Why Sean Payton Is Exactly What Russell Wilson and the Denver Broncos Need
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Denver, Colorado (PSF) - After many months of rumors and speculation, former New Orleans Saints Head Coach Sean Payton finally has a new home, Denver Colorado. On Wednesday afternoon, the Denver Broncos traded its 2023 first-round pick from San Fransisco (No. 30 overall) and a 2024 second-round pick to New Orleans for Payton and its 2024 third-round pick.
This is only the eighth time in NFL history that a Head Coach has been traded, the last trade happening in 2019 involving Bruce Arians who was traded from the Arizona Cardinals to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. We all know how that result turned out, as Payton looks to keep the trend going of winning a Super Bowl with the organization you were traded to.
This move is so exciting on so many fronts. Not only is it great for Payton who now gets to coach in the NFL again after taking a year off from the game where he spent the last season being an analyst for FOX, but also the league as now we get to see one of the best offensive minds of the last decade call offensive plays from the sideline again.
Payton will be calling plays for 12 year veteran Russell Wilson and the rest of the Broncos offense. When Wilson was originally traded from Seattle to Denver last offseason, it looked like a great trade for Denver. At the time, Denver was a quarterback away and there was no better option on the market. Looking back on it after only one season, the Russell Wilson experiment has been a massive disappointment for Denver, while for Seattle the trade looks like one of the best in NFL history.
AP Photo/Jack Dempsey
Like Wilson, Hackett went to Denver last offseason to become the 18th Head Coach in franchise history after previously serving as the Packers’ offensive coordinator for the last three seasons. In Green Bay, he helped Aaron Rodgers win back-to-back MVP awards. Broncos’ fans thought Hackett could do the same for Wilson, who is now on the wrong side of 30. Little did they know that the Hackett hiring would blow up in their faces after only one season, lead to many believing that Wilson may very well be past his prime, and many crowning Hackett as one of the worst Head Coaching hires in NFL history.
Needless to say, this is where Sean Payton comes in. A proven, Super Bowl winning Head Coach who knows how to get the best out of his limited quarterbacks and offenses. In this point of his career, it is very fair to say that Wilson is very much like Payton’s former quarterback, Drew Bress. Both are undersized, Wilson cannot scramble as much as he once did with Seattle which has forced him into being more of a pocket passer only, and Wilson’s arm is only getting weaker as the years and seasons pile up. Going from Brees to Wilson should be an easy and seamless transition for Payton, where he will soon find out that he is pretty much working with a younger version of his old signal caller.
The biggest thing that the Broncos need right now is stability. Over his 15-year tenure in New Orleans, Payton delivered a Super Bowl title, six division championships, eight postseason wins, the franchise’s top win total and winning percentage, and eight seasons with 10 or more wins.
Another benefit to the Broncos’ hiring Payton is what he will be inheriting on the offensive side of the ball, the side of the ball that he specializes in. Not only Wilson, who looks to shake off the worst season of his professional career thus far, but in the backfield Payton will have third-year running back Javonte Williams. Williams plays a lot like Payton’s former star running back Alvin Kamara, who Payton will look to replicate his success with now having Williams on his roster. Payton also now gets to inherit wide receivers Cortland Sutton, Jerry Jeudy, and KJ Hamler who very well could be the best receiving trio in the league next season. At tight end, Greg Dulcich is coming off of a very promising rookie campaign.
Some might question and debate whether it was right to trade a first and second round pick for the rights of Payton, and understandably so. A first and second round pick are very valuable assets to any NFL franchise. However, having one of the best head coaches in the league is only an advantage that few teams in the league have every week. Now having Payton gives the Broncos a chance to win every week and one of the best offensive minded head coaches in the league.
Maybe this season Russell Wilson can proudly and confidently say, “Broncos country, let’s ride,” along with his new Head Coach, as Wilson and Payton look to bring a fourth Super Bowl to Denver.
