From the second that Sean Payton took the job with the Denver Broncos, there has been a deliberate plan in place. Let's dive deeper into this plan.
Stay with me here, this plan is a bit long, but I firmly believe this is precisely what the Denver Broncos are right in the middle of and what they plan on continuing if all goes well in the future.
Sean Payton's vision for the Denver Broncos has been deliberate and refreshing
Part 1: Had to work with Russell Wilson for at least one season
Russell Wilson's contract basically forced new head coach Sean Payton to try and make it work with the QB for at least one season. The way I see it, before Payton was officially hired, he was 100% given authority to cut ties with the QB after the 2023 NFL Season.
I believe he would not have taken the job without this guarantee. Payton seems to be the primary decision-maker with the Broncos, so this checks out. But in the offseason, all we heard from Sean Payton was how well Russell Wilson was doing, and at times in 2023, Wilson was playing decent football, but it just was not a fit with Sean Payton.
This spills into the next part of this plan.
Part 1.5: Added legitimate personnel on offense to shore up weak spots
Knowing that he'd have to try and make it work with Russell Wilson for 2023, Payton and the Broncos knew they had to improve the personnel on offense, so they did just that in free agency. Payton and the Broncos signed two quality offensive linemen to make life easier for Russell Wilson in Ben Powers and Mike McGlinchey.
He brought in a competent backup QB in Jarrett Stidham, and also added a nice dual-threat running back in Samaje Perine. Payton made this moves to try and maximize what he could with Wilson for the 2023 NFL Season.