Broncos GM Reacts to Sean Payton's Remarks About Rampant Trade Rumor
Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton and GM George Paton are singing off the same hymn sheet regarding the viral Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton trade rumors. Payton dismissed the rumors on Monday, and Paton echoed him at the Annual League Meeting.
“We’re excited to have them on our football team,” Paton said on Monday via The Denver Gazette's Chris Tomasson. “Two young players in their prime. I think Sean said it best: We’re not interested in trading them. When you’re in my position, you get a lot of calls. We’ve gotten calls from those players. And so we anticipate them being here.”
Of course, Paton has been all-ears on any potential trade inquiries, but then again, so is every GM across the league. However, Paton has put his dancing shoes back in the box in the wake of interested teams failing to meet his asking price to part with either Jeudy or Sutton. The Broncos' brain trust will take whatever approach it deems appropriate to team building, and it'll present a united front in doing so.
By admitting that he only "anticipates" that his top two receivers will be sticking around, Paton leaves the door cracked circumstances to reverse course. With both the head coach and GM voicing their opinions that the wide receiver class isn't very deep in the 2023 NFL draft, it further points toward the Broncos retaining Jeudy and Sutton.
Paton is a savvy GM who knows all too well that clawing back draft picks is a loaded game of give and take. That was self-evident when the Broncos decided to trade away edge rusher Bradley Chubb at last year's trade deadline.
The first-round pick Paton received for Chubb now belongs to the New Orleans Saints, which the GM packaged to acquire Payton's coaching rights. That domino effect puts both the Broncos in a position where they are short of draft ammunition to reinforce the roster.
That's where cool heads need to prevail because the burning desire to add more draft darts to throw at the board shouldn't lead the Broncos to orchestrate a fire sale for the privilege. As far as Paton is concerned, acquiring more than Denver's scant total of five draft picks would be ideal.
“It’s hard to move up when you only five picks,’’ Paton said via Tomasson. “We won’t rule anything out, but it’s hard. I would say we’d be more inclined to move back and get some more picks.”
Ultimately, Paton's need to "really have to make hay" in the draft looks increasingly likely to drive some hijinks leading up to the draft in April, so strap in, folks, because this ride may yet get a tad bumpy. If the draft comes and goes without Jeudy or Sutton being jettisoned, it'll be safe for fans to exhale.
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