3 Denver Broncos on the hot seat entering Week 18 of 2023 season

3. George Paton, General Manager

When Russell Wilson got benched, that could have spelled the end of the tenure for General Manager George Paton in Denver. And frankly, there isn't a lot of good that has come from Paton's tenure. The hire back in 2021 was praised league-wide, but his non-NFL Draft decisions have really put a skid mark on his tenure.

Firing Vic Fangio was a mistake, it seems. Hiring Nathaniel Hackett was a colossal mistake. Trading for Russell Wilson was a bad idea, and his free agencies were just downright awful including swinging and missing on guys like Randy Gregory, DJ Jones, and K'Waun Williams. Paton just does not have a ton going for him outside of drafting Patrick Surtain II and... maybe Nik Bonitto?

George Paton is a strong evaluator of talent, and might be better suited to have some sort of head college scouting role. And considering that head coach Sean Payton has the final roster authority, I don't think Paton is going to want to continue serving in his current GM role if he does not have final say.

Could there be a scenario where Paton's job is tweaked a bit and he remains in Denver? Sure, but I also think it's a very real possibility that Paton gets fired at year's end.