AFC West GM power rankings: Where does Broncos GM George Paton rank?

The official deadline for 53-man rosters across the NFL has passed. Let's power rank all four AFC West General Managers heading into 2024. No NFL team is going to find success without top-level roster-building. The AFC West may not have that type of talent in their front office outside of one, maybe two teams.

As we head into the 2024 NFL Season, the roster cutdown deadline has come and gone, and between now and the start of the regular season, teams will still be lightly tweaking their 53-man rosters. Let's take a deep dive into the AFC West and power rank all four General Managers.

AFC West GM power rankings: Where does Broncos GM George Paton rank?
4. Joe Hortiz, Los Angeles Chargers

Joe Hortiz of the Los Angeles Chargers in on his first year on the job, so it's not fair to rank him higher than this. And honestly, I am not sure Hortiz had a particularly good offseason thus far. The Chargers roster began the 2024 offseason as a weak one, and I'd argue it got weaker months later.

Now yes, this team is in the first year of a new era in the front office and on the sidelines, but you'd think they'd have put some more talent around QB Justin Herbert, who some think is elite (he's not).

The Chargers could probably be average in 2024 simply because their new head coach, Jim Harbaugh, is a good one, and Herbert is obviously a good quarterback, but there are questions all over this roster.

3. Tom Telesco, Las Vegas Raiders

Tom Telesco was fired from the LA Chargers after 11 years. His teams combined for 84-95 record in the regular season and a 2-3 record in the playoffs. The only thing that Telesco is a plus in is his experience building an NFL roster, but in his first offseason with the Las Vegas Raiders, I am not sure he's learned from his previous mistakes.

They overpaid for backup QB Gardner Minshew in free agency. He has been named the starter, but we've all seen Minshew play. He's a backup-caliber QB with starter upside from time to time. They also overpaid for DT Christian Wilkins, and somehow missed out on all six first-round QBs in the 2024 NFL Draft.

To make matters worse, they took a low value position with their first-round pick in TE Brock Bowers from Georgia. The offensive line has some questions and overall, the roster is just in an odd spot. Sure, Telesco is in year one on this job, but with the amount of resources he had available, you'd think he'd have used them more efficiently.

2. George Paton, Denver Broncos

Honestly, George Paton is no. 2 by default. It appears as if Sean Payton has the final say on the roster, but you have to assume that Paton himself still has a very heavy influence in what changes the Broncos have made this offseason. Let's be real; the roster is in a much better spot heading into 2024 than it was at any point in 2023.

And we have seen Paton's eye for college talent on the field in guys like Patrick Surtain II, Quinn Meinerz, and Jonathon Cooper. Paton is not a special GM by any means, but you're lying to yourself if you think this roster is bad.

The Broncos won eight games in 2023 and got better on both sides of the ball, so I'm truly confused when people say Denver won't be any good in 2024.

1. Brett Veach, Kansas City Chiefs

Brett Veach did not draft Patrick Mahomes or Travis Kelce, or hire Andy Reid for that matter, but he has kept the Chiefs roster in a good spot through the years, and this team has won three out of the last five Super Bowls. I am not sure Veach is quite as good of a GM as some think, as there have been some noticeable holes in his rosters in recent years.

But as long as Mahomes and Reid are still doing their thing, Kansas City will stay atop the NFL world. The Chiefs did have to make a brutal decision this offseason to trade CB L'Jarius Sneed, as they simply could not afford to pay him what he wanted. The team also extended defensive tackle Chris Jones.

To me, the Chiefs still have questions at wide receiver, both tackle positions, tight end behind Travis Kelce, and maybe a small hole in the secondary.