George Paton was sitting comfortably as the Minnesota Vikings assistant GM when the Denver Broncos came calling to help them rebuild after a dreadful 2020/21 season. The Broncos finished last in the AFC West with a 5-11 record, the team won only 2 games at home. As a result, John Elway stepped down from his role as GM and Paton was signed to a reported six-year deal.
Known for his draft player evaluations and roster building, Paton was an instrumental part of the Vikings organization for 14 years before taking the job in Denver. Off the bat Paton has stated the next two weeks will be “crazy” as the organization evaluates every aspect of the team with major decisions looming.
George Paton stated one of the reasons he took the Broncos GM job was because of the team’s core of young players. Paton stated: “Their record doesn’t reflect that because they had so many injuries, but I do think they have a good core of young players that, with this coaching staff, will keep getting better. … On the tape I evaluated, I do think it’s a roster that can develop quickly.”
What will George Paton be evaluating in the coming months?
The central piece of the Broncos organization will be the development of young talents in the coming years. The team will also be evaluating all their draft options as well as taking a look at free agency and waiver claims in the coming weeks. The goal for Paton in his first season in charge of the Broncos organization is to get the team back into playoff contention.
In his initial statements Paton stated identifying a team philosophy is critical moving forward: “I just think you have to know where you are as a team, and that’s really important before you can move forward; you really have to know where you are as a team, and that in turn determines your aggressiveness. But I think you’re involved in every deal that’s out there. And then you can discuss and collaborate and just determine if you want to make that jump. But it’s really important to be involved with everything so you don’t miss a deal that may get by you. So, we’ll be aggressive [and] involved; it doesn’t mean we’re going to always jump.”