey for longer than they feel the need to. Paton has put the Broncos into an advantageous position, but Paton has decided instead to enter the 2026 season with one of the strongest position rooms in the game.
George Paton shut down the idea of the Denver Broncos trading away one of their wide receivers
When asked about the idea of trading one of their wide receivers, Paton shut down the idea of the Broncos moving one of their wide receivers.
"We really like those pieces, and they’re all going to help us. They’ve all helped us, until now. Lil’Jordan and Bandy. We’re 7-8 deep. We really like it. And so why would we build up this room and trade someone right now?"
Paton, interestingly enough, went out of his way to mention Michael Bandy, who scored for the Broncos last year.
And to Paton's point, he is absolutely correct: the Broncos seemingly are going to be able to go seven or eight receivers deep, and all of whom have a solid level of trust from either Sean Payton, Davis Webb, and/or Bo Nix. The Broncos have six receivers on guaranteed contracts, while Bandy figures to be a regular on the practice squad and a consistent option for Sunday call-ups. Also, don't count out the Broncos selecting a wide receiver in this year's NFL Draft.
The simple truth is that the Broncos are clearly going to value depth at wide receiver, and it is easy to understand why. The Broncos' room was solid last year, but as Franklin and Bryant went down with injuries in the playoffs, the team needed to rely on Elijah Moore to run important routes in the AFC Championship Game. It's easy to say that the Broncos could get more "value" from trading away a receiver, but after living through their playoff push last year, the Broncos need to understand that they did not have enough receivers, and seemingly Paton gets it.