https://player.anyclip.com/anyclip-widget/lre-widget/prod/v1/src/lre.js
Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton discussed the team’s needs during an interview with Kay Adams on the Up & Adams Show at the Super Bowl in New Orleans last week.
Payton said the team has three categories during the offseason: musts, needs and wants. The coach then asked Adams for her opinion of the team’s “musts,” and she answered with a veteran wide receiver. Payton countered with, “I’d say we need a Joker.”
When Adams said they need a “Reggie Bush,” Payton noted that “a Joker now can be a tight end or a running back that has exceptional [receiving skills].”
Payton has had plenty of examples of “Joker” running backs in his coaching career, with Alvin Kamara being the most recent, but the fact that he first mentioned the tight end position might be an indication that he views TE as one of the team’s biggest needs.
“They have to be elite receivers,” Payton said of the Joker position in his offense.
Payton later said wide receiver is a need, but he noted that he thinks the position is stronger than some might think, pointing to Devaughn Vele and Troy Franklin as key second-year players.
The coach then turned his attention to the defense.
“We’ll look closely through the middle — inside linebacker, safety. There will be a few other positions.” Although he did not specifically mention the position, an interior defensive lineman would also fit a “through the middle” overhaul in 2025.
Payton said the Broncos have to look at who’s available in free agency and who’s available to in the draft to help the team figure out the puzzle of building the 2025 roster. GM George Paton has said the team has around $52 million in salary cap space, and Denver also holds seven draft picks.
The segment on the team’s needs begins around the 8:46 mark:
Judging from the comments Payton made to Adams, it seems safe to assume that TE, RB, LB, S, WR and DL will be positions addressed in 2025.