George Paton’s Broncos Legacy: 5 Brilliant Moves, 5 Costly Mistakes

The Denver Broncos made it official. General manager George Paton will be with the team for the foreseeable future after he received a five-year extension on Friday.

Paton came to the Broncos in 2021, at a time when the team hadn't made the playoffs since 2015, faced uncertainty over the ownership situation, couldn't resolve its quarterback situation, and had issues across the roster.

When Paton first started his tenure in Denver, it proved to be rough going, particularly with the 2022 season. However, the Walton-Penner ownership chose to stick with Paton, even though he wasn't the guy they'd hired as GM.

Since that time, Paton has rewarded the ownership group's patience by building a quality roster and leading the Broncos to back-to-back playoff appearances. And while not everything has been perfect, more has worked out than hasn't, and it wasn't a difficult decision for the ownership group to extend Paton.

Today, we're breaking down five decisions that didn't work out for Paton, followed by five that did. We'll go in that order to first show how Paton overcame some costly decisions through multiple moves that proved the difference in the Broncos becoming a playoff contender again.

Here are the five biggest decisions Paton made that failed to pay dividends.

1. Hiring Nathaniel Hackett as Head Coach

George Paton and Nathaniel Hackett — Denver Broncos GM George Paton with Nathaniel Hackett after announcing him as the club's head coach at a press conference at UC Health Training Center. | John Leyba-Imagn Images

After Vic Fangio was fired following the 2021 season, Paton's head-coaching search featured three candidates leading the way: Hackett, Dan Quinn, and Kevin O'Connell. Paton knew Quinn well, and while O'Connell impressed during interviews, there was an internal push for Hackett, reportedly with the hopes that the Broncos could then land Aaron Rodgers in a trade from Green Bay.

But a Rodgers trade to the Broncos never happened. However, that might not have mattered, because Hackett demonstrated in his lone season with the Broncos that he was simply in over his head as the man to lead the team.

Hackett went 4-11 in his 15 games with the Broncos and was fired after a 51-14 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, during which he was filmed on the sidelines with two Broncos arguing, with the coach seemingly oblivious.

There's no way to sugarcoat it: Paton's first foray into a head-coaching search failed, and some might have said at the time that Paton was fortunate not to be fired.

2. Trading for Russell Wilson

After word came that the Packers intended to keep Rodgers, Paton turned his attentions elsewhere to find a veteran quarterback. He thought he had the answer in trading two firsts, two seconds, and three players to acquire Wilson from the Seattle Seahawks.

While the idea may have looked good on paper, it failed in practice. Wilson threw just 16 touchdowns with 11 interceptions in 2022, this coming on the heels of signing a massive multi-year extension before the start of the regular season.

When new head coach Sean Payton came to town in 2023, Wilson fared better, throwing 26 touchdowns with eight interceptions. However, Wilson failed to do enough to convince Payton he was the long-term guy.

Wilson was benched with two games left in the season and was released from his deal with nearly $38M in fully guaranteed money still due in 2024.

It was another move that backfired big on Paton, though the Walton-Penner ownership group showed faith in him and he remained with the franchise.

3. Signing Randy Gregory

This was the third move of the 2022 season that failed big time. Gregory was coming off his best season as a pro, with 29 pressures and six sacks in 12 games with the Dallas Cowboys in the 2021 season.

Paton signed Gregory to a five-year, $69.5 million deal, with $28 million fully guaranteed over the first two seasons. Gregory played in just six games in 2022 and fell out of favor with Payton and his staff in 2023.

The Broncos were prepared to release Gregory, but managed to trade him to the San Francisco 49ers in a Day 3 draft pick swap. Still, the issues with Gregory missing so much time, between injuries and a suspension, made him a risky player to sign, and the decision was a failure.

4. Drafting Greg Dulcich

After the three big moves that failed, most of the misses Paton had were really minor in the grand scheme of things. But the next one on the list came at a position in which Broncos fans had been hoping to find a long-term solution.

After Noah Fant was traded to the Seahawks in the move to acquire Wilson, the Broncos selected Dulcich in the third round of the 2022 draft. Dulcich showed promise in the 10 games he played, with 33 receptions for 411 yards and two touchdowns.

But Dulcich never gained the trust of Payton and his coaching staff, leading to his eventual release during the 2024 season.

5. Signing Ronald Darby

When Paton first took over as general manager, he wanted to dispel the notion that he would be too stingy in contract negotiations — a reputation that former GM John Elway had.

This led Paton to give Darby a three-year, $30 million deal in 2021 with nearly $20 million fully guaranteed. Darby had typically signed one-year deals when he hit free agency, largely because of his injury history.

Darby had talent, but unfortunately, his injury history continued as he played just 16 games in two seasons before the Broncos released him at the start of the 2023 league year.

