Examining Broncos GM George Paton's Four-Year Record in the Draft

The Denver Broncos GM's draft record goes under the microscope.

Feb 6, 2023; Englewood, CO, USA; General manager George Paton speaks during a press conference at the UCHealth Training Center. / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Earlier this week, the Denver Broncos parted ways with their 2022 third-round tight end Greg Dulcich. While Dulcich showed promise early in his career, he never panned out over the long term.

Dulcich goes down as a clear draft bust. Teams should expect the players they take in the first three rounds will at least finish out their rookie contracts and not be waived before the final year is over.

Dulcich is one of the players selected since George Paton took over as Broncos general manager. While the Dulcich pick stings, how has Paton done otherwise?

Let's examine the Broncos' draft classes since 2021 and see how he has fared.

2021

The Broncos have extended three players from this draft class: first-round pick Patrick Surtain II, third-round pick Quinn Meinerz, and seventh-round pick Jonathon Cooper. PS2 and Meinerz are among the best at their positions. Cooper has developed into a good player — certainly a value pick, considering he was taken near the end of the seventh round.

Second-round running back Javonte Williams has contributed, though probably not at the level fans may have hoped. He's best described as an overdrafted player. Third-round linebacker Baron Browning did some good things but was traded earlier this year. One could argue he was overdrafted as well.

The rest of the players were taken in the final three rounds, where it's okay to take some chances on guys but the majority of players won't make it as starters and will be depth at best. Caden Sterns was an unfortunate situation in which he could never stay healthy despite showing a lot of promise, while the other four players (Jamar Johnson, Seth Williams, Kary Vincent Jr., Marquiss Spencer) didn't last.

Still, getting three long-term starters in one draft is great. This was a good draft overall for Paton.

2022

Second-round linebacker Nik Bonitto came along slowly, but he's now playing at a high level. If he keeps this up, he'll warrant an extension next season.

Dulcich, again, is a clear bust. Fourth-round cornerback Damarri Mathis came along as a rookie, was a disappointment in 2023, but seems to have found a role on special teams and might still have a role as a depth player. The other fourth-round pick, Eyioma Uwazurike, missed 2023 because of a suspension but has shown potential to be a good D-line depth player.

In the final three rounds, the Broncos found Luke Wattenberg, who has been solid at center, while Delarrin Turner-Yell and Matt Hennigsen contributed as depth players, though the former is out for the season as he recovers from an MCL injury and the latter is now on the practice squad. Montrell Washington and Faion Hicks never panned out.

Bonitto's emergence this season is what has made this a solid draft class, though it would be nice to see at least one of Mathis, Uwazurike, Turner-Yell or Wattenberg become a long-term contributor in some capacity. The busted Dulcich pick, however, is what keeps this draft class from being anything better than decent overall.

2023

Second-round receiver Marvin Mims Jr. seems to have found his niche in the Broncos offense. The Broncos raised some eyebrows when they traded a future third-rounder to select Riley Moss in Round 3, but he's emerged as a quality No. 2 cornerback.

Third-round linebacker Drew Sanders has been activated from the physically unable to perform list, so he'll get his chance to show what he can do. Sixth-round safety JL Skinner has mostly played special teams, while seventh-round center Alex Forsyth did a decent job filling in at center when Wattenberg missed a few games.

Next season will tell the tale about how good this draft class really is, but Moss looks like a keeper.

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2024

The jury is still out about how good this draft class will be, but the early returns are promising. The obvious one is first-round pick Bo Nix, who wasn't good to start the season but has improved and just might be the quarterback can build around.

The Broncos also have seen some promise from third-round pick Jonah Elliss, fourth-round pick Troy Franklin, fifth-round pick Audric Estime and seventh-round pick Devaughn Vele. We haven't seen fifth-round pick Kris Abrams-Draine or seventh-round pick Nick Gargiulo take the field, but it's hard to say what the future holds.

However, if the five players who have taken the field this season all develop into quality players, this will go down as a strong draft class. Again, it's still too soon to judge but there's plenty of room for optimism here.

Bottom Line

While Paton had issues early on with his free agency decisions and some trades (most notably, Russell Wilson), he's overseen some quality draft picks. Paton's 2021 class is a good one, his 2022 class netted Bonitto, and his 2023 class netted Moss, both of whom look like keepers. Others could emerge from those two classes.

And if the 2024 draft class can continue to impress, that will be a big feather in the cap for Paton, the Broncos' front office, and the coaching staff for identifying the right players to be the building blocks for the team.

Paton did make plenty of mistakes early on but he has shown he can recover from them. He and head coach Sean Payton have the Broncos going in the right direction and, if that continues, one could expect Paton to be in line for an extension.

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