Broncos Sending Saints Two High Picks in Sean Payton Deal, per Report

New Orleans had control over Payton’s contract for another year.

With the Broncos set to hire Sean Payton as their next head coach, the team had to finalize a deal with the Saints to officially acquire the contractual rights to Payton. Therefore, Denver is expected to send New Orleans a 2023 first-round pick and a ’24 second-round pick, while receiving a ’24 third-round pick to complete the deal, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports.

Even though Payton retired from the Saints last year, New Orleans still had him under contract. So any team that wanted to hire him needed to provide compensation to the Saints. The first-round pick this year will be New Orleans’s first pick of the draft, as the Saints sent their original pick to the Eagles in a trade last year.

While the Broncos owe their original first-round pick to the Seahawks as part of the Russell Wilson trade, Denver does have a late first-round pick. They acquired that pick from the Dolphins as part of the Bradley Chubb trade, which was originally the 49ers’ first-rounder that they traded in the deal to move up and draft Trey Lance in 2021. 

Since San Francisco reached the NFC championship game, that pick will be pick No. 29 in the 2023 NFL draft.

Additionally, the Broncos also sent their second-round pick this year to Seattle, so Denver has to send the Saints its second-round pick in ’24. 

The Broncos now don’t have a pick in the first two rounds of the 2023 NFL draft, but they do have two of the first four picks in the third round, along with a third-rounder from the Saints.