GM George Paton 'Still Really High' on Broncos' WR Trio Despite Disappointing 2021 Season

This past week, Denver Broncos GM George Paton gave the team website his take on the state of the franchise, or at least, on multiple key position groups. One area the Broncos have stockpiled a depth of talent is at wide receiver, but mainly due to anemic play-calling and subpar quarterback play, the pass-catchers failed to really dominate in 2021 as perhaps they should have.

Not that the GM was going to absolve the receivers of all blame, however, when he said that the individuals and the team in general must do better.

“I’m still really high on all the receivers,” Paton told Aric DiLalla of the team site. “They didn’t perform as well as they wanted, and I know that, I’ve talked to them, but we need to be better around them as well.”

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No matter how good the receivers are on paper, they play a dependent position and the money Paton has invested in veterans Courtland Sutton and Tim Patrick puts them under pressure to perform. Paton, also mentioning Jerry Jeudy, sounded like a man who is well aware of that fact as he gave an overview of what the Broncos' offense needs to accomplish to take significant strides forward.

“We need to block better, we need to get better quarterback play,” Paton said. “We need to be better as a whole, and we’ll get the best out of them. But they’re really young, they’re really talented... I still think there’s a huge upside with all three of those receivers.”

Everyone knows that as the quarterback goes, so goes the receivers. That's where new head coach Nathaniel Hackett hopefully comes into play for the Broncos.

During the search for a new head coach, most of the candidates had identified to Paton the strength of depth and untapped talent the Broncos currently have residing in the receiver room and at the other skill positions.

“You know, doing the coaching search, you learn a lot about your team because each candidate goes through your team,” Paton said. “And one of the attractive parts of our team was our weapons. [Candidates] talked about our receivers, our backs, talented tight ends. So, I mean, I do think we have some talent there, especially at receiver. We need to get the best out of them. I know Nathaniel and his staff will.”

Paton’s faith in the abilities of his new coaching staff is reassuring, but truth is, the Broncos still remain a franchise QB away from reaching the Promised Land. On that front, at least Paton now has some unique selling points with which to attract such a quarterback this offseason.

Follow Keith on Twitter @KeithC_NFL.

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