Broncos’ Sean Payton’s old Caleb Williams comments reemerge after 1-5 start

The Denver Broncos saw their record drop to 1-5 following Thursday’s 19-8 loss at the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs. After another defeat, some of head coach Sean Payton’s old comments regarding USC quarterback and projected No.1 draft pick Caleb Williams are making the rounds once again.

After Thursday’s contest, Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus posted an old video of Payton appearing on “The Herd” with Colin Cowherd from November 2022. Payton said at the time that Williams was a “generational player,” and one that teams would tank for. He’d go on to propose the idea that the NFL should adopt a lottery system with its annual draft similar to the NBA and NHL.

“At some point, we’re going to move to a lottery system in the NFL because this is a player that possibly does that,” Payton said in the interview. “Here you are in Week 14, 12, and clubs begin to lose to try and put themselves in that position. That’s not been a problem to date with our league as we know it.”

With the Broncos’ loss on Thursday, now only the Carolina Panthers have a worse record than the Broncos at 0-5. Through six games, Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson is completing 65.9% of his passes for 1,305 yards to go along with 12 touchdowns and four interceptions. While his touchdown numbers are way up in 2023, the team has still struggled offensively and is averaging just 21.5 points per game.

Williams has been labeled as a top prospect that could change the fortunes of a franchise. If Denver’s struggles continue and they earn the top pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, it’s possible that Payton might have to think long and hard about selecting Williams.