Sean Payton goes to the Super Bowl and talks what Broncos need

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton is in New Orleans for Super Bowl week.

And while sometimes Payton can be a little tough to read when he talks with the local media, he generally gives the national media good information.

That was the case on Wednesday, when he spoke with Kay Adams from the “Up & Adams” show.

A variety of clips from the interview were posted on social media, but the most interesting one is in which Payton talks about the Broncos needs this offseason.

Here’s his full answer, with quotes and analysis to follow.

Broncos HC Sean Payton on his team NEEDS this offseason 🤔👇@heykayadams @SeanPayton @Broncos | #BroncosCountry pic.twitter.com/mZlmjyxLFP

— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) February 5, 2025

“Listen, we’re going to be a problem,” Payton begins.

Coming off a 10-7 season and a playoff berth, clearly the head coach is excited about where Denver is headed. Still, there are holes on the roster to address, and Adams asked him what he looks to “fall in love with” over the next couple of months.

“That’s a fair question, though, because we do the evaluation of our team and the purpose of that is then to establish what we call ‘musts, need and wants.’ I would say we need a joker. And a joker now can be a tight end or a running back,” Payton said.

Payton goes on to mention all the great “jokers” he had during his time with the Saints, including Reggie Bush, Jimmy Graham, Jeremy Shockey, Darren Sproles and Alvin Kamara.

“Those are interior, either tight ends or running backs, that they have to be elite receivers. That play tight end or running back. Then you get the matchups… and we had quite of few them here (in New Orleans),” Payton said.

Basically, Payton wants a dynamic player who can open up the middle of the field. That’s who fills the “joker” role and a type of weapon he wants to give Bo Nix. It sounds like tight end and running back will be the top two priorities either in the draft or free agency.

Wide receiver could be addressed as well, but Payton likes who the Broncos currently have on the team.

“I think a veteran wide receiver fits in a need. I would say we’re stronger than some would think. A Devaughn Vele, Troy Franklin, there’s a number of receivers that we drafted a year ago,” Payton said.

And finally, Payton tipped his hand on what Denver might be looking for on the defensive side of the ball.

“We’ll look closely through the middle. Inside linebacker, safety, there will be a few other positions,” Payton said.

It’s a lot of information from Sean Payton, something Adams is good at getting out of him. We now have a list of priorities for the Broncos this offseason, and it starts with tight end, running back, inside linebacker and safety.