The Denver Broncos must have interest in free agent connected to George Paton

The Denver Broncos have huge needs along their defense, and this 2024 free agent connected to George Paton makes a ton of sense. Paton himself did say recently that the Broncos would not be in the first wave of free agency, but Sean Payton is the one with the final roster authority, so I personally do not take Paton's words with 100 percent truth.

"“We’ve prepared for any scenario with Rich Hurtado, who runs our [salary] cap,” general manager George Paton said in his end-of-season press conference Tuesday. “We’ll have flexibility either way to do what we need to do. We won’t be in on the first wave of free agency like we were last year. You can’t do that every year.""

- George Paton

Paton saying this doesn't mean the Broncos won't jump on the chance to sign someone in wave one. There are so many factors here, and I think there is one particular free agent that almost makes too much sense. Back in 2015, Paton was the assistant general manager and vice president of player personnel when the team took Danielle Hunter in the third round of that year's draft.

And it's safe to say that Hunter has been a home run selection. Playing both defensive end and outside linebacker, Hunter had an excellent year in 2023, racking up 16.5 sacks, 23 tackles for loss, which led the NFL, and 22 QB hits.

After playing in just seven games from 2020-2021, Hunter played in all 34 regular season games for the Minnesota Vikings the last two years. Hunter has been one of the best pass rushers of this decade and is a free agent in 2024. He doesn't turn 30 years old until the end of October and could very easily leave Minnesota for a new team in 2024.

Do I need to explain why an elite pass rusher makes sense for the Denver Broncos? The Broncos pass rush was horribly inconsistent in 2023, and signing a savvy veteran like Hunter gives the Broncos a unit that could wreck games. I think all of Baron Browning, Jonathon Cooper, and Nik Bonitto would all thrive in a type of sidekick role, rushing alongside a higher-end player.

With the Broncos in a bit of a cap crunch this offseason, they'll need to make some moves to be able to sign someone like Hunter, who, according to spotrac.com, is valued at $20 million per season. Frankly, who cares about the money? It's not our money to spend, and Hunter is an elite player.

The Broncos have a plethora of avenues to clear cap space, so fitting a $20 million per year contract isn't as crazy as it may seem now. Not only should Denver sign Danielle Hunter, but they should double-down at some point in the 2024 NFL Draft by drafting a defensive tackle and an EDGE rusher.