Hoping to Avoid Adam Thielen Mistake, Sean Payton Reveals Rookie Minicamp’s Evaluation Milestones

The Denver Broncos have begun their rookie minicamp ahead of the 2024 season and it might still take a lot for the players to impress their head coach, Sean Payton. But before the camp ends, Payton and his company have a lot of work to cover in front of them. The Broncos signed 20 players in the draft and are working tirelessly to assess them.

The head coach of the Denver team appeared in a presser and gave an update on how the rookie minicamp is going for the team. Also, he revealed the selection process as Payton shared his past experiences about losing players like Adam Thielen to other teams after the camp had ended. He hopes to not make the same mistake again, setting straight his learning expectations.

Sean Payton cannot compromise on these three things

The conversation at the presser started with Payton saying how he already liked what he saw in Frank Crum and praised his “toughness, intelligence and versatility.” The 6′ 7″, 315lbs offensive tackle is not someone that the Denver Broncos wants to lose to some other team. With this discussion followed up a question from a reporter who asked the HC about what traits he is looking for in the rookies as he has 3 days to work with them.

“Number one, does a player know what to do?” Payton revealed one of the criteria and added, “How quickly are they learning it and are they trying to do what they are being coached? Number three, how well are they doing it?” So, the gist of Payton’s evaluation process is that he is looking for players who showcase their “Athleticism, effort and talent,” to the fullest.

The players get 3 days to make an impression in the training camp and it’s tough to evaluate someone over such a short time. Because of this, sometimes there are irreversible mistakes made, which Payton expanded on.

“We’ve all had experiences where we signed someone from this camp. Adam Thielen for example. So, the draft ends, not drafted, the period of signing free agents not signed, try out you know and so you have to look at every one of those guys and try to find the good in them.” All these efforts come from Sean Payton because he doesn’t want to lose credible talent like the time, where they lost Thielen.

What happened with Adam Thielen?

The former Vikings receiver entered free agency in early 2023 and the Broncos had their mind made up about signing him. Payton was a fresh hire in the Broncos and the team lacked depth in the receiver core. Apparently, the Broncos wanted a vet and they even tried to offer him more than his asking price. Alas, Thielen and Broncos didn’t unite, and the receiver signed with the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers signed the WR for a 3-year $25 million deal and he had a 1,104-yard season with 4 TDs.

But that’s not all, the Denver team also tried to sign Allen Lazard, who went to play for the New York Jets instead. To counter these problems this year, the Denver team drafted 3 rookie receivers Troy Franklin, Lincoln Victor, and Devaughn Vele, who had decent seasons coming out of college. An interesting thing to note here is that Troy Franklin and Bo Nix played together at Oregon, hence many think that their chemistry will lead the team to victories in the future. Hence, seems like learning from past errors is what Payton looks to be inclined on.