General manager George Paton just finished up his second offseason with the Denver Broncos. Some of the moves he has made in the past two seasons have undeniably made the Broncos better. Let's take a deeper look at some of the decisions he made during the 2022 offseason.

Grading the Broncos' 2022 offseason

NFL Draft

After giving up a sizeable amount of draft picks in a trade package to acquire Russell Wilson, the Broncos found themselves without a first-round pick during the 2022 NFL Draft. Paton and company were understandably antsy just watching during the first round. As hard as it was to not select anyone in the first round, the Broncos technically earned themselves a franchise QB with their first-round picks.

The second round finally rolled around and Paton selected outside linebacker Nik Bonitto out of Oklahoma with the 64th overall pick. After the departure of star pass rusher Von Miller, the team found itself abruptly lighter at the pass rusher position.

The team would end up selecting players from other positional needs, like tight end, punt/kick returners, defensive linemen, cornerbacks, and more.

PFF gave the Broncos an overall draft grade of B+. Paton had himself a solid 2022 draft. In comparison to his first draft with the team in 2021, which was nearly perfect, the 2022 draft doesn't seem nearly up to par for the Broncos. However, it should be mentioned that the 2021 draft was deemed nearly perfect after all the selections completed their rookie year. It may take a season, or even a few, to gauge how good the 2022 selections are.

Free agency/trades

The biggest and potentially the best move this offseason happened when the Broncos acquired superstar quarterback Russell Wilson. In order to acquire Wilson, the Broncos gave up a king's ransom that included multiple early-round picks and players. Should Wilson succeed in Denver and win a Super Bowl or two, the trade could go down in Broncos history as one of the best and most impactful.

Shelby Harris, a stout member of the Broncos' defensive line, was included in the package to acquire Wilson. To address the loss at this position, the team signed D.J. Jones to a three-year, $30 million contract.

To also address the departure of Von Miller, the Broncos signed pass rusher Randy Gregory to a five-year, $70 million dollar contract. While the Broncos needed a pass rusher, the size of the contract has been questioned by some analysts considering Gregory's history of injuries and suspensions.

Paton and company continued to address positional needs with the signings of cornerback K'Waun Williams, offensive lineman Billy Turner, and more.

Other key offseason moves

Near the beginning of the Broncos' offseason, the team fired head coach Vic Fangio after he posted a 19-30 record in his three seasons in Denver. While the team's defense had been consistently performing well, the offense was consistently struggling. The team regularly dwelled in the basement of the AFC West, and a change needed to be made.

In January 2022, the Broncos hired Nathaniel Hackett as the new head coach. Hackett, an offensive-minded coach, was hired away from the Green Bay Packers where he was the offensive coordinator. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers, alongside Hackett, helped make the Packers' offense the highest scoring in 2020. During this time, Rodgers also earned back-to-back league MVPs.

The hope is that Hackett will help the Broncos' offense get back to being high-powered, something the team hasn't seen since the Peyton Manning Broncos era.

Overall offseason grade: A-

During the offseason, the Broncos made a series of moves that undeniably made the Broncos a better team. They will finally be competitive in the AFC West, potentially have an offense that can score more than 30 points, and will ideally end the season with a winning record.