Sean Payton was hired as the Denver Broncos head coach heading into the 2023 NFL season. He inherited a team in the middle of a seven-year playoff drought and a high-priced quarterback who wasn’t worth the contract.
After two years on the job, Payton has the quarterback he wants and made the playoffs as a Wild Card in 2024. Now he wants to find a “Joker” to add to his offense, and one NFL insider has four prospects who could fill that role.
Sean Payton Wants Versatile Weapon, Albert Breer Has 4 Guys Who Could Fit
Payton’s tenure in Denver got off to a rocky start as he was saddled with Russell Wilson and his massive five-year, $245 million contract. Payton and Wilson didn’t click from the jump, and the quarterback was released after the 2023 season.
In last year’s draft, the Broncos shocked the football world by selecting Bo Nix at No. 12 overall, and Payton quickly made the gamble pay off. Nix threw for 3,775 yards, 29 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions as a rookie. He added 430 yards and four touchdowns on the ground en route to finishing third in Offensive Rookie of the Year voting.
So, where do Payton and the Denver offense go from here? In a Super Bowl week interview on “Up & Adams,” Payton said, “I would say we need a joker. A joker can be a tight end or a running back…that have to be elite receivers.”
Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer recently broke down who has filled that role in the past and which prospects might get a first-round call from the Mile High City.
Breer wrote, “The Super Bowl always has an absolute mess of sponsored interviews with very little substance, but Sean Payton dropped a valuable little piece of information to Kay Adams during the week.
“And that was that he felt like the Denver Broncos needed to find a ‘joker’ for the offense—which, in short, means a queen on the chessboard that can be moved around to mess with the defense at will.”
He mentioned how Payton filled that role with the New Orleans Saints with Reggie Bush, Jeremy Shockey, Jimmy Graham, and, most recently, Alvin Kamara. Payton doesn’t want players who are locked into their position but rather guys who can be matchup nightmares by constantly moving around the formation.
Who does Breer think fits the versatile role?
“I think there are a handful of guys who, under Payton’s tutelage, could be that type of guy. The one that’s most obvious, to me at least, would be Michigan tight end Colston Loveland, who can play all over the formation, and grow into the focal point of an offense. Miami tight end Elijah Arroyo is another in that genre, big, long, athletic, and toeing the line between his listed position and just being a supersized wideout.
“Ohio State tailback TreVeyon Henderson would be in the Bush–Kamara category—a do-everything back who can turn a routine play into an explosive play on a dime. And Mizzou receiver Luther Burden III hasn’t fully tapped into his potential yet, and may have some growing up to do. But he’s explosive with the ball in his hands, and got it a lot of different ways in college.”
Denver’s offense did well with what it had in 2024, coming in at No. 16 in PFSN’s Offense+ metric, but the team needs to give Nix more weapons this offseason.
The four prospects mentioned by Breer can all fit the “Joker” role, and to some extent, PFSN’s Joe DeLeone agrees. In his latest mock draft, DeLeone has Loveland going to the Broncos at No. 20 overall.
DeLeone wrote, “Bo Nix showed so many positive signs in his rookie year that he can be a high-floor starter for the Broncos for a very long time. With their defense being the backbone of their success, it’s time to add weapons for Nix.
“Colston Loveland is a very dynamic tight end prospect with the long speed to separate over the top and the change of direction to frustrate linebackers over the middle.”
There’s a clear vision for what Payton wants to add this offseason, and Broncos fans should hope he gets his wish.
