3 Reasons the Broncos have had the NFL's best offseason so far

3) George Paton's Lucky 3s.

George Paton has made a living in the third round. Since he took over drafting duties for the Broncos in 2021, he has made himself a living in the third round. In the two drafts he has led, the Broncos have had three third-round picks. Those selections? Three starters: Quinn Meinerz and Baron Browning in 2021, and Greg Dulcich in 2022.

The Broncos are slated to have two third-rounders this year, at numbers 67 (by way of the Colts) and 68 overall to go along with a 4th round pick. Paton had two picks in the fourth last year, with one of them being used on Pitt's Damarri Mathis, who is now a starting corner. Paton was able to find a ton of value in the middle rounds last year, and Mathis might be the best haul of the bunch, which is really saying something considering how strong Dulcich looked in his abbreviated stint before ending the year on the IR.

Overall, Paton has found good value on days two and three. Aside from the four aforementioned picks, he found Jonathon Cooper in the 7th round of the 2021 draft, and Caden Stearns in the 5th. Last year, he got solid rotational players in Delarrin Turner-Yell and Matt Hennigsen in the 5th and 6th rounds, and backup linemen Luke Wattenberg in the 5th.

As things stand right now, the Broncos have five selections in April: the two thirds, and one in each of the fourth, fifth, and sixth rounds. If George Paton and Co. can strike on two more third-rounders this year, the Broncos could find themselves with two more important players going forward, and will continue to be able to grow for the future while winning in the immediate, which is truly the mark of a strong and healthy franchise. Based on his body of work so far with the Broncos, there is no reason to assume Paton won't be able to do just that.