George Paton excited to build on Broncos' winning tradition with young core

[Miles]

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — In his first interview since being announced as the Broncos' next general manager, George Paton explained why this position was one he couldn't turn down and a basic overview for his vision leading the team's personnel department.


A major piece of his motivation and excitement stems from the collection of young talent on the roster.


"[T]hey do have a good core of young players," he told DenverBroncos.com's Phil Milani. "Their record doesn't reflect that because they had so many injuries, but I do think they have a good core of young players that, with this coaching staff, will keep getting better. … On the tape I evaluated, I do think it's a roster that can develop quickly."


Paton and his staff will aim to further that development in the coming months in free agency and the upcoming draft to add more talent and best prepare the roster to make a jump back into contention for the playoffs. In particular, Paton said, the draft would be vital.


"It's about the people, first of all — the players, the people you bring in your organization," Paton said. "And then you have to draft and you have to develop. You have to draft and develop talent in this league to win and sustain. I think that's our philosophy. Now, we're going to be aggressive. We're going to acquire talent any way we can, whether it's free agency, practice squad poaches, waiver claims — we're always going to look for talent. But drafting and developing will be our philosophy."


Overall, as Paton said in his initial statement, he emphasizes a strategy of being "aggressive—but not reckless" in talent acquisition.


"I just think you have to know where you are as a team," Paton said. "And that's really important before you can move forward; you really have to know where you are as a team, and that in turn determines your aggressiveness. But I think you're involved in every deal that's out there. And then you can discuss and collaborate and just determine if you want to make that jump. But it's really important to be involved with everything so you don't miss a deal that may get by you. So, we'll be aggressive [and] involved; it doesn't mean we're going to always jump."