Sean Payton and George Paton identify what traits they are looking for in a quarterback for the Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos are, once again, looking for their franchise quarterback. That’s the bad news.

But there is good news. In fact, there are two pieces of good news.

The first is it’s easier to evaluate quarterbacks now than it was in the past, according to Sean Payton.

“I think it has become a little bit easier than it was 20 years ago,” the head coach said at the NFL Annual League Meeting on Mar. 25. “Twenty years ago, regardless of what you’re looking for, it wasn’t it. You had to project how they were going to throw. You had to project how they were going to handle the pro system. Certainly what they’re giving us today is different, but you are exposed to more of what you might ask them to do today than you were 20 years ago.”

The second is Payton isn’t lacking confidence in Denver’s ability to find their next signal caller.

“I think we’ll be really good at this, and I think to some degree, we’re glad that a lot of people aren’t,” the head coach stated with confidence at the NFL Combine in February.

Because of that, and Denver going on nearly a decade since Peyton Manning retired, the Broncos “better,” in the words of Payton, find their next franchise quarterback soon.

“I saw this humorous meme the other day where there’s a Broncos fan with a shirt on with like eight quarterback’s names crossed through them and he’s drinking the quarterback ‘Kool-Aid.’ Our job is to make sure this next one doesn’t have a line through it,” Payton said at the Combine.

Despite the team not signing a quarterback in free agency, at the NFL Annual League Meeting on Mar. 25, George Paton made it clear the team will still add to the quarterback room.

“We’re still in the quarterback market,” he stated. “We like ‘Stiddy’ (Jarrett Stidham), but we’re going to add. We are not panicked. We won’t play games for a while. We feel like we will add a veteran, and we’ll see about the draft.”

Part 1 of this two part series will identify the traits Payton and Paton are looking for in a quarterback for the Broncos.

Part 2 of this series, which will be released on April 15, will identify the traits the Broncos’ brass believes are overrated and not absolutely necessary when evaluating quarterbacks.

Here are the traits Sean Payton and George Paton find important.

Crucial traits

Decision making and processing speed

From talking to Sean Payton and George Paton multiple times throughout the offseason, it’s clear that decision making and processing speed are the No. 1 quality the Broncos are looking for in their next quarterback.

“You can evaluate the talent, you can evaluate the arm strength, the feet, the athletic ability, the mobility, high second chances and off schedule. All that stuff you see on tape. It’s ability to process—which we’ve talked about—and process a lot of information in a short time and make the best decision. That’s the thing we’re all searching for,” the general manager stated at the NFL Annual League Meeting.

In one-on-one meetings leading up to the draft, in which the Broncos have had many including with Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy and LSU’s Jayden Daniels, this is the trait Payton focuses on.

“I’d like to find out how they process, how quickly it comes,” the head coach said, when asked what he’s looking to learn in these private meetings with quarterbacks. “If we send him information at 5 p.m. the prior day, we send him more than we think they’re going to have a chance to study. We’ve all been in that position. It may not have been football. But 5 p.m. on a college Thursday, test on Friday and more than we have enough time to study. How do they handle that? Where’s the break point the next day? Is there one? Do they handle it really well? Do they really struggle?”

“What time are they at the facility? Have they been preparing? Are they early? It’s interesting; it’s fascinating,” Payton continued.

Unfortunately, this is not an easy trait to evaluate.

“To your point with quarterbacks, I think one thing that’s hard to measure is their ability to multitask, process and make decisions,” Payton said at the Combine in February. “You can visit with someone and they can be intelligent, but how quickly can they deliver the information? How quickly can they get through the progression? Are they accurate? There are some fundamental things that we have to see that are present. Sometimes it’s not as difficult as we make it out to be and then sometimes it’s very difficult.”

When pressed about what are common mistakes made when evaluating quarterbacks, Payton pointed to this exact trait.

“I think how quickly they can process the information,” Payton said. “For some when you get them in rookie minicamp, you realize, ‘Ah, I’ve been with a rookie before and just feel like this is not how I wanted it to go.’ He’s having trouble spitting out the plays and maybe it takes a while. Maybe that’s something that you realize is going to be a hindrance or set him back… It’s that other element and it’s really the difference of just that. For some, it’s two thumb thick and for others it’s one. You just hope it’s one.”

Ability to win from the pocket

Just take a look at the past two decades of Sean Payton’s offenses to see the importance of winning from the pocket.

Drew Brees was one of the best of all time in this category. Payton loved him.

Russell Wilson, while he had statistical success in 2023 under Payton, struggled to win consistently from the pocket. Payton decided to take an NFL-record $85 million dead cap hit to move on from Wilson instead of keep him, largely due to his inability to win consistently from the pocket.

“There are still some things that are paramount today. At some point, teams are going to make you win from the pocket,” Payton said at the Combine. “We can rush a certain way to keep a quarterback from escaping. We’re going to have to be—wherever you’re at—proficient enough on third down to take a snap, find a throw.”

In order to win from the pocket, a quarterback has to have good pocket awareness, another aspect Wilson struggled with in 2023. When asked what the Broncos need to do to score more points this coming season, the head coach pointed directly to this.

“No. 1, we can’t take as many sacks,” Payton stated without hesitation. “If you looked at any of the data relative to what it does for your drives, I think that was a big thing that hurt us a year ago.”

Accuracy

“I think accuracy is important,” Payton said at the Combine, when asked about the traits he’s looking for in a quarterback.

This, of course, is not a surprise as it’s a fundamental component of the position.

Fortunately, unlike decision making and processing speed, the head coach doesn’t believe this trait is difficult to evaluate.

“I think we shouldn’t miss on accuracy because we get to see it,” he stated.

Important traits

Mobility

Just because Sean Payton worked with a fairly immobile quarterback, Drew Brees, for nearly 15 seasons doesn’t mean he doesn’t value that trait. But clearly, he doesn’t have to have it.

“I think offenses have changed a little bit and yet, we’ve never not valued a quarterback that can beat you with his feet,” Payton said at the Combine. “That goes back to [Steve] Young and [Joe] Montana. Historically, that’s nothing new.”

Payton added athleticism isn’t a trait the Broncos should miss on in the evaluation process because it’s easy to see.

‘It’ factor

Unlike athleticism, the ‘it’ factor is invisible to see, but still important.

“We’re also searching for the ‘it’ factor. Who can raise the level of his teammates? That’s really hard to find,” George Paton stated on Mar. 25. “Sometimes you don’t know it until you have it. That’s what we’re all searching for.”

Along similar lines, when Payton was asked about finding the next face of the franchise at the quarterback position, he simply said, “That will organically take place.”

Leadership

Nearly every single franchise quarterback is one of the leaders, if not the leader, of their team. But leadership doesn’t always look the same.

“I think leadership comes in a lot of different ways. Historically speaking, we’ve had quiet, successful quarterbacks and we’ve had outspoken, successful quarterbacks,” Payton said at the Combine.

Although leadership isn’t a physical characteristic or a trait that can be measured, Payton thinks it’s easy to identify.

“Leadership we shouldn’t miss on because we should feel that and be able to research that,” the head coach said.