ENGLEWOOD — The Denver Broncos have a new assistant general manager in 2025.

But who, exactly, is Reed Burckhardt?

“He’s real important to our process,” coach Sean Payton said on Thursday upon completion of mandatory minicamp at Broncos Park. “We have a good group.”

Burckhardt enters the assistant GM role after spending the past three years as Denver’s director of player personnel. Burckhardt climbed the NFL ladder over 13 previous seasons with the Vikings. He began as an operations intern and later caught on in the scouting department. Burckhardt followed general manager George Paton from Minnesota to Denver.

“He’s passionate, and you have to be in that business,” Payton said regarding Burckhardt. “It can be lonely. It’s not for everyone. Hotels, laptop computer (and) film. He has a real good eye for talent. He’s not afraid to give you his opinion even if it’s contrary to maybe what you want to hear.”

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Burckhardt is a former college quarterback who played at South Dakota State. His latest opportunity with the Broncos occurred when former assistant GM Darren Mougey accepted the New York Jets’ general manager job. On Wednesday, Burckhardt discussed his role in assisting Paton and Payton with reporters at Broncos Park.

“Mougey did such a great job. That’s evident with his new role in New York. I learned a lot from Mougey,” Burckhardt said. “There are things I’m certainly going to just plug-and-play from what he was doing. You want to bring your own kind of flavor to it. I’ve known George for so long, and he’s so collaborative that I feel like we’ve been a part of everything. Just my time in Minnesota when he was the assistant GM.”

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Burckhardt described the communication flow as “fluid” and “productive” behind the scenes. Burckhardt said it hasn’t been a huge adjustment to changing roles. He’s not all that surprised by the early success of quarterback Bo Nix, either.

“That maturity, dedication and drive was always there,” Burckhardt said regarding Nix. “Just how quickly he’s evolved in Sean’s offense. He’s in and out of the huddle. He’s crisp. He’s learning the verbiage quick. It’s not an easy thing to digest. His ability to comprehend everything, grasp it, and then put it on the field is maybe the one thing that was ahead of the curve a little bit.”

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Grossi returns

Broncos passing game specialist Zack Grossi has a feel-good story in mandatory minicamp.

Grossi was diagnosed with cancer last fall and left the team to focus on his health. He is now back with the coaching staff this offseason.

“Fantastic. Awesome. It’s nice to see his hair, too. He looks better when he has hair,” Payton said on Thursday. “He had a tough year, but he’s a fighter. It’s inspiring.”