An additional week to the regular season combined with a 19-day coaching search that ended with the hiring of Nathaniel Hackett left Broncos general manager George Paton playing catch-up in his draft preparation.
“I’m a little behind so I’ll start attacking that big time,” he told The Denver Post soon after he was hired. “I know our scouts have been working their butts off.”
As Hackett undertook the process to make 19 hires to his staff, Paton caught up with his scouts. The organization began draft meetings Feb. 14, the day after the Super Bowl.
The NFL offseason kicks into high gear this week when every team travels to Indianapolis for the Scouting Combine, which returns after being canceled last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.