“We weren’t good enough. … We didn’t coach well enough,” Denver Broncos HC Sean Payton had lamented after his team fell by a heartbreaking 31-7 in the AFC wild-card game against the Buffalo Bills last month. While wins and losses are a part of the game, that particular defeat revealed what Sports Illustrated described as “7 massive roster holes”. And if we listen to Payton’s latest confession, it seems he’s well aware of the misses. But before we get to that…

Let’s look at what exactly went wrong with the Broncos on January 11. As a team that was expected to win no more than five games, quarterback Bo Nix’s team exceeded all expectations by finishing the season with a 10-7 record, and a qualification to the playoffs. While that’s definitely an optimistic sight showing the team’s slow return to glory, their loss to the Bills did reveal some glaring issues.

For starters, the running back position seemed to be a major struggle all season, and during the game. Javonte Williams—who was hand-picked during the 2021 NFL Draft, and is set to be a free agent—reportedly averaged less than four yards per carry in each of the last two seasons and only rushed for 513 yards in 2024. So, as expected, things will be getting dicey for him in the coming months.

Even some noted insiders like NFL Network’s Maurice Jones-Drew has pointed to the same while listing Williams as the 30th-best starting running back on his season-ending rundown. “Williams’ 513 rush yards is the second-fewest by a team’s leading rusher this season — a huge letdown for both him and an offense that was hoping to better aid its rookie quarterback. The fact that he had 37 carries for 126 yards (3.4 yards per attempt) over his last eight games signals he could be headed elsewhere as a free agent this offseason,” he had said last month. The 24-year-old ultimately finished his season as the 42nd position for rushing yards, with 139 carries (tied-35th in the league), four TDs (tied-40th), and 3.7 yards per rush attempt (150+).

So, of course, the 61-year-old would be expected to turn a keen eye to the position’s future, which he (sort of) hinted at while appearing on the Up & Adams Show this week. At one point, host Kay Adams asked, “You beat a lot more teams this year as the Broncos than everyone thought. Actually you had a huge FU to anybody setting any prediction, any over under madness…You killed it! I loved this FU for you!…Gosh coach you seem really happy.”

To this, Payton confidently responded, “Listen, I know we’re going to be a problem [next season]….we felt like we had a good rookie,” to which Adams asked, “What are we looking to fall in love with here in the next couple of months?”

 Sean Payton: “I think it’s a fair question…Because we do the evaluation of our team, and the purpose of that is then to establish what we call ‘Musts, needs and wants’.”

Adams: “So who are our musts, your musts?”

Sean Payton: “I would say we need a joker. A joker now can be a tight end or a running back that has exceptional…” 

Adams: “Where does a veteran wide receiver go? Which bucket?”

Payton: “I think a veteran wide receiver fits in a ‘need’. I would say we’re stronger there than some would think…Devaughn Vele, Troy Franklin…there’s a number of receivers that we drafted a year ago. We’ll look closely through the middle, inside linebacker, safety there’ll be a few others…”

Well, the coach he knows exactly what he wants right now. And that’s a smooth way to put it, right? He also commented on Marvin Mims Jr. growing exponentially this season. Remember Marvin’s 60-yard punt return against the Colts in the Week 15 game? No doubt, he’s growing fast and strong.

Not just Marvin, the Broncos have star WR Courtland Sutton with 1,081 yards and 8 TDs. Last year, they also hired promising rookies like Devaughn Vele and Troy Franklin. The tug-of-war between teams has already started—keeping old players and signing new ones. Only time will tell if Sean will be able to get his hands on his missing piece of the puzzle.

It’ll all depend on the support of GM George Paton, who’s apparently having a tough time balancing the team.

What challenges is Sean Payton’s GM facing with the Broncos?

A team is like a wall—every brick is important for the team to keep standing tall. Even if one piece is out, it won’t take much time for the wall to crumble down. That’s the case going on in the Broncos’ HQ.

GM George Paton, who was working alongside his nephew Rob Paton, will no longer work in the same building anymore. In an X post, it was confirmed that Rob is leaving the team for a much bigger opportunity with the Jets.

Rob had been a scout with Denver since 2017, way before the Broncos hired George as GM. Now, he’s teaming up with former Broncos assistant GM Darren Mougey in New York as the Jets’ new co-director of player personnel. And this isn’t the only exit from the Broncos’ camp. Big names like Ben Kotwica, Greg Manusky, Johnny Morton, David Shaw, Declan Doyle, and Chris Banjo have all left for better roles elsewhere.

With all these departures, Denver’s got a lot of gaps to fill this offseason.