But now we come to the moves that have paid off — all moves that have proved important in turning the franchise's fortunes around. And though one move — hiring Payton — is more of a credit to ownership, there are plenty of moves that have a lot of Paton's influence.

Here are the five moves that have made the biggest impact.

1. Drafting Patrick Surtain II

Denver Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain II (2) reacts to his tackle during the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Chargers. | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Going into the 2021 NFL draft, there were five QB prospects who stood out, and Broncos fans wondered whether one of them might be the Broncos' pick at No. 9 overall. Instead, Paton and the front office passed on Justin Fields and Mac Jones to select PS2.

It turned out to be a smart move in the long run. PS2 became one of the top cornerbacks if the NFL, if not the best cornerback overall. He's garnered multiple Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors, plus the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award in 2024.

As for the QBs in the 2021 draft class, Trevor Lawrence is the only first-round pick who still has his starting job, while the others are no longer with the teams that drafted them (though Zach Wilson spent one season with the Broncos after a 2024 trade involving a Day 3 pick swap).

Passing on QBs may have raised eyebrows in 2021 but time has proven that, in this case, Paton made the right choice.

2. Drafting Bo Nix

While this one could easily be No. 1, there are two reasons why it's not — at least for now. First, this move had as much influence from Payton as it did Paton. Second, while Nix showed improvement from Year 1 to Year 2, this coming season will settle once and for all that Nix should be the long-term guy.

But the decision to draft Nix at No. 12 overall in the 2024 draft does belong on the list because he is the quarterback who has given Broncos fans hope that they have their long-term guy after nearly a decade of signal-callers who disappointed for one reason or another.

And should Nix cement his spot as the long-term starter in 2026, this could go to the top of the list. For now, we'll put it at No. 2, but we can say that, while plenty of pundits wondered whether Nix was really worth a first-round pick, Paton and Payton both saw something in him. So far, Nix has proven their faith in him.

3. Signing Zach Allen

The Broncos' 2023 free-agent class has paid dividends for the most part. The three most notable signings were left guard Ben Powers, right tackle Mike McGlinchey, and Allen, who combined for a significant chunk of money and signaled that the Broncos weren't afraid to spend in free agency.

Powers and McGlinchey have both provided stability on the offensive line. McGlinchey, in particular, solved a position in right tackle that had been an Achilles heel for the Broncos for some time. But Allen may be the best of the trio.

Allen made an immediate impact with 74 pressures and 13.5 sacks combined in the 2023 and 2024 seasons. He was rewarded with an extension in 2025 — something that doesn't happen often with free agent signings from other teams — and had his best season as a pro with 50 pressures and seven sacks.

4. Drafting Nik Bonitto

Some might have raised their eyebrows at the Broncos selecting Bonitto in the second round of the 2022 NFL draft. And after he barely contributed as a rookie, plenty may have been convinced that this was a failed pick.

That all changed in 2023 when Bonitto made an impact with 24 pressures and eight sacks. He claimed a starting job in 2024 and broke out with 36 pressures and 13.5 sacks.

After signing an extension last season, Bonitto continued his strong play with 39 pressures and 14 sacks. He's a prime example of why it sometimes pays to be patient with a player — and why Paton has shown he has an eye for talent in the draft.

5. Drafting Quinn Meinerz

In the 2021 NFL draft, Paton didn't just find PS2 as a piece of the long-term puzzle, but also a couple of other players. Rush linebacker Jonathon Cooper has been his biggest draft-day steal — and then there's Meinerz, who has proven to be more than worth the third-round pick used on him.

After the Broncos traded down twice in the third round, they selected Meinerz, who drew some interest for his workouts during the COVID pandemic, in which he practiced his blocking skills against trees, knocking them down.

Meinerz didn't take long to establish himself as a key member of the offensive line, providing stability at right guard. He has started all 17 games over the past three seasons, has twice earned first-team All-Pro honors, and received an extension before the 2024 season.

The Takeaway

It could have been easy for the Broncos to part ways with Paton after a disastrous 2022 season, but the Walton-Penner ownership group gave him the chance to stick around. He has since worked well with Payton in building a roster that has made the Broncos a playoff contender again.

Paton has drafted well for the most part, and he navigated a bad salary cap situation after the release of Wilson. Perhaps more importantly, Paton rejected the sunk-cost fallacy, opting to move on from players who didn't work out, even if it came at a high cost.

His willingness to reject that fallacy was just as important to turning the Broncos' fortunes around as were the free-agent signings and draft choices over the past three seasons, along with ownership's hiring of Payton.

Paton was certainly deserving of his five-year extension and that resolves what may have been the biggest offseason decision the Broncos had before them. Now the team can focus on its offseason program.

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