Mistake for Broncos to pay Sutton, Patrick without proper QB in place

George Paton has had to make some tough decisions in his short tenure as Denver Broncos general manager. He traded the franchise’s all-time best defensive player, chose not to draft a quarterback in the 2021 NFL Draft, kept last year’s coaching staff in place and recently decided to pay big money to two wide receivers — Tim Patrick and Courtland Sutton.

The Broncos have made this mistake before, paying two wide receivers big money without having a legitimate option at quarterback. Now, the deals for Patrick and Sutton deals aren’t as bad as those for Emmanuel Sanders and Demaryius Thomas, but the philosophical approach is still the same.

Why pay wide receivers big money if you don’t have your franchise quarterback in place? Even if Teddy Bridgewater is the starting quarterback in 2022, he is not the future of this team.

This is a big mistake by Paton. You never should pay multiple wide receivers top money, especially if you have a Bridgewater at quarterback. Remember, Sanders and Thomas still had a lot left, but with Trevor Siemian, Brock Osweiler, Case Keenum and Paxton Lynch throwing their way, Denver did not get the most out of their contracts. Bridgewater will make them regret extending Patrick and Sutton.

I like Patrick and Sutton a lot. Patrick is a do-everything wide receiver and Sutton is showing that he can be a real star in this league, even after an ACL tear. These guys are darn good players and make this offense better. However, to get the most out of a wide receiver’s contract, you need a quarterback who will consistently get them the ball and put them in the best situation to succeed.

Do the Broncos have that? Rhetorical question; they don’t.