Going into this offseason, the Denver Broncos, from an overhead standpoint, had some windows of opportunity to be aggressive in NFL Free Agency, but Sean Payton reiterated that what many on the outside (including us media folks) believe the team should do, doesn’t always match up to the reality of where the team views itself.
Let’s dive into three key takeaways from Payton’s presser at the AFC coaches breakfast on Tuesday morning.
Denver Broncos HC Sean Payton talks offseason strategy
NFL Free Agency Frenzy is fun for us media folks every year, because there is so much action and possibilities that could be in play for the Denver Broncos or other teams.
For Sean Payton, frenzy is a word that he and the Broncos don’t subscribe to. And that explains why the Broncos’ approach this offseason in the first two weeks was exactly what it was. It was calm and patient internally, while it was irritating and stressful for us headline writers.
Since Payton has come to Denver, he’s done a great job of sealing the building from putting out leaks. When the Broncos want us to know things, they’ll let us know on their terms. We get it. That comes with the territory.
On Monday at the AFC coaches breakfast, Payton reflected on the team’s approach this offseason and gave us insight into how the building actually felt.
“We tune out the angst,” Payton said. “There was a lot of angst when we selected [QB] Bo [Nix] where we selected him. There was a lot of angst when we made quite a few of these decisions. You have to tune that out. Now, I said this in a jokingly manner. We are aware of that. We understand that. And yet, you cannot chase what others outside of the building feel like you should be doing. We spent a lot of time on this free agency class. We had a pecking order of what we thought was most important, and we were able to accomplish that.”
They did. Waddle was a big splash. Payton reads what all of us on the beat write, and he’s not afraid of challenging some of our narratives.
They attacked the offseason in a different way, and part of that was relative to retaining key players last year or signing culture names to extensions.
“I think [General Manager] George [Paton] and I felt strongly that there were a few of these players that really, ‘A’, we were re-signing that were already on our existing team and, ‘B’, a number of these players who we re-did contracts with. That time of the season has been marketed right in front of every one of your eyes. What is the next word that comes after free agency from the NFL Network and from NFL.com? ‘Frenzy.’ Frenzy is what you don’t want. Frenzy implies that it has to happen, chaos… It’s all marketing. Steady, right decision. ‘What’s our plan?’ Stick with our plan. Tune out the noise. Same is going to apply to this draft.”
Payton, a man obsessed with the little details, is never satisfied or happy with the status quo. Yes, the Broncos are building a roster they feel can compete, but the hay is never in the barn. Even with the splashy addition of Jaylen Waddle, Payton isn’t closing the barn door on improving. The drive to compete and get better is a day-to-day process.
“I never feel good,” Payton said. “We have the draft coming up and we are excited about that. The point is though, you have to apply some patience and have a good plan. We recognize where we are at. We understand exactly where we are at with [QB] Bo [Nix]’s contract, our team. And yet, the mistake that two-thirds of the teams make is trying to win the day. Win the draft day, win the hiring cycle day and win the free agency day. We are interested in winning. That’s why our fanbase is extremely important to us, but we are going to do what we think is best for our team to be better when this puzzle is finished at the end of call it June. Then what do we look like at that point?
We’re all excited to watch the long-term process unfold.
Jonah Elliss’ move to inside linebacker is risk worth taking
One of the more notable revelations from Payton’s media scrum on Tuesday was that Jonah Elliss would be taking snaps at inside linebacker.
After the release of Dre Greenlaw, the Broncos are aiming to experiment with Elliss’ athleticism off-ball.
“It’s the decision to give him snaps going forward,” Payton said. “Skill set, it’s a position where we are wanting—I drafted his brother [Saints LB Kaden Elliss]. The same thing happened with [Eagles LB] Zack Baun, only we couldn’t get Zack Baun on the field. Now Philadelphia managed to. It was really looking at your assets, and we know that he is smart, tough and he has all the… Sometimes, that inside backer position—one of the best in our league at San Francisco in [49ers LB] Fred Warner, you saw him play more out in space, outside backer. Sometimes you have to look at the skill set, and then project where you think it can go, and your depth on the edge that allows you to do something like that. We will have a chance to visit with him on it.”
The Broncos love what Elliss has brought to the table at edge rusher, but they really like Dondrea Tillman and soon-to-be second-year player Que Robinson behind Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper.
Athletically, Elliss has all of the traits to be a player who can make that position switch work.
#Broncos Jonah Ellis’s RAS score when calculated at LB instead of edge. pic.twitter.com/fYTWfGcYRy
— Cody Roark (@CodyRoarkNFL) March 31, 2026
When plugging his athletic testing into the linebacker position in the Relative Athletic Score Matrix, he grades out to a 9.96 out of 10, which highlights elite-level athleticism. His shuttle and 3-cone testing highlight an elite-level ability to change pace and direction quickly.
Going into this summer, the Broncos are clearly excited about what this move could potentially become.
Backup quarterback competition a possibility for Broncos this summer
Coming into Bo Nix’s third season, the Broncos like Jarrett Stidham and Sam Ehlinger behind him. Quietly, Payton said last year that he saw competition for the backup spot behind Nix. It wasn’t advertised, but it was something that took place.
“We see competition… And it wasn’t different last year,” Payton said. “There’s nothing that is etched in stone. There just isn’t, and that’s a good thing.”
While this doesn’t reveal much, we do know that some teams had interest in Jarrett Stidham this offseason as a potential veteran option, but that would require a trade. Denver re-signed Ehlinger to a one-year deal quickly once free agency began, and he’ll have another shot this summer to continue to grow inside of Payton’s offensive system with Davis Webb calling plays.
Depending on how things play out during training camp and the preseason, it will be interesting to see if Denver goes into next year with three quarterbacks on the roster for the third consecutive year or if the team will roll into the season with Stidham or Ehlinger or somebody else as Nix’s backup.
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