As the 2025 NFL season approaches, Sean Payton and the Denver Broncos are at a crossroads. Despite a talented roster, the team could use a few key upgrades to strengthen its position. During the offseason, teams can carry up to 90 players, but the challenge of cutting down to 53 remains.
From a management standpoint, General Manager George Paton is rebuilding his inner circle after losing several top personnel assistants to other teams. The upside: Paton has already identified replacements, including talent from the New England Patriots. He’s racing to ensure the Broncos are prepared off the field as well as on it.
On Tuesday, Mike Klis of 9NEWS posted on X: “Broncos hire former Patriots exec as co-director of Player Personnel.” While not yet officially announced, Klis reports that “Williams will team up with the Broncos’ director of player personnel, Reed Burckhardt, under the guidance of General Manager George Paton.” That’s a big update.
Broncos hire former Patriots exec as co-director of Player Personnel | https://t.co/hx2N6FCV6F https://t.co/naf0mkOVju
— MikeKlis9NEWS (@mikeklis9news) May 13, 2025
Williams heads to the Mile High City after nearly a decade with the New England Patriots. He started as a scouting assistant in 2016 and they promoted him to director of college scouting in 2022. According to Klis, his contract expired after last month’s NFL Draft, and he now joins the Broncos in a more prominent role.
He’s one of several new faces in a Broncos front office that underwent major turnover this offseason. Assistant GM Darren Mougey left to become the Jets‘ GM, VP of football operations/compliance Mark Thewes joined the Raiders as senior VP, national scout Rob Paton also went to the Jets, and senior personnel executive David Shaw is now with the Lions. It feels like a Game of Thrones episode—power shifting, allegiances changing.
Reed Burckhardt remains director of player personnel and a key aide to GM George Paton. As the front office reshapes, new titles and roles have emerged—like in The Office when job titles keep changing just to make things look different. The offseason focus is on building on last season’s success, including the discovery of rookie quarterback Bo Nix and ending the team’s nine-year playoff drought.
Williams fills one of the many openings in this evolving structure. According to his LinkedIn profile, he graduated from Ohio State in 2015 with a degree in strategic communications. He worked his way up through scouting roles before taking over college scouting duties. With his contract ending and the Patriots entering a new era under Mike Vrabel, Williams opted for what appears to be a bigger opportunity in Denver—a Smallville-to-Metropolis kind of move. The Broncos’ front office is changing fast, and Sean Payton is matching that energy on the field.
Sean Payton’s bold move: 13 UDFAs join the Broncos!
The Broncos are dealing with a tricky roster situation, but they’re finding creative ways to manage it. They gave Xavier Truss $150K in guaranteed money, according to Mike Klis of 9NEWS. Usually, during Georgia’s recent run of dominance, landing multi-year starters meant using draft picks. But the Broncos signed Truss, who was a second-team All-SEC guard in 2023 and a three-year starter at Georgia, as an undrafted free agent after he earned a Combine invite.
Both guards the team signed were ranked among ESPN’s top undrafted prospects. Truss came in at 224th, and Webb slightly higher at 220th. Webb earned first-team All-Conference USA honors in 2024 and second-team honors in 2023—not bad for an undrafted player. While the Broncos have their starting guards set with Ben Powers and Quinn Meinerz, the backup spots are still up for grabs. Truss will compete with Webb, Calvin Throckmorton, 2024 draft pick Nick Gargiulo, and others for a spot on the depth chart.
JB Brown received $160K in guaranteed money to sign, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2. The All-Big 12 honorable mention joins a Broncos linebacker group facing some uncertainty. Starters Dre Greenlaw and Alex Singleton are both coming off injuries. Behind them are Justin Strnad and Drew Sanders, though Sanders has bounced between outside and inside linebacker. For now, he’s sticking with ILB during offseason workouts. Brown and Reid will compete for a roster spot—or at least a place on the 16-man practice squad.
Then there’s Johnny Walker Jr., one of two Missouri players joining Denver, where former Tigers Tyler Badie and Kris Abrams-Draine are already on the roster. Walker also received a guarantee in the $160K range, according to Chris Tomasson of the Denver Gazette. He had a strong final season in the SEC, earning second-team all-conference honors with 9.5 sacks and three forced fumbles. The Broncos drafted Alabama’s Que Robinson to compete alongside Jonah Elliss and starters Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper. But they’ve also seen success with undrafted players like Dondrea Tillman, who posted five sacks as a rookie. Walker will be fighting for a backup role along with Tillman and others.
Lastly, there’s Newton, who holds Toledo’s all-time record for touchdown receptions with 32. Over six seasons with the Rockets, he racked up 1,048 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2024. He topped 800 receiving yards in each of his final three seasons and earned All-MAC honors every year. These signings look promising, but whether they’ll help turn things around for Sean Payton and the Broncos remains to be seen. We’ll have to wait and see.
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