George Paton’s first offseason as the Broncos GM has been overhyped

It’s been repeated so many times that it’s starting to become fact. It’s almost gone from a theory to a law, simply through the power of repetition.

George Paton’s first offseason as the general manager of the Broncos has been fine. But around Denver, it’s viewed as an epic success.

The GM’s moves in free agency and the draft have been labeled a home run. He’s received high marks, garnering plenty of A’s from the pundits.

It’s absurd.

Again, Paton has done a nice job during his first six months on the job. He’s been steady.

But he hasn’t done anything earth shattering. He hasn’t revamped the roster and turned the Broncos into a contender.

If he lands Aaron Rodgers this week, then he’d have hit it out of the ballpark. Bring in the reigning MVP of the league and Paton can earn grades worthy of the honor roll.

Short of that, however, it’s time for a reality check. A little objectivity is much needed in Broncos Country.

There’s only one position group that is better right now than it was a year ago at this time. That’s it.

At cornerback, the Broncos are markedly improved. They went into last season with A.J. Bouye, Bryce Callahan and Michael Ojemudia as their top three players at that position. Now, Ojemudia is the fifth-best player in that room, behind Callahan, Ronald Darby, Kyle Fuller and Patrick Surtain.

That’s a big upgrade. But it’s the only one.

On the defensive line, Denver is slated to start Dre’Mont Jones, Shelby Harris and Mike Purcell. All three were here a year ago. Harris is making triple the money, but he’s not three times better as a player. And last season, the Broncos had Jurrell Casey on the roster, a player who was coming off of five-straight Pro Bowl seasons.

At edge rusher, the Broncos have Von Miller and Bradley Chubb. Both were in the Mile High City a year ago. The same can be said for their primary backup, as Malik Reed isn’t a new addition.

Inside linebacker is the same story. Josey Jewell and Alexander Johnson are holdovers, as Paton didn’t upgrade a position that has been atop the to-do list since Danny Trevathan departed after Super Bowl 50.

And at safety, the faces are also familiar. Justin Simmons returns, albeit with a much thicker wallet. Kareem Jackson is also back, earning about half of what he expected to make.

That doesn’t sound like a drastically improved defense. It’s better, given the upgrades at cornerback, but it’s marginal.

Expectations for this year are sky high on that side of the ball. But they were a year ago, as well. That’s nothing new.

Living up to the hype, however, would be a change. So far during his two seasons at the helm, Vic Fangio’s high-priced, much-hyped defense has been a major disappointment. Will this year be any different?

On the other side of the ball, the story is eerily similar. Mostly, the Broncos are about the same as they were a year ago.

At quarterback, Paton has added Teddy Bridgewater to provide competition for Drew Lock. That gives Denver more depth at the most-important position in sports, as Jeff Driskel was the No. 2 QB a year ago. But it doesn’t make the situation better. It can be argued that last year, when Lock was the definitive starter after going 4-1 at the end of his rookie year, the Broncos were in better shape; they had a young, confident quarterback, something they can’t say right now.

In the backfield, Melvin Gordon returns for year two. Behind him, Phillip Lindsay has been replaced by Javonte Williams. People are excited about the second-round pick, but it would by ludicrous to suggest that he’s better than a player who was coming off of back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons heading into 2020 season. Right now, Williams is still a totally unproven commodity at the NFL level.

The offensive line is about the same. Garett Bolles, Dalton Risner, Lloyd Cushenberry and Graham Glasgow return. At right tackle, last year’s revolving door of replacements for Ja’Wuan James has been replaced by another batch of options. But to suggest that Cameron Fleming or Bobby Massie are sure-fire fixes would be overly optimistic.

At tight end, Noah Fant returns. Albert Okwuegbunam, coming off of an injury-plagued rookie season, is his backup. That’s awfully thin, which is contrast to a year ago, when veterans like Nick Vannett were added to the position group.

And at wide receiver, the Broncos have plenty of familiar names. Courtland Sutton is back, but he’s coming off of a torn ACL that cost him most of his 2020 season. Jerry Jeudy is the No. 2 target, but he had a disappointing rookie season. The same can be said for K.J. Hamler. Tim Patrick is a nice story, but he was also in orange and blue last season.

That’s a long-winded way to get to this question: Where are the big upgrades?

The 2021 Broncos look a lot like the 2020 Broncos. Given that Denver went 5-11 last season, that’s concerning.

Throw in the fact that the team will be led by the same head coach and coordinators as a year ago and it’s hard to be optimistic. Paton didn’t show Fangio the door, nor did he broom Pat Shurmur on offense, Ed Donatell on defense or Tom McMahon on special teams.

So what did he do?

The general manager signed two cornerbacks in free agency. Then, he used the No. 9 overall pick on another cornerback.

He also gave Harris a huge raise, inked Simmons to a long-term deal and picked up the final year of Miller’s mega-contract. Then, he brought Jackson back at a discounted price.

None of these moves are bad. In fact, they’re all fine. They’re solid. They’re smart.

But are they home runs? Are they franchise altering?

Not even close. And suggesting otherwise is silly.

It doesn’t matter how many times it gets repeated. George Paton’s first offseason has been nothing more than just okay. It’s time to accept that reality.

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