Everything we learned from Denver Broncos general manager George Paton in his end-of-season press conference

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Denver Broncos held end-of-season press conferences on Tuesday, with head coach Sean Payton, general manager George Paton and owner and CEO Greg Penner all taking the stage.

Here’s what we learned from Broncos general manager George Paton…

Russ might be back

The big news of the day is that the Broncos are adamant they haven’t made up their mind about Russell Wilson’s future.

“The door remains open with Russ,” Paton said. “I’ve had good conversations with Russ, and Sean has had good conversations. The door is open.”

Paton also explained his attempt to negotiate an adjustment to Wilson’s contract during the bye week.

“We made a good faith attempt to adjust his contract. We handled ourselves professionally, and I’ll leave it at that.”

(For the full story on what Sean Payton, George Paton and Greg Penner said about Wilson’s future, CLICK HERE.)

He and Sean Payton make decisions together

When the decision about Wilson’s future is made, both Paton and head coach Sean Payton will have their finger on the trigger.

The pair comes to an agreement, and that’s how decisions are made.

“We would not bring in a player that Sean and I didn’t agree upon,” Paton said. “We dissect it, and we get into it. We do deep dives.”

Neither has “final say” over decisions. Paton says he doesn’t see that becoming an issue.

“It has not really come up in my career very often, but it certainly hasn’t come up with Sean being here,” Paton said. “Sean and I have a great relationship and a really good working relationship. We’re aligned on how we want to continue to build this.”

Paton is happy with his rookies

The Broncos didn’t have many picks in last year’s draft, but Paton likes what he got.

“I think it was a really good rookie class,” Paton said. “You didn’t see it on Sunday’s all the time, but we saw it in practice.”

Second-round pick Marvin Mims Jr. led the way, becoming the AFC’s return man for the Pro Bowl.

“[He’s a] work in progress as a receiver, but he had some really big moments,” Paton said.

Paton has high hopes for third-round cornerback Riley Moss, too.

“Riley Moss, we feel, is a starter in this league,” Paton said. “He was one of our best special teams players, if not the best. We saw it in practice. We saw the cover skills, and we saw the transition quickness, toughness and instincts. You saw it a little bit in games. He played a little bit of the dime role.”

As for third-round linebacker Drew Sanders…

“Big upside. He played inside, and he played outside. He started to come on late in year, and he was really good on special teams.”

Sixth-round safety JL Skinner only saw the field in a couple of games.

“He got an opportunity this past week and excelled on [special] teams,” he said. “We saw it in practice—the range, the physicality. [He was] Scout Team Player of the Week multiple times.”

Paton said he thinks seventh-round center Alex Forsyth projects as a starter, too.

The key now is for them to take a second-year jump like one of their teammates did.

“‘J-Mac’ (CB Ja’Quan McMillian), who in his first year got to play in the last game, grew the entire offseason,” Paton said. “When he got his chance, he excelled. We feel there are a number of players in this class that can make that jump as well.”

The special teams improved

When asked about where he thought the Broncos improved this season, the first thing he brought up was the special teams.

“We were in the bottom of the league in special teams my first two years here,” Paton said. “[It] depends on what rankings you look at. If you look at [Assistant Head Coach Mike] Westhoff’s, we’re first, but we’re probably in the Top 5.”

The improvement came from heavy investment and a lot of work, including bringing in legendary special teams coach Mike Westhoff.

“That was a big emphasis,” he said. “We’ve been trying to get there, and I give credit to Mike Westhoff, [Special Teams Coordinator] Ben Kotwica and [Assistant Special Teams Coach] Chris Banjo for what they did. We did bring in some players. You have Mims, you have Riley Moss, and you have [CB] Tremon Smith. Special Teams was a big jump.”

(For more on Westhoff, the NFL’s first full-time special teams coach, CLICK HERE.)

He wants to keep Pat Surtain II in Denver

Former first-round pick Pat Surtain II was just selected to his second Pro Bowl, and he’ll become eligible for an extension this offseason.

The Broncos’ coaches and front office will meet to discuss their entire roster in the coming weeks, and that’s when they’ll start to formulate a plan for Surtain.

“We’re all big fans of Pat,” Paton said. “We want Pat here for a long time, but I’m not prepared to make any statements on anything moving forward.”

(Click here for everything Sean Payton said on Tuesday.)

(Click here for everything Greg Penner said on Tuesday.)