ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — One year later, there is a decided ease in Sean Payton’s shoulders as he sits back and mentally rolls his way through the Denver Broncos’ roster.
Sitting on a bench Thursday, you could almost feel that the stress of his re-entry into the NFL’s coaching ranks had finally receded. The sparks and heat from many of the thoughts he conveyed in the initial months of his Broncos tenure had faded. The dangling questions about how he’d forge a relationship with the front office or quarterback Russell Wilson are now long answered. And left in the wake of all of it, a more relaxed Payton finds himself at the helm of a more settled camp.
The feeling, maybe even the aura surrounding him, for now, is tangibly good and unquestionably less messy. Most likely because the football runway in front of him is no longer riddled with potholes tied to the previous head coach, the previous quarterback or the tremendous sense of dread permeating the Broncos’ fan base coming out of the 2022 season. Instead, the future is now a winding path through what can be rather than what the hell just happened?.
“It’s different,” Payton said with a smile. “This is a different team than a year ago.”
He looked out at the team’s practice field, where rookie quarterback Bo Nix was finally making his way after putting in an extra 30 minutes of post-practice work with a handful of veterans.
“We’re a much younger team,” Payton said. “And it’s not by accident.”
You never want to get too wrapped up in moments like these, because training camp always carries a discernible siren song of possibility for every franchise. There’s the promise offered by rookie classes and young players taking next steps. A roster’s health is typically at the highest point of the season’s calendar. And the loss column of the entire league is uniquely unblemished, aside from the occasional contract holdout or unexpected PED suspension.
It’s a time when everyone usually feels pretty good. So to put too much stock in where Payton is at right now is treading into deep waters, especially when the undertow of a season is just over a month away and entire seasons can be sucked into an abyss of futility by the end of October. Payton knows that well, considering he dealt with it in 2023, which saw the Broncos capsize with a 1-5 start and then recover respectably — but too late for a playoff berth — with a 7-4 finish.
What makes 2024 a little different is the simplest thing: One year ago, Payton didn’t have the team he wanted. Now? Well, he definitely has quite a few players he wants, and he’s that much closer to getting the roster and culture to a place where big strides can begin to take place. Maybe in 2025 … maybe over the course of this season … maybe even between now and the first week of the season in September.
A prime illustration of that is with Nix, who doesn’t have the starting quarterback job locked down, but certainly seems to be trending in the direction of that outcome by the first week of the regular season. Payton won’t say that right now, but Payton’s excitement to be teaching Nix everyday leaves little room for doubt: This is his quarterback, and getting him into the fold was a foundational moment of making this Payton’s Broncos team. Stretching all the way back to Nix’s private workout with the Broncos on March 13, which concluded with Payton turning to his general manager, George Paton, and declaring “This is the guy.”
When Payton recalls that moment now, he litters it with a string of bullet points about Nix that could block off a healthy portion of your day if he’s not interrupted.
“First in the quarterback class on third down,” Payton said. “First in the class on negative play differential. Zero fumbles in two years. Really good off-schedule ability. End of half, two minute — first in the class. End of game critical, first in the class. Accuracy, the most accurate in the history of college football.”
Finally, Payton underscored it: “There’s just a calmness to his game.”
With all due respect to Jarrett Stidham — who Payton also has an affinity for as a veteran who will illustrate to Nix how to be a pro — Payton’s glow when he talks about Nix is more than enough of a barometer on where this is all going. Not that it’s really needed. Nix was taken with the 12th overall pick in the draft to be the franchise’s long-term compass. And there’s no doubt he’s Payton’s guy, with any success or failure going squarely onto the head coach’s quarterback résumé.
Not to mention the amplified youth on the team, which will have areas all over the roster competing to square out a depth chart — from wide receiver to running back to defensive secondary. And that’s just the start, as Payton and Paton are just in the opening phases of remodeling the entire roster with young talent.
As Payton put it, “Young and hungry is a dangerous thing in the league.”
That attitude hasn’t been lost on the veterans, either. Cornerback Pat Surtain II — who is now the best player and most decorated leader on the roster — said the change in the building has been palpable from one year to the next.
“I can feel the energy, the camaraderie, all of us really together as one,” Surtain said. “We’re kind of building this team from the ground up in some ways and everybody is just coming along together. We’re a young team that’s hungry and eager to fulfill our goal and our destiny.”
The head coach is happily part of that, too, as he has settled back into a familiar space as a teacher, culture builder and demanding presence. So much so, he is repeating his favorite anecdotes when it comes to pushing players. One that Payton has repeated a few times this season pointed to the weight loss of running back Javonte Williams, who trimmed from 232 pounds to 221 this offseason. But it’s a moment that preceded the weight loss that has become one of Payton’s favorite stories when outsiders visit.
As it goes, Payton was watching some old college tape of the North Carolina offense when he came across Williams, who was showcasing the speed, burst and power that ultimately made him a Broncos draft pick in 2021. At one point, Payton stopped the tape and called Williams into the room, showing him some of the footage.
“How much did you weigh here,” Payton asked. “That’s the back I want.”
Six weeks later, Williams had gotten back to that college weight of 221. And Payton officially had a story to tell when he showed up to camp looking and practicing better than ever.
This is the kind of stuff that tops off Payton’s coaching batteries. Having his chosen quarterback. Filling the roster with youth and competition. Seeing players respond to his personal challenge to be better. It’s how a calmness has settled into the Broncos, and someone else’s team eventually became Payton’s — young, hungry and dangerous.
Coaches can feel that way, too. And if you doubt it, just get Sean Payton to take a seat and run you through his roster.
