Payton Reveals Moment he Knew Broncos Undrafted RB Would Make Roster

The Denver Broncos felt fortunate to recruit Jaleel McLaughlin.

From the remarkable number of four undrafted rookies making the Denver Broncos roster out of training camp, skill-position players like running back Jaleel McClaughlin and tight end Nate Adkins really stand out.

Credit goes to how well the Broncos front office, led by GM George Paton, managed to identify talent in 2023 the NFL draft process. And beyond that, closing the deals to get them in Denver. 

On Tuesday, following the Broncos' final roster cuts, Paton lifted the lid on the complex mechanics involved in locating under-the-radar talent. He started with McLaughlin.

"We were recruiting him," Paton said of McLaughlin. "We were hoping he would be undrafted... You start recruiting these guys early in the process, especially the guys that aren't going to get drafted. It's part of the interview process. We thought he was a good player. We didn't quite know what we were getting. You never know with [college] free agents and what you're quite getting."

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Standing at only 5-foot-7, McLaughlin's record-breaking NCAA resume ran into the traditional issues with the NFL's stubborn prototypes. As Paton admitted, the Broncos also pushed their luck to acquire McLaughlin, but they had a library of tape to reference.

As things turned out, shortly after arriving, McLaughlin started making all those height and size concerns seem rather ridiculous.

"He went to two schools, obviously. The tape was good, but we've had a lot of those guys over the years when they come in here," Paton said of McLaughlin. "He passed every test. From the minute he showed up in rookie minicamp, it wasn't too big. Then we get the pads on, and he makes plays every day. We were really not surprised. We were all looking forward to the first game to see what he could do, and he made plays every game.

McLaughlin's impact during the preseason, which led to him making the final cut in Denver, didn't surprise anyone. That includes head coach Sean Payton, who knew the rookie had the right stuff after Denver's second preseason contest in San Francisco.

"In San Francisco, when the game ended, I knew he was on track to be on our team or someone else's if we chose not to put him on our roster (laughs)," Payton said of McLaughlin. "I think that was a big game for him. I said this—and you guys have watched the practices. It wasn't anything that surprised us. We had seen it. To his credit, it was pretty consistent."

Payton will reward sheer consistency of performance, both in practice and under real game conditions. In truth, the lack of consistency did much to cost tight end Albert Okwuegbunam his place on the team, largely because he failed to get out the starting gate quickly enough over the first two weeks of training camp.

Irrespective of Okwuegbunam's big performance in the preseason finale, it was yet another undrafted find who showed Payton enough to beat the veteran out for the fourth tight end spot.

"He's pretty consistent each day," Payton said of Adkins. "You know what you're getting. I think if he is assigned the SAM linebacker and the play is over with—it might not have been perfect all of the time, but he probably blocked the SAM. He was just one of those guys who day in and day out got his job done. He's got some position versatility. You see him playing some fullback. He's kind of that 'F' tight end if you will. He can play on the ball, but he's probably a little bit better off the ball. He was someone we considered drafting, and he was someone that was very sought after, after the draft. We felt it would be hard to get him on the practice squad."

Adkins' blocking ability and special teams prowess led the Broncos to trade Okwuegbunam to the Philadelphia Eagles at the 11th hour. Good scouting instincts won the day for Denver because, just like McLaughlin, Adkins has done nothing but impress his GM ever since.

"We were really fortunate to get him as an undrafted free agent," Paton said. "He's been everything we thought. We had him on a Top-30 [visit]. [We] loved the visit. He's got a great mind, and he can do a lot of different things. He's a coach's dream because he can do so many different things. [He can] play special teams, as well."

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