Denver Broncos Briefly: Sean Payton Ranked in Top-5, NFL Draft Guesses

The Denver Broncos have one of the best coaches in the NFL today; Sean Payton ranked in the top-5 according to one publication.

Who could argue?

Payton took a floundering franchise and brought it back to competitive in his first season, with now back-to-back playoff appearances and an AFC Championship Game appearance last year.

All with a rookie and then second-year quarterback.

Sean Payton a Top-5 NFL Head Coach

How good is Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton? He's in the top-5.

That, according to Patrick Dougherty of NBCSports.com.

Sean Payton didn’t need to prove anything. He’s done so anyways. The last of the Parcells disciples, Payton had a .631 winning percentage with the Saints. It’s .620 with the Broncos. It’s actually .666 since his infamous 70-20 loss to Mike McDaniel’s Dolphins in Week 3 of the 2023 season. That was Payton’s wake-up call. He’s been wide-eyed ever since.

Payton’s continued Broncos success has come despite a few strange foibles. His vaunted short-passing game isn’t what it once was. The backfield has been reasonably efficient, if strangely inert. It obviously hasn’t precluded winning — Payton’s Broncos are the first team other than the Chiefs to take the AFC West since Mahomes became starter in 2018 — though it has turned what used to be a beautiful system into a tough watch. That’s undoubtedly what led Payton to make the shocking offseason decision of surrendering play-calling duties to OC Davis Webb. Payton is one of the best play-callers in the history of the game. That he was willing to hand over the keys speaks to not only an uncommon self awareness for someone with his résumé, but a truly burning desire to win. If Payton fails to reach another Super Bowl, it won’t be because he was unwilling to do whatever it takes.

I agree with RotoPat here; Payton will do whatever it takes to win another Super Bowl.

He'd be the first coach in NFL history to win a Vince Lombardi Trophy with two different teams. Plus, it'd be all the more remarkable if he did it during Bo Nix's rookie contract.

The Broncos lost the AFC Championship Game in part due to Payton not kicking the field goal while deep in New England territory. He swallowed his pride a bit and decided it was time to pass the play calling duties on to Davis Webb. That shows his commitment to winning at all costs.

Who Do the "Experts" Think the Denver Broncos Will Draft?

Since it's the offseason, even the Broncos own website is doing aggregation articles for content.

They compiled a list of what the "experts" think the Broncos will do in the NFL Draft later this month.

NFL.com, The Athletic, and The Sporting News think Denver will take a tight end with their first pick, No. 62 in the second round. Each predictor picked a different tight end, though. Eli Stowers, Sam Roush, and Max Klare were each named.

Meanwhile, Max Miller of ESPN thinks Denver will take linebacker Josiah Trotter out of Missouri. "Denver's defense is elite, but there's room for a downhill thumper," Miller explained of the fit. "Trotter has NFL bloodlines and the speed to make a huge impact in the run game, where he's a missile with quick read-and-react skills."

I will point out the fact that Miller said Trotter is a linebacker that plays "downhill" while Sean Payton was asked last season if Dre Greenlaw plays "downhill" and Payton made fun of the reporter in front of everyone for putting it that way. Apparently "downhill," or running north-south, is only reserved for running backs in Payton's mind.

In terms of the fit, Denver could certainly use a young inside linebacker. Justin Strnad has developed and is now a starter at the position, but he's starting opposite of Alex Singleton, who's 32 with two years left on his new deal.

CBS Sports predicts Davison Igbinosun, a cornerback from Ohio State. Denver is way too loaded at corner to take one, so that seems like the least likely pick.

On the other hand, tight end makes a ton of sense for the Broncos in the second round. Denver re-signed three backup tight ends and has Evan Engram on the roster as the starter for this season, too. But the future of the position is unclear.

Stowers looks to be the second-best tight end of this class and won the John Mackey Award as the nation's best at the position. Vinnie Iyer of The Sporting News wrote, "The Broncos have gotten a long look at Stowers as a new key athletic intermediate target to play well off Jaylen Waddle for Bo Nix."

Denver's needs are at tight end, linebacker, defensive line, and safety. Then, depth at running back, O-line, and receiver.

Day 2 of the NFL Draft kicks off on April 24 at 7 p.m. ET, which is when the Broncos' first pick, in the second round, will take place.

The Justice Department is Investigating the NFL

According to the Wall Street Journal, the Justice Department is Investigating the NFL.

The Justice Department says it's to see if the league is working anti-compliance when it comes to their television contracts. In other words, the league is trying to get CBS—with Trump's friend Larry Ellison as the owner—to pay more money and Trump is retaliating.

That seems to be the most likely reason. Though, there are other reasons why Trump would want to retaliate against the NFL.

One is that he was booed at the Super Bowl and then Kendrick Lamar's halftime show was political, calling the United States out for slavery among many other things. The right wing was really mad about Bad Bunny in this year's Super Bowl halftime too.

Or, maybe Trump is mad because he was booed at a Washington Commanders game last year. The irony being that the right says they want to keep politics out of sports. But you can't keep politics out of sports. Sports are inherently political. And you're a politician at a sporting event on top of it all.

Another reason Trump may be mad at the NFL is because they refused to can the Rooney Rule, their version of DEI.

But the biggest issue of them all is the league didn't allow Trump to own the Buffalo Bills in 2014, along with the Colts, Cowboys, and Patriots back in the 1980s.

Bo Nix is the GOAT?

One parting comment in the form of a meme.

The Broncos subreddit had a field day with my piece on Bo Nix this week, and the many red flags that surround him in terms of analytics. (I love you, r/DenverBroncos!)

Fans seem to think saying anything other than "Nix is the GOAT" is an attack not only on the quarterback, but their individual identity.

I'm old enough to remember when some fans thought Tim Tebow was the second coming of Jesus. A lot of them weren't even Broncos fans, or football fans, but Christians latching onto him.

I also remember Drew Lock and the divisiveness of the fanbase then. Some people thought Lock was the next coming of John Elway. How'd that turn out?

Nix is better than either of those guys, and better than any QB on the Broncos since Peyton Manning retired. But will he achieve greatness? Only if he refines his craft. I think he will continue to do just that.

I also find it interesting that fans are willing to talk trash about R.J. Harvey not having good enough vision or Courtland Sutton being mediocre when he's one of the best receivers in Broncos history. But the QB? Off limits, hombre!

Bo Nix is fun to watch. This team is fun to watch while led by Sean Payton. Let's try to enjoy it together.

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Rich Kurtzman was born and raised in Denver Colorado and attended Colorado State University in Fort Collins in the aughts. He's been a professional writer since 2011, covering Colorado State football and men's basketball, as well as the Denver Broncos, for many outlets. Current Denver Broncos work can be found on Mile High Sports. Previous credits include CBS Denver and The USA TODAY Sports Media Group.

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