Which Vikings players will George Paton recruit to the Broncos?
By Adam Patrick
Will the former Minnesota Vikings assistant GM bring any players along with him?
On Wednesday, George Paton made the decision to step down from his position as the Minnesota Vikings assistant general manager to accept an offer from the Denver Broncos to become their new general manager.
After 14 years with Minnesota, Paton will get his first opportunity to be the top guy in charge of building an NFL roster.
Paton might not be the only member of the Vikings organization heading to Denver though. The Broncos’ new general manager might want to bring a few Minnesota players and front office members to join him with his new team in the AFC West.
Will Minnesota Vikings players follow George Paton to the Denver Broncos?
Since he is familiar with the Vikings’ current roster and their 2021 free agents, it wouldn’t be surprising at all if Paton was able to convince some of these guys to come to Denver.
Anthony Harris and Eric Wilson are easily the two best players from Minnesota’s 2020 roster that will be hitting free agency this offseason. Depending on how he feels about the Broncos’ current safety and linebacker situations, Paton could potentially look to add one or both of these Vikings free agents this year.
The former Minnesota assistant general manager might also look into some possible trades with his old team this offseason.
Kirk Cousins is a name that could be mentioned as a possible trade target for Denver, but the likelihood of the Vikings trading their starting quarterback this year still seems very low. Plus, Paton’s bosses in Denver might want him to give Drew Lock at least one more season as the team’s starting signal-caller.
There are a few other current Minnesota players that Paton could look to bring to the Broncos this year. But someone to pay close attention to is Vikings left tackle Riley Reiff.
Denver appears to be set with Garett Bolles at left tackle. But maybe Paton will want to add Reiff and have him take over as the team’s starting right tackle?
Paton might want to possibly bring in some former Vikings players as well like Everson Griffen, Xavier Rhodes, or Mackensie Alexander. Minnesota was able to develop a ton of talent during Paton’s tenure with the team, so it wouldn’t be surprising at all if he brought some familiar faces along with him on his new journey.