George Paton got to take a breath after last month’s NFL draft, but he still had plenty of work to do to rebuild his front office.
The Broncos’ general manager finalized the promotion of Reed Burckhardt to assistant general manager and a sweeping set of additions and promotions to his scouting department on Friday after it was raided by several teams earlier this offseason.
Burckhardt, who has 16 years of work history with Paton, did not get away and instead jumps from director of player personnel to second in command. There, he assumes the job previously held by Darren Mougey. Mougey was named the New York Jets’ general manager in January.
The pair worked together for 12 years in Minnesota before Paton was hired as the Broncos’ general manager in 2021. Burckhardt stayed with the Vikings for that season before Paton hired him in Denver in 2022 as his director of player personnel.
He is one of several members of Paton’s scouting department to get a new title, all of which the Broncos announced Friday.
Paton, meanwhile, is also bringing a familiar face back to the organization in Jordan Dizon, who is returning to be Denver’s director of pro personnel. Dizon, a former University of Colorado linebacker, spent 2015-22 working his way up through the Broncos’ front office before eventually taking a job in Philadelphia. He spent the past three seasons there and is now returning to Paton’s front office.
Dizon is one of two external additions, joining Cam Williams, the longtime New England Patriots scout who on Tuesday was hired as Denver’s co-director of player personnel. That’s a title he will share with A.J. Durso, who had been the team’s director of pro personnel for the past nine seasons.
Now he’s got a new role going into his 13th season overall with the Broncos.
Several other scouts got promotions: Bryan Chesin moves from national scout to director of college scouting — he’s replacing Brian Stark, who left earlier this month to be the assistant general manager in Las Vegas. Nick Schiralli, meanwhile, is now a senior personnel executive after spending the past four years as the team’s assistant director of college scouting.
Schrialli’s old post is being taken by longtime West area scout Dave Bratton, who is entering his 27th season with the Broncos. Scott DiStefano, meanwhile, has more than earned his new title of senior college scout. He’s been with the Broncos for 45 seasons, beginning his career with the club in 1982.
The rest of Denver’s promotions and title changes look like this:
Ish Seisay: Midwest area/international scout
Deon Randall: national scout
Roya Burton: player personnel coordinator/scout
Mougey landing the Jets’ general manager job started this whole set of dominoes. He took Robbie Paton, George’s nephew, with him to New York as co-director of player personnel. Vice president of football operations Mark Thewes joined new Raiders general manager John Spytek, himself a former Broncos scout, in a similar role, and later Stark decamped for the desert, too. Senior personnel executive David Shaw, meanwhile, went back to coaching as the passing game coordinator in Detroit.
All of those departures except for Stark came before the draft, meaning Paton was left to shuffle the chairs and adjust on the fly to ensure the Broncos were prepared.
“From Reed to (VP of player personnel) Cody Rager, Brian Stark,” Paton told The Post back in March of those who took on extra responsibility. “(Stark’s) had to take the brunt of it, the college scouting director, because the draft has obviously been the focus. He’s had to organize it, and he’s been great. All the scouts, really, have stepped up.
“Bryan Chesin, Nick Schiralli, (Western national scout) Sae Woon Jo. Just the communication’s been different. Now they’re pretty much just talking to me. ‘Moug’ was kind of a buffer — I mean, I talked to them all the time, but it’s just different.”
Rager and special assistant to the general manager/executive director of football operations Kelly Kleine are among the top front office members who retained the same titles through the wave of changes.
The Broncos also have not hired a replacement for Thewes, an indication they may try to absorb that position across other members of the department.
All of the pillaging shows just how fast fortunes can change in the NFL. When head coach Sean Payton was hired in early 2023, Paton’s future in Denver looked cloudy given the failure of former head coach Nathaniel Hackett and the fallout from trading for and then extending quarterback Russell Wilson.
Two years later, not only have Paton and Payton become a stable, effective duo at the top of Denver’s football organization, but they have also each seen their staffs raided by other teams.
“That’s great. That’s what it’s all about,” Paton told The Post earlier this spring. “If we can’t promote somebody from within and they can get a better opportunity somewhere else, that’s what it’s all about.
“Create a really good culture and keep developing your young talent, whether it’s players or your staff. That’s what we do.”
Originally Published: May 16, 2025 at 10:55 AM MDT
