Dimitroff: George Paton must put “stamp” on first NFL Draft

Heading into the 2008 NFL Draft, Thomas Dimitroff was a first-time general manager for an Atlanta Falcons team desperately in need of help at the quarterback position after the Michael Vick fiasco.

“We needed a quarterback at all levels. Not only their talent on the field, but we needed someone who was going to be the right person in the locker room,” Dimitroff told “Schlereth & Evans” on Thursday morning.

That season, with the Atlanta’s top pick at No. 3 in the NFL Draft, Dimitroff and the Falcons selected franchise quarterback Matt Ryan.

Whether the Denver Broncos and their first-time general manager George Paton do the same thing this time next week it another question.

But whatever Paton does, Dimitroff said he needs to make his own mark.

“There’s no question, you need to put your stamp on it,” Dimitroff said. “There’s no question that George needs to come and take all that he’s learned over the years from Rick Spielman and that organization up in Minnesota and all of his experiences in the league.”

Dimitroff also cautioned that Paton needs to develop a “strong partnership” with head coach Vic Fangio despite what the future may hold for them together.

“I don’t care where you’re going with that relationship in the future, when you kick off your time together, you have to believe that it is a strong, strong partnership,” Dimitroff said. “You have to be together. You have to lucidly communicate all the time, regularly. You have to talk about the way the culture’s going to be, what type of players you need.

“You need to truly know, scheme specifically, the type of players you need. Otherwise, you’re going to be shooting in the dark, and that’s not something to kick the organization off with a new regime.”