Analyst Marvels at 'Monster Moves' Sean Payton's Broncos Have Made
If you believe NFL Network’s James Palmer, then you likely have faith that things will be different this time around as the Denver Broncos spent big in the trenches. In a recent Good Morning Football segment, Palmer listed the Broncos’ early moves as some of his favorite additions by any team in free agency this offseason.
According to Palmer, Sean Payton’s turnaround of the New Orleans Saints offensive line should give hope to Broncos Country.
“In 2005, Sean Payton comes to New Orleans and inherits one of the worst offensive lines in all of football. In 2006, just one year later, he transformed that group. It was a completely different alignment in front of Drew Brees.”
In Payton’s career as a head coach, he has always emphasized strength along the offensive line and invested heavily in the big men up front. That trend continued in Denver this offseason.
Just one year after becoming the head coach in New Orleans, the Saints’ offensive line propelled itself to giving up the fourth-fewest sacks in the league in 2006. Palmer gives partial credit to Brees, who was famously quick in making reads and getting rid of the football to playmakers in space, but Payton also deserves credit for his team-building vision.
As Palmer states, building a formidable offensive line and adding talent up front is “something Sean Payton is very, very good at. They go get Mike McGlinchey. They go get Ben Powers. Two monster moves on the offensive line.”
It wasn’t just the additions to the offensive line of scrimmage that Palmer praised, but also the defensive front. At just 25 years old, Zach Allen should help the Broncos’ defense mitigate the loss of Dre’Mont Jones’ departure. Palmer said adding Allen was “a move that had dated back to the (Broncos’) interview with defensive coordinator Vance Joseph saying ‘I think I can bring this guy with me’ maybe as part of his sales pitch (in becoming Denver’s new defensive coordinator).”
Allen is not a one-for-one for Jones, but he does add an inside-outside pass rush ability to play heavy edge, but he can also be an interior pass rusher in sub-packages, which Denver didn't have. If the Broncos’ defensive front plans to be one that blitzes and pressures the quarterback like last season under Ejiro Evero, a team that blitzed the fourth-highest rate of any team in the NFL, then adding a versatile talent up front like Allen was a necessity.
There are no guarantees the Broncos' free-agent signings will work out. Things happen, and typically, the truly elite, game-changing talents are not allowed to even hit free agency at all.
However, given the avenues available to the Broncos this offseason, with flexibility in cap space, ownership money, and limited draft capital, it’s hard to fault the team for spending big. As Palmer said to drive home his point: “I love what the Broncos did.”
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