In league circles, the hiring of Sean Payton is earning rave reviews
Feb 4, 2023, 5:16 PM
The NFL Draft is right around the corner. No, it really is. I know it’s at the end of April, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned in 17 years of professionally covering the draft, it’s that time flies by over these next few months. I just got back from another “All-Star Road Trip” where I traveled to the Shrine Bowl and Senior Bowl this past week.
The Scouting Combine is in February after the Super Bowl, and then pro days begin after that. I plan on being done with my draft profiles by the beginning of April, so it’s a lot of work in a little bit of time. In addition to writing up players, I’m going to keep up to date on news and notes in the scouting community.
Here is some of the latest news from around the league and the NFL Draft.
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Four More Wins
It was a great week of traveling to the Shrine Bowl and the Senior Bowl. During the trip, I was able to catch up with some of my friends in the scouting community. It’s great texting with friends during the year, but it’s better to shake hands, hang out and talk football with these people I’ve spent almost two decades building relationships with. There are quite a few people around the league who I trust, and those people are elated that the Broncos hired head coach Sean Payton.
In talking to my contacts who work for other teams, the consensus is the hiring of Payton was a home run for the Broncos. In fact, most of these scouts, coaches and executives I encountered think Payton – by himself – gives you four more wins on the season. It’s his in-game coaching ability and adjustments that has them thinking Payton will at least double the wins the Broncos had under Nathaniel Hackett. Some felt Payton could triple the four wins that Hackett had in 2022, meaning the Broncos would have 12 wins and certainly be in the playoffs.
It’s the in-game decisions people kept talking about. That’s not to say what Payton brings to the table with the culture he will establish. It also doesn’t include his influence on the offense and the high-powered system he will be striving to build.
OFFICIAL: We’ve named Sean Payton as head coach.
Welcome to #BroncosCountry, @SeanPayton!
📰 » https://t.co/ONvigs1kYY pic.twitter.com/EO4o3xOVO5
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) February 3, 2023
If Payton’s in-game decisions are worth four more wins, then the Broncos are going to push for 10 wins next season. It’s super early, but that number sounds about right for what they could do in 2023. A 10-win season likely puts the Broncos in the playoff conversation – something I fully expect this upcoming season.
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Clowns to the Left of Me, Jokers to the Right
You hear all sorts of things when talking to members of the scouting community. Hackett was a name that many were excited about last year – but only because the expectation a year ago was the team was getting QB Aaron Rodgers. When that didn’t happen, my sources around the league knew Hackett wasn’t going to work with QB Russell Wilson.
One person who was on staff with Hackett in the past (not with the Broncos) was succinct in his reasoning as to why the two would not mesh. “He’s a clown.” is what I heard about Hackett. Now, to be clear, it was in a bit of a playful manner, but it highlighted to me how Hackett loves to have fun while Wilson is a fierce competitor.
These people around the league knew Hackett would not be able to stand up to a strong personality like Wilson. Where Wilson is going to have strong opinions and ask questions (as he should), Hackett is not (and was not) going to stand up for his system. Instead, Hackett caved to Wilson and didn’t give him the structure needed (or wanted). There’s a reason why when Jerry Rosburg took over as interim head coach that Wilson’s play improved drastically.
Nathaniel Hackett getting his 2nd job in as many years after telling the interviewer he knows Aaron Rodgers: pic.twitter.com/f2gnRX2ttT
— Daire Carragher (@DaireCarragher) January 26, 2023
I think it’s a little mean to call Hackett a clown, but hey; not everyone gets along with all their co-workers. And trust me, guys like to give each other grief along the way in coaching circles and scouting circles. I know Hackett will always be a happy-go-lucky guy (he should be), but perhaps a more serious tone when coaching will get him back into head-coaching conversations in the future.
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A Better Class
It’s the job of the scouting department to find the best players available in the draft. Once all underclassmen have declared, scouts know who is going to be available – and they’ve been working on the class for some time. However, the best general managers know when a class is going to be better in the future than the one they’re currently on.
This is where I think Broncos GM George Paton may have gotten a little ahead of himself last year in the draft when he selected TE Greg Dulcich in the third round. I like Dulcich, and I applauded the pick at the time. However, this draft class has a ton of great tight ends, and you might be able to get a player who is better than Dulcich in a later round because of that talent and depth.
It’s early in my process still, but so far in my top-60 players I have 10 tight ends. I might adjust those rankings as I continue to study this class, but that’s an amazing amount at a position you usually don’t see but a handful of players you should be interested in. For example, Luke Musgrave, the fastest timed tight end in recent Senior Bowl history, is the type of player I wish the Broncos would be in a position to draft. He’s not the only one, and there are plenty of players throughout this class Denver should be considering when they pick.
Luke Musgrave is going to be a problem in the NFL.
The @BeaverFootball TE putting in a show at the Senior Bowl pic.twitter.com/HUNEAQ5LPh
— Cam Mellor (@CamMellor) February 2, 2023
As aforementioned, I like Dulcich, but the Broncos are not done at that position. It may seem like a luxury pick to some, but I think they need to seriously be considering tight ends on Day 3 of this draft. Good news for the Broncos; this class is strong and has a ton of depth which should last into Rounds 4-7.
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