What George Paton’s hire as the Broncos’ next general manager means for the quarterback position

With the Denver Broncos closing the door on their general manager search by hiring George Paton, a new door opened for their future at quarterback. Well, actually, many new doors opened.

For the past 14 seasons, Denver’s new general manager was in the personnel department with the Minnesota Vikings, most recently as their assistant general manager and vice president of player personnel. While Paton didn’t have final say and certainly wasn’t responsible for all of the moves the Vikings made during his time in Minnesota, he was general manager Rick Spielman’s right-hand man for the past several years.

Looking at the Vikings’ track record of how they handled the most important position in sports since 2007, the year Paton joined the organization, reveals all options may be on the table for the Broncos under their new general manager in regards to fixing the team’s quarterback woes.

In the 14 years Paton spent with the Vikings, Minnesota attempted nearly every possible big-time move to find their answer at quarterback. The Vikings drafted a quarterback in the first round, traded a first-round pick to acquire a signal caller and paid big-time money in free agency to land a quarterback.

In fact, they tried a few of those options multiple times.

In 2009, the Vikings lured Brett Favre out of retirement, making him one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in the NFL with an annual salary of $12.5 million for two years. Nine years later, Minnesota went back to the free agent well to make another splash by signing Kirk Cousins to a record-breaking three-year, $84 million contract which was fully guaranteed.

In less than a decade, Paton and the Vikings had two massive free-agent signings.

In between those two blockbuster signings, Minnesota hit the first round of the draft to find their next quarterback. Twice.

In 2011, the Vikings selected Christian Ponder with the 12th-overall pick. Three years later, after Ponder turned out to not be the guy, the Vikings drafted Teddy Bridgewater with the last pick in the first round.

After Bridgewater suffered a devastating knee injury just before the start of the 2016 season, the Vikings traded a first-round pick along with a conditional fourth-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles for Sam Bradford.

With Paton on the staff, the Vikings have done it all in an attempt to find a franchise quarterback. In fact, in his 14 year tenure, Minnesota had 16 different starting quarterbacks. Much like John Elway, Paton doesn’t appear to be afraid to swing—and potentially miss—at quarterbacks.

What does this all mean for the Broncos as Paton takes over with the final say on Denver’s roster? It means all three of these options could very well be on the table for the Broncos to address their quarterback position. And there are legitimate options with all three avenues this year.

The 2021 free agent class has the potential to have the likes of Dak Prescott, Philip Rivers, Mitchell Trubisky, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Jameis Winston, to name a few. If the Cowboys let Prescott hit the open market, he has the potential to make nearly $40 million per year. That would certainly be a big-ticket free agent, needless to say.

The quarterback trade market is packed with potential veteran talent too. Depending on the direction teams with new general managers take outside of Denver, there’s the possibility that well-know names such as Matthew Stafford, Carson Wentz and Sam Darnold could be available via trade.

Stafford, in particular, could demand a top pick in return. Bradford was far from an elite quarterback, yet the Vikings still had to give the Eagles a first round pick to acquire him. Quarterbacks aren’t cheap.

Then there is the draft. And there’s certainly plenty of quarterbacks to be had in the first round, especially in the top 10 where the Broncos sit. Trevor Lawrence will be off the board, but Justin Fields, Zach Wilson or Mac Jones could entice Denver’s new general manager with the ninth-overall pick.

Of course, the team could stick with Drew Lock and let him develop. But 16 different starting quarterbacks in Paton’s 14 years with the Vikings would suggest Lock won’t have too much time to kick it into high gear.

As George Paton moves to the Mile High City, all options are on the table for who Denver’s next quarterback will be.