{"id":311512,"date":"2025-08-23T15:40:13","date_gmt":"2025-08-23T15:40:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/311512\/"},"modified":"2025-08-23T15:40:13","modified_gmt":"2025-08-23T15:40:13","slug":"george-paton-broncos-general-manager-is-denvers-biggest-turnaround","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/311512\/","title":{"rendered":"George Paton, Broncos general manager, is Denver’s biggest turnaround"},"content":{"rendered":"

George Paton should have been fired<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Now, he deserves his flowers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Of all the stunning improvements experienced by the Broncos over the past two seasons, one transformation has gone largely unnoticed. It doesn\u2019t involve a player, like Jonathon Cooper<\/a>. Or a formerly embattled coach, like defensive coordinator Vance Joseph<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It is the remarkable rebound by Paton. You remember him? He was John Elway\u2019s handpicked general manager in 2021<\/a>. He hired Nathaniel Hackett and traded for Russell Wilson \u2014 two of the biggest embarrassments in Broncos history.<\/p>\n

Because of the worst things that happened, Paton has stitched together Denver\u2019s best roster since 2016.<\/p>\n

So, as this team embraces Super Bowl expectations, it is time to thank Paton.<\/p>\n

Seriously.<\/p>\n

When the Broncos collapsed into chaos in 2022 \u2014 with Hackett failing to finish his first season and Wilson steering the league\u2019s lowest-scoring offense \u2014 Paton was miscast. He looked like a former assistant GM who wasn\u2019t ready for the big chair or capable of surviving the Broncos\u2019 Shakespearean ownership drama.<\/p>\n

Paton remained well-respected in league circles. But Broncos Country was ready for someone else \u2014 anybody, really \u2014 to get a shot at reviving the once-proud franchise.<\/p>\n

Instead, co-owners Greg Penner and Carrie Walton Penner did the unthinkable. They did not can Paton at the end of the 2022 season. They showed patience, reserving judgment, while leaning on his experience and contacts to navigate the coaching search.<\/p>\n

If Paton were an egomaniac like so many pro execs, he would have directed his bosses toward a candidate he knew well, like, say, Dan Quinn.<\/p>\n

Humility, though, defined him when his career was at its lowest point. Paton valued winning over self-preservation. And when the jockeying between Jim Harbaugh, DeMeco Ryans and Sean Payton ended, he signed off on the former Saints boss.<\/p>\n

It was assumed Payton\u2019s arrival meant Paton would be let go after the 2023 season so the coach could bring in one of his own guys.<\/p>\n

Then something amazing happened.<\/p>\n

Payton let it play out and found out he liked working with Paton. Their different personalities \u2014 Sean is volatile, George unassuming \u2014 created an equilibrium. Payton established the culture. And Paton executed his vision, a role he is most comfortable with given his background.<\/p>\n

Payton is the face and the voice, the one responsible for giving the organization its swagger. Paton is the one behind the camera, working in the shadows.<\/p>\n

Paton owned up to his mistakes on Hackett and Wilson. He got it so wrong with quarterback and coach. But he still had a history of being right as a scout. Look at the 2021 draft class with Pat Surtain, Quinn Meinerz and Jonathon Cooper. Or the 2022 selections of Nik Bonitto and Luke Wattenberg.<\/p>\n

His process could withstand failure. And it has blossomed with Payton.<\/p>\n

How many teams are deeper than the Broncos right now?<\/p>\n

Payton makes it easy to identify players because of his baselines for size and speed at every position and his desire to have no less than a \u2018C\u2019 learner.<\/p>\n

As such, Paton and his scouts know what they want and what questions to ask when they go to schools and talk to sources. Can a player mentally handle the Broncos\u2019 schemes? If the answer is a nervous maybe or not really, they pass.<\/p>\n

Payton has a type: smart, competitive spirit, loves football. It has led Paton to create a Broncos template \u2014 a vision communicated so clearly that a since-promoted intern unearthed edge rusher Deondra Tillman from the UFL before last season.<\/p>\n

None of this would matter if Paton wanted credit for the Broncos ending their eight-year playoff drought. He is confident in what he does, and doesn\u2019t care if Payton grabs the headlines.<\/p>\n

Elway hired Paton for his evaluation acumen. The Vikings, his last employer, ranked among the league leaders in second contracts for players during his time there.<\/p>\n

As much as free agency intoxicates, winning organizations nail the draft. It creates sustainability. Paton is good at this. And so is Payton.<\/p>\n

They have bonded over their love for all things personnel, the minutiae in the margins. It is not uncommon for the pair to watch games of draftable players for a full week together before scouts gather to order the board.<\/p>\n

This has developed a trust. And give Paton credit for this: He can deal with Payton.<\/p>\n

In case you haven\u2019t noticed, the coach is not for everyone. He starts fires. He says things that would make most GMs cringe. Remember when Payton returned from Santa Clara with his 14 Things I Hate About The Bay Area<\/a> list? It was obnoxious.<\/p>\n

A big-headed GM would have called him into the office and told him to keep his TripAdvisor ratings to himself. Instead, Paton gets Payton. He knows that within the complaints, there are kernels of truth. If this organization wants to win a championship, it must be elite at everything, including not booking a hotel next to Saxl Rose\u2019s Jazz Festival.<\/p>\n

By not overreacting, Paton validates Payton\u2019s concerns. This is how two men connected only loosely by former Vikings coach Mike Zimmer have formed such a strong partnership.<\/p>\n

It is hard to imagine how they got here, hard to believe that the owners gave Paton grace that led to Payton giving him a chance.<\/p>\n

Even as the Broncos have become a sexy pick to unseat the Chiefs, Paton is not seeking attention. He has an office overlooking the practice field. Asking around, no one can remember ever seeing him on that balcony.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because he is always on the grass. Where real scouts stand.<\/p>\n

And flowers grow.<\/p>\n

Want more Broncos news? Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis.<\/a><\/p>\n

Originally Published: August 23, 2025 at 8:17 AM MDT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"George Paton should have been fired. Now, he deserves his flowers. Of all the stunning improvements experienced by…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":311513,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2062],"tags":[232,7244,9889,3607,231,258,2426,7,1272,10576,58491,1012,6742,3901,929,3883,926,9070,6,1625,3887,572,1813,9,2833,505,2831,2832],"class_list":{"0":"post-311512","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-denver-broncos","8":"tag-broncos","9":"tag-broncos-country","10":"tag-carrie-walton-penner","11":"tag-demeco-ryans","12":"tag-denver","13":"tag-denver-broncos","14":"tag-denverbroncos","15":"tag-football","16":"tag-george-paton","17":"tag-greg-penner","18":"tag-jazz","19":"tag-jim-harbaugh","20":"tag-john-elway","21":"tag-jonathon-cooper","22":"tag-latest-headlines","23":"tag-luke-wattenberg","24":"tag-more-broncos-news","25":"tag-nathaniel-hackett","26":"tag-nfl","27":"tag-nik-bonitto","28":"tag-quinn-meinerz","29":"tag-russell-wilson","30":"tag-sean-payton","31":"tag-sports","32":"tag-sports-columnists","33":"tag-super-bowl","34":"tag-troy-renck","35":"tag-vance-joseph"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115078838911071428","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311512","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=311512"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311512\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/311513"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=311512"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=311512"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=311512"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}