The Broncos need to be drafted as if the jobs of Russell Wilson and George Button depended on it

Denver Broncos general manager George Patton speaks during a press conference at the Football Scouting Association, Tuesday, February 28, 2023, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

The Broncos should approach the NFL Draft as if the careers of two of those three men depended on it: general manager George Button, quarterback Russell Wilson and coach Sean Payton.

With only five draft picks, and none until the third round, you probably think it’s very important to improve the Broncos from 5-12 to the playoffs in one year.

“It’s very difficult to get an impact player in the third round,” Button warns, acting as if the Broncos would be lucky to capture Tweedledum and Tweedledee with back-to-back picks at No. 67 and 68 overall in this draft.

Well, then may I humbly suggest that Button should do everything in his power to ensure that the Broncos are traded for a player capable of not only starting as an NFL starter but also making the difference.

In this draft draft, the position to target is the Broncos’ specific need position: the rusher edge. From Alabama’s Will Anderson, the most proven All-Pro talent on the entire board, to Isaiah Foskey, who sacked the quarterback 11 times during each of his last two seasons at Notre Dame, there can be 10 high-passing quality players drafted with ease among opening shots 60.

It’s a no brainer. The Broncos must go rushing with the ability to make Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes miserable.

Is it impossible for Denver, with only five draft picks, to trade in this draft? Not according to Peyton.

“It’s easy to get a draft capital in general,” he said. “If you want to go back, you can. Or forward? You can. If you choose to go forward, it is because there is someone you really love.”

Then do it. We are all tired of waiting until next year at Broncos Country.

It is stated here that if Denver does not qualify for the Super Bowl this season, Patton and Wilson should look for work elsewhere in the NFL in 2024.

For a pro football franchise where losing has been accepted as commonplace with very little accountability for far too long, it now seems pretty clear that Button and Wilson must align themselves with mission statements from the new coach.

Payton hasn’t quit a quiet TV job due to the pressures of roaming the sidelines losing football games.

The wealthy Waltons didn’t pay $4.65 billion for the Broncos finishing last in the AFC West.

If Wilson doesn’t rebound from the worst season of his NFL career and fails to show strong signs he can deliver on his promise to win several Super Bowls in Denver, it’s time for the team to find a place to bury all that dead money in the veteran quarterback’s contract.

While Button deserves applause for selecting Pat Surtain second in the opening round of the 2024 draft, his decision to hire Nathaniel Hackett a year ago in order to lure quarterback Aaron Rodgers from Green Bay was absurd thinking, and if that wasn’t his main reason for hiring Hackett, then it was. GM’s logic is even more ridiculous.

Why? Hackett is without a doubt the Broncos’ least qualified coach and the worst coach I’ve faced in my 40 seasons in the team’s history.

The addition of Payton alone should be worth at least three wins over the unmitigated disaster of 2024. He has such high self-confidence in his ability that if anyone considers him arrogant, Payton doesn’t really yell. In this regard, the new Broncos coach reminds me of the best coach in team history, Mike Shanahan.

With a tongue as sharp as a dagger and an everyday sense, Payton isn’t afraid to challenge anyone and everyone at Broncos headquarters about the way they approach the business of winning football games.

For example: At the conclusion of the press conference reviewing the draft, Payton dropped the mic with a stab at Wilson’s recent accident on a Denver-area golf course, when a cart he was riding rolled backwards and flipped into a sand trap.