Broncos GM George Paton Slammed by NFL.com
Just a little over a year ago, Denver Broncos GM George Paton was basking in the afterglow of trading for bonafide NFL star quarterback Russell Wilson.
In the notorious pressure-cooker environment of the NFL, a team is only as good as its last big decision. That's only magnified when bad moves accumulate and work against you.
Thus, Paton's trade for Wilson and subsequent $245 million contract extension has cast his reputation in a much gloomier light. So much so that Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com ranked Paton dead last (25th) out of NFL GMs with a minimum of two draft classes under their belt.
"A year ago at this time, I wrote: It's easy to imagine Paton debuting on the rankings portion of this piece fairly high up a year from now. Then we watched Russell Wilson play in Denver under Paton's handpicked coach, Nathaniel Hackett, and suddenly that draft haul the Broncos gave up for Wilson looks like a killer. Paton's second draft also got off to a slow start after a great 2021 haul, but this ranking is about the Wilson trade and Hackett hire. Sean Payton is essentially in charge now."
Rosenthal's brutal diagnosis of Paton's failures is depressingly accurate and serves to only highlight the Broncos GM's double whammy of front-office ineptitude. Wilson's desperate implosion went hand-in-glove with the catastrophic appointment of the vastly inexperienced and incompetent Hackett.
Broncos CEO Greg Penner appeared to take a much stronger grip on the controls of the organization ever since he pulled the plug on the Hackett regime. Consequently, Paton has watched his powerbase rapidly erode, especially when he appeared to be merely riding shotgun during the interview process to find a new head coach.
It was always likely that if Sean Payton was going to be sold on taking the Broncos job, he would want to have the last word over his GM. Rosenthal finished his assessment by pointing out that Payton does indeed hold the balance of power over Paton.
Of course, that presents a situation where Paton may feel particularly uncomfortable, but so far, the pair seemed to be working well together, as the Broncos outspent 31 other teams in free agency. Paton has to swallow his pride and dig in for a considerable long haul, starting with the forthcoming draft, but it's one where the Broncos don't start picking until Round 3.
In the final analysis, only Penner will ultimately receive the plaudits if his drawn-out courtship of Payton bears future fruit. Therefore, Paton will have to say his prayers and hope that Wilson can bounce back strongly to deliver the wins, which is the only that could change his narrative.
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