The prognosis for the Denver Broncos after the 2024 offseason was...not good. At least not according to many in the NFL mainstream media. The Broncos were projected to win five games or less by the majority of media outlets and betting sites. They were said to have the worst roster in the league. They were jeered at for drafting Bo Nix and being happy about it. The Broncos were the laughing stock of the league this offseason and the butt of a lot of jokes, but who is laughing now?
Broncos head coach Sean Payton has warned in the past that you can't pay too much attention to the NFL "train", which is his way of describing the media and media groupthink. Payton doesn't pay attention to all of the noise but he undoubtedly pays attention to some of it, having spent the entire 2022 season working in the media and rubbing elbows with a lot of folks in that industry.
Payton is able to be aware of what people are saying about his team without being worried about it or caring about it all that much. In rare instances, he might hear something he cares about enough to know who said it.
But when it came to the preseason projections of the Broncos going 5-12 or worse, Payton reminded everyone that he's never won fewer than seven games as a head coach and he didn't intend on changing that in 2024. Even with a rookie quarterback. Even with the 3rd-youngest roster in the NFL. Even with the odds stacked against the Broncos.
Sean Payton gives awesome response to media haters of the Denver Broncos
Payton was asked on Monday after his team made the playoffs about using that constant negativity as motivation, and he had a tremendous response:
“We all like a challenge, right? It’s not necessarily—I guess it’s like a challenge when someone says ‘X’. The first thing I think of is, ‘Who is that someone?’ When someone during the draft says, ‘Well this is...’ You guys have heard me talk about it. I think you’re looking for competitive players and competitive people in this industry.
I remember in the offseason talking with [Rams Head Coach Sean] McVay and the year prior for them, they were 70 million in dead cap. In other words, almost a third of your team’s budget for talent is unavailable. We had a joint practice with them, and they had a lot of young—I couldn’t tell you who the players were. Young undrafted players. It was impressive what they did that season and making it to the postseason.
Sometimes those types of challenges [take] rolling up your sleeves. I think your players certainly do have a little bit of a chip when they see those initial prognostications or whatever. Then eventually when you’re in this long enough, you tune that stuff out because half those people don’t have a clue [about] what they’re talking about. Yes, who’s done this before with over $80 million [in dead cap]—all those things you think about. No one’s done that before. Let’s be the first one.”
- Broncos HC Sean Payton (via team PR)
On the heels of his message to the team about making sure this year's squad is one of the team photos they want to keep somewhere they can see it and remember it, I love the message of Payton here about being the first ones to make noise in the postseason despite over $80 million in dead cap.
Of that $80-plus million in dead cap, $53 million is counting toward the name Russell Wilson, who is back in the playoffs this year as a member of the Steelers as well (as the 6th seed). The Broncos had to make a lot of difficult and unpopular decisions this past offseason, and those decisions were scorned by many members of the media. But Payton took more heat for cutting Russell Wilson after benching him late last season than I think anyone reasonably expected given how horrible the media was to Russ in 2022 and how bad he was for the majority of two years in Denver.
It felt like there was something a little personal about the way many in the media approached analyzing and evaluating the Broncos this offseason. It certainly has felt like there is something personal in the way certain folks in the media have evaluated Bo Nix and the Broncos' selection of him.
I love that Payton consulted with Sean McVay in the offseason and sort of followed his lead in terms of putting together the roster with young guys and sending the message that "young and hungry is dangerous".
And that's exactly what the Broncos are with the Buffalo Bills looming in the Wild Card round of the playoffs. Young, hungry, dangerous, and Payton getting the most out of his guys.