George Paton has definitely helped himself out over the past couple of offseasons, but where does he rank among all GMs in the NFL?
When George Paton took over the Denver Broncos following the 2020 NFL Season, he called the team a 'sleeping giant,' and for the first few years, that giant was sleeping even more. However, things begun to change in the 2023 NFL Season, and the team really hit their stride in 2024.
While Paton's tenure has been good and nothing more, his time with the Broncos is absolutely trending in the right direction, as many people are looking at the Denver Broncos as being one of the teams that could vault into contender status in 2025.
Where would George Paton rank among all 32 GMs in the NFL for the coming season?
George Paton given fair GM ranking for the 2025 season
Patrick Daugherty ranked all 32 NFL general managers ahead of the 2025 season, and George Paton ended up with a pretty fair ranking of 14th overall:
"The QB6 in this year’s draft class — Shedeur Sanders, maybe you’ve heard of him — went at No. 144 overall. The QB6 in last year’s group went … No. 12. To Sean Payton and George Paton’s Broncos. Were they taking the advantage of a loaded group or forcing the issue at football’s most important position, one where they had an acute need? It doesn’t matter. Whatever the process, the result was an OROY3 finish and Wild Card appearance for Bo Nix and company. Although the Broncos’ offense was strong, the defense was better. The Brothers Pa(y)ton attempted to strengthen that strength this spring with a pair of free agent splurges on rehabbing 49ers, S Talanoa Hufanga and LB Dre Greenlaw. For Nix, they went to work in the draft, seeking to fix their run-game woes with No. 60 overall back R.J. Harvey. Another position of need, receiver, was addressed at No. 74 with Pat Bryant, a player Payton has rather unhelpfully already compared to Michael Thomas. Aggression remains Payton’s modus operandi. Arguably no other approach will work in a division with Patrick Mahomes. The question is if any approach will work when your primary competition is Tom Brady’s heir apparent. After a shaky start together in 2023, Paton and Payton have at least given themselves a fighting chance."Patrick Daugherty
It's not that these rankings really mean anything in the grand scheme of things, but it's nice to see that Paton is getting some credit for the work he's done with the Denver Broncos. Paton has overseen the Denver Broncos drafting guys like Patrick Surtain II, Quinn Meinerz, Jonathon Cooper, Marvin Mims Jr, Nik Bonitto, Bo Nix, and other key young players.
The team's free agency dealings have also seemed to improve in recent years as well. Right now, the Broncos feel like a perfect combination of drafted players and others acquired via free agency and trade. The most recent news with this team was them hosting free agent running back JK Dobbins on a visit, so they don't seem to be done with their own roster building.
Going from five, to eight, and now to 10 wins over the last three seasons, the Denver Broncos are absolutely trending in the right direction, and a large part of that is due to the sharp eye of GM George Paton. Is 14th the proper spot for the team's GM?