5 Broncos on the hot seat if Denver falls to 1-5 on Thursday

2. George Paton, general manager

George Paton's seat is already getting hot. I don't think he's going to simply be "approaching" the hot seat if the Broncos lose to Kansas City, but a loss in prime time would only serve to highlight this roster's lack of talent or ability to even hang with the juggernaut that is the Kansas City Chiefs.

Beating the Chiefs is difficult enough. The Broncos haven't done it in eight years. Expecting a team to compete with them for the division right now is brutal.

But George Paton has now had three offseasons to put his thumbprint on the team, and what are the Broncos left with? They have major question marks all over the roster. The team's key free agency acquisitions are not working out. Many of the team's best draft picks are struggling badly with injuries. Paton's trade for Russell Wilson obviously was a necessary risk to take but crippled the team's draft capital and has not worked out at all to this point.

Paton also hired Nathaniel Hackett last year, and that's a decision that could ultimately spell his demise. Some irreparable damage was done last season.