Broncos GM George Paton proving to be a bigger gambler than we thought

George Paton is all in.

The Denver Broncos GM isn’t playing around this offseason and looks poised to return the team to national relevancy after being an afterthought the last six years. The NFL waits for no one, and when Peyton Manning retired as Denver’s QB in 2016, the franchise got left behind.

While the Broncos were cycling in veteran QB after veteran QB (Keenum, Flacco, Bridgewater) and a rookie bust (Lynch), the AFC West ran laps around them. Patrick Mahomes played in four AFC Championships and two Super Bowls. The Chargers found their QB of the future in Justin Herbert. And the Raiders even made the playoffs.

So while John Elway did a lot of great things during his time running the team, folks soured on the franchise legend the past few years. Fair or not, football fans are impatient, and the last six seasons were a slog. People use sports to escape mundane aspects of their lives. Turning on your football team every Sunday and being just as mad at them as you are at your boss isn’t the way it’s supposed to be.

When Denver (and Elway) hired Paton last offseason, we admittedly didn’t know much about him. The former assistant GM of the Vikings, Paton was totally anonymous. In fact, he was basically the exact opposite of Elway – the most famous man in Colorado for a long, long time.

And so somewhere along the way, Paton earned a reputation as “conservative,” and it’s unclear why. Maybe it’s because he wasn’t well known. Maybe it’s because the Vikings didn’t make splashy moves while he was there. Or maybe, it was unfair.

Sometimes we throw labels on people simply because we don’t know them. Paton didn’t hold press conferences and was a grinder behind the scenes in Minnesota. When he first spoke in Denver, he came off as intelligent but not flashy. Those preconceived notions were wrong.

Not only is Paton way more aggressive than anyone in Broncos Country realized, he’s a gambler too. And I like it. You’re not taking down Mahomes, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow or Lamar Jackson by playing checkers. Paton’s trying to play chess.

Trading away two first-round picks, two second-round picks and three starters for a franchise quarterback is evidence that Paton isn’t messing around. It’s a whole lot to give up, but when the prize is Russell Wilson, it’s a chance that should be applauded.

And while the Wilson move earned huge headlines eight days ago, there must be something about Tuesdays that Paton loves. When he swooped in and stole Randy Gregory from the Cowboys, it was the clearest sign yet he thinks this team can win a Super Bowl soon.

Gregory has played just 50 games in his NFL career and been suspended for 54. The former Nebraska standout is oozing with talent, but has had several issues off the field as well. Most of those involved marijuana, not more severe offenses, but the best ability is availability and that’s been a problem for Gregory.

When playing, though, Gregory has a lot of talent. He has 15.5 sacks the last three seasons he’s participated in and forced eight fumbles. Paton isn’t handing him a five-year, $70M deal unless he sees something special there – but even the most optimistic Broncos fans can’t argue it’s a risk. With guys like Chandler Jones and Von Miller still available when the Gregory deal became public, Paton made it clear which pass rusher he liked best.

By orchestrating a trade that shocked the NFL world and signing a high-priced but formerly troubled star, Paton shed any notion that he’s “conservative” when making big decisions.

George Paton is all in.

Let’s hope the reward is another Super Bowl for Broncos Country.

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