WATCH: George Paton Hangs Up on NFL GM to Accept Better Trade Offer

George Paton was wheelin' and dealin' on Friday and Saturday as the NFL draft unfolded.

Put that coffee down! Coffee's for closers. 

If anything, Denver Broncos' first-year GM George Paton has proven that, indeed, he's a closer. The Broncos executed multiple trades on Day 2 of the NFL draft that saw Paton climb up the board and trade-back multiple times. 

In one clip that captured some of Paton's interactions with his rival general managers across the league, the Broncos' GM can be seen hanging up on someone to take a call from another team willing to give up more capital in a prospective trade. 

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Paton's maneuver garnered a good belly laugh from the Broncos' execs and scouts in the room and it's sure to engender a collective chuckle in the fanbase. However, as narrow and finite as this clip is — capturing only a few quick seconds of interactions Paton had with different GMs with little-to-no context — it showcases his ability as a deal-maker. 

“We were very happy," Paton said Friday night. "I think we moved back 20 spots if I’m not mistaken and got two late third-round picks, and we still got the two players we wanted which is rare when you move back that far. The room was happy, and I was happy. It doesn’t always work out like that, but it worked out today.”

The two picks Paton acquired after moving down were Wisconsin-Whitewater offensive lineman Quinn Meinerz and coveted Ohio State linebacker Baron Browning. 

The man is a persuader. And that's vital to being a leader of any sort, let alone an NFL GM. 

No doubt, the 'Terry' Paton addressed on one of those calls was Atlanta's new GM Terry Fontenot, whom the Broncos traded with to climb up to pick 35 in Round 2 to land Williams. History will grade the wisdom of that trade-up to get a running back but one of the greatest ball-carriers in Broncos' history was once procured from the second round back in 2002 in Clinton Portis. 

At the end of the draft, Paton's maneuvers landed the Broncos a future No. 1 cornerback in Patrick Surtain, Jr., a future No. 1 running back in Javonte Williams, and multiple players poised to make both a short- and long-term impact. Paton's first draft class as Broncos GM flooded the roster with 10 new players


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Chad Jensen
CHAD JENSEN

Chad Jensen is the Founder of Mile High Huddle and creator of the wildly popular Mile High Huddle Podcast. Chad has been on the Denver Broncos beat since 2012 and is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America.