The halcyon days when general managers lined up at the NFL draft to watch former commissioner Pete Rozelle puff on a cigarette and announce the selections are long since confined to history. Over the intervening years, such old-school methods and Corinthian showmanship gave way to far more sophisticated levels of planning.
The draft has taken quantum leaps forward in so many ways, with notable additions to the front office arsenal that have made a serious science out of what previously looked like a scene from the old hit series Mad Men.
No stone is now left unturned in the draft process these days, so with under a week to go until the rubber meets the road in Green Bay, it's safe to say that Denver Broncos GM George Paton has been making his own rules for engagement crystal clear to his front office compatriots.
"We’ve made calls—this week you make a lot of calls, and then next week [are] the more serious calls. ‘Hey, if this player is here, we want to move up,’ or what have you," Paton said on Thursday. "I’ve talked to most [general managers] in the NFL to set the table or set the plan of, ‘Hey, if your player is here and you move up, what’s the range?’ You start talking parameters."
Further Broncos declarations on Thursday also revealed that they'll prioritize rebuilding the running back position, but that was hardly major breaking news. Instead of delivering earth-shattering enlightenment, the Broncos were always going to play their cards pretty close to the chest at this late juncture.
That's as may be, but searching for the potential roadmap to add some crucial chess pieces remains an intriguing prospect, particularly as we now enter the home stretch leading up to April 24.
On Thursday, head coach Sean Payton used an interesting golfing analogy to explain where the Broncos' collective heads are at right now, regarding how the draft can take them to the next level.
“We are on the tee box," Payton said. "We can’t be afraid of talking about our goals and where we see this team, especially coming out of free agency. I am probably, more than any other average to below average handicap golfer, am guilty of hitting a driver when we should be hitting another club.”
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Just how bold Paton and Payton opt to be next week will have a knock-on effect on how the Broncos approach adding a new starting running back. What's beyond debate is that the Broncos can't come out of this draft without someone to add to the mix behind quarterback Bo Nix.
There is some confidence at Broncos HQ because the crop of running backs emerging from the college ranks this year is deep and talented. Even so, the rebirth of the running back spot across the NFL, which can be attributed in large part to Saquon Barkley's success in Philadelphia last season, has suddenly made gold-standard ball carriers like Heisman Trophy runner-up Ashton Jeanty, bonafide first-round commodities.
Therefore, you can understand why the Broncos' key power brokers are getting their ducks in a row with the draft less than a week out. It's even been speculated within some media circles that the Broncos might analyze their emerging window of championship opportunity, and shoot for the moon with a spectacular draft-day trade up for Jeanty.
While it's a wholly entertaining option to consider, Payton's insistence that it's always tempting to take a swing if you're feeling it sounds like it comes with a powerful caveat. Reading between the lines, the Broncos must be wary of landing in a draft-day sand trap — a tricky obstacle that they may struggle to escape from if they're not careful.
Due diligence requires the Broncos to be careful not to mortgage the future of the franchise, especially when talented running backs and other weapons can be found in the more comfortable draft ranges of Days 2 and 3.
"We think there's a similar player at 20 that there is at 10," Paton said.
