ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (KDVR) — A new-look Denver Broncos team checked into the team’s facility at Dove Valley, but unlike years past, there’s energy this group is hoping to harness ahead of the first day of training camp.
“It’s good to be back,” said General Manager George Paton during the team’s media day BBQ. “We’re refreshed, we’re energized. There is a lot of buzz in the building, a lot of optimism, it’s just great to be around. We feel really good where we are as a football team.”
This is now Paton’s second year steering the ship, and so far he’s built a strong team through draft picks like Patrick Surtain II and Javonte Williams while also pulling off the largest offseason move in the NFL by bringing in Russell Wilson in a blockbuster trade with the Seattle Seahawks.
Wilson will face his former team on Sunday Night Football during the first week of the season.
Paton believes the team has a good blend of veteran leadership and young talent. “They want to win,” he said. “They’re obsessed with the process of winning.”
Part of the new energy in the building stems from newly-minted head coach Nathaniel Hackett. The former offensive coordinator for the Green Bay Packers will be tested as a rookie head coach, implementing his own offensive philosophy and building it around a game-changing quarterback like Wilson.
“How we teach is where we really start,” Hackett said. “You want guys to come into those meeting rooms and be excited. The goal is to try to get them in there to learn ball and get better.”
Hackett said there will be “a lot of different stuff” out on the field and the offense will be what is best for the team, focusing on “what Russell does well, it’s about what Tim Patrick, what Courtland, what Albert what all these guys do, what the offensive line does well.”
Training camp kicks off Wednesday. The Broncos will face off against the Dallas Cowboys for the first preseason game of the year on Aug. 13.