GM George Paton Addresses How Acquiring Kyle Fuller Helped Hone Broncos' Draft Day Strategy

On Thursday, Denver Broncos' GM George Paton held his pre-draft presser and the event had the predictable quarterback-centric narratives. But, of course, Paton played his cards close to his chest for obvious reasons.

Prior to free agency, most early mock drafts had the Broncos filling the gaping hole that existed at the cornerback position. However, Paton wisely preempted that requirement — forestalling the risk of draft desperation — by plunging aggressively into the free-agent market.

Paton acknowledged that signing Kyle Fuller was his ace in the hole.

“Kyle is just so instinctive. He’s a savvy vet,” Paton told reporters. “Really good ball skills and great anticipation. He fits what Vic is doing here and he had his best year with Vic. Just to get a guy like that as late as we did was a big bonus.”

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Fuller’s arrival has significantly opened up the road map for next week’s draft because it’s allowed Paton to leave all his options on the table.

“Now we don’t have to force it in the draft, and we don’t have to reach,” Paton explained. “We don’t have to take a corner. We have [CB Ronald] Darby, we have Fuller and we have some young guys. That was really big for us.”

Using free agency to set up the draft seems to have been Paton’s front-office approach all along, even if landing Fuller owed much to the fortuitous timing of Chicago releasing him. That being said, just how things play out with regard to finding a new QB will determine how the Broncos maneuver on draft day but the flexibility Paton now has will allow him to take the best available player next Thursday.

Most importantly, the flexibility the Broncos have means Paton can work the phones to his advantage, whether that means staying put at pick No. 9 overall, trading back — or even trading up.

“We’re picking at number 9 and I really like that,” Paton said. “I think we filled enough needs in free agency where we don’t have to reach for a player. We can take the best player within reason. We have the flexibility to move up, or we can move back.”

Follow Keith on Twitter @KeithC_NFL.

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