With John Elway still around, George Paton has been handcuffed

When John Elway “stepped down” from the general manager position for the Denver Broncos back in January, Broncos Country scratched its collective head wondering what the next steps would be. Especially with the messy ownership situation that already existed.

Even though Elway is more behind the scenes now, he still has strings on George Paton. And he is handcuffing Paton’s first year as a full-time GM.

There’s been a lot of talk around Broncos Country and here at The Fan debating whether or not Paton should have been given the reins without Elway’s training wheels, or bring the model from his many years in Minnesota that got the Vikings to the playoffs a few different years with a few different quarterbacks, most recently with Kirk Cousins. The narrative is that Paton, the Vikings and company did make it to the postseason with a couple QBs – Cousins, Case Keenum, Christian Ponder, just to name a few. So coming to Denver on a six-year deal for Paton should be able to get the Broncos to the playoffs with anyone at QB right? In this case, Drew Lock and/or Teddy Bridgewater.

While John Elway may not be in the forefront of decision-making for the team anymore, he did make the decision to slap the first-year handcuffs on George Paton. Why has Elway done this, you may ask? Because Elway wants one last vision of the Broncos, with his draft picks (mainly Lock) and his coaching hires go out in a blaze of a sub .500 season.

We can assume that Paton had a vision of bringing in his own people, players, etc. to kick off his first year as a GM. But maybe a caveat placed in George’s contract by John Elway stipulating that Paton has to sit back and watch a 50/50 battle between Lock and Bridgewater and a head coach that can’t use a timeout right (or at all) with his arms crossed up in a suite just like Elway did when Tim Tebow made a good play. Maybe Paton doesn’t mind Teddy Bridgewater because of their time together up north.

But this can’t be what he envisioned when he interviewed for the job. Also keep in mind, this is all based on the potential of Aaron Rodgers not being traded or obtained by the Broncos.

Let’s go back to the draft. Was the Pat Surtain pick an Elway pick or a Paton pick? Well, maybe both.

Again, Elway had to either ask Paton or put in his contract to not scrap everything that Elway, for lack of a better term, built up to this point. Maybe Paton wanted a quarterback, i.e. Justin Fields and/or Mac Jones, and Elway wanted to see Lock get one more year trying to be the next, well, John Elway. Meaning the Denver Broncos quarterback for the next 10, 12-plus years.

The Broncos have been searching and searching for the next Elway, even Elway himself in the GM position has been searching for the next himself, the next Peyton Manning, shoot maybe even the next Jake Plummer. He tried the Keenum and Flacco experiment, which we all now failed miserably, especially when he said “Case Kessum.” It was all downhill from there.

It might be safe to say that we all want Drew Lock to be the next John Elway, whether that’s skill wise or more importantly longevity-wise. It’ll only be a bonus for Paton if Lock has a breakout season, because he is still “house money” for the time being, but you have more confidence and a better vision heading into next season.

While a sub .500 season could and should be the end of Vic Fangio’s run as Denver’s head coach too, next offseason could see the end of a lot of people’s jobs. Then, and maybe then, Paton will be given the keys, not only to the franchise, but to take off Elway’s handcuffs. While there may be no evidence to support the pick of a cornerback over a quarterback as a compromise, Paton is going to say all the right things to support the present QB battle, and the pick of Surtain, who has the possibility to turn into a great player in this league.

Hopefully Broncos Country will be able to watch a George Paton-run team without the obvious fingerprints of John Elway. Now giving credit where credit is due, Elway, minus a few drafts, was a terrific general manager. Especially leading up to the 2015 season. But time has ran its course.

The notion of bringing the “philosophy” that Paton saw firsthand in Minnesota to the Broncos is not going to work here, particularly with the two QBs that are battling it out. But Broncos fans, the franchise itself and George Paton deserve to see and start with a new, fresh approach. Whether the Broncos are a playoff team, or finishing where they have the last six seasons, with any luck we get to see where George Paton will take this franchise without handcuffs.