ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — While the possibility of a better tomorrow is why the NFL Draft drew more than 11 million viewers on the first day and averaged 6 million for all three days, the event itself can be a tedious exercise.
The pick is in. And then wait. How long to our next pick? Wait some more.
So be it. Broncos’ owner and chief executive officer Greg Penner was in his team’s war room from the first pick of the draft, Carolina’s Bryce Young, to Mr. Irrelevant, the Los Angeles Rams’ Desjuan Johnson.
Keep in mind the Broncos didn’t have a first or second-round pick entering the draft, which meant there was essentially no reason to be there Thursday night. Yet Penner and his wife, Broncos’ co-owner Carrie Walton Penner, observed and absorbed all 31 first-round picks made by the other teams.
It just goes to show: No matter where you are in life, regardless of one’s status, there’s only one way to learn: Put in the time and work.
“They’ve been there for both days,’’ Broncos general manager George Paton said Friday night after his team took receiver Marvin Mims with the final pick in the second round and linebacker Drew Sanders and cornerback Riley Moss in the third round. “(Thursday) wasn’t much fun. It’s always great to watch the draft but, when you’re not picking … I didn’t get one call yesterday. That was pretty lonely, but the owners were there. Greg and Carrie were with us the entire way. They were very supportive with the trades. They were on board.’’
Day 3 of the draft Saturday is usually reserved for football nerds who don’t have much of a life. Greg Penner has all the life he needs as a husband, father of four, chairman of Walmart, CEO of his own financial company and weekend golfer. Yet he was there all day Saturday. He heard the punter from Wingate get drafted in the seventh round. He talked to each of the new Broncos – from Mims at the end of round two to injured safety JL Skinner in the middle of round 6 to center Alex Forsyth near the end of round 7 -- immediately after they were drafted.
“We met with them early in the week, and they kind of knew the plan,’’ Paton said of the Penners. “It’s hard to plan when your first pick is in the third round, but I felt like the plan went as we expected. I think it was really good for them to see their first draft and be a part of it.’’
Greg and Carrie Penner, and Carrie’s father Rob Walton, combined to put up 94 percent of the $4.65 billion purchase of the Broncos last August so this was their first NFL Draft as owners. By the time they bought the team, the Broncos’ first and second-round picks had already been traded away for quarterback Russell Wilson. Paton got a first-round pick back in a midseason trade involving Bradley Chubb, but it was Greg and Carrie Penner who authorized trading that No. 29 overall pick away in exchange for head coach Sean Payton.
Besides the educational experience in observing the draft in person last weekend, Greg Penner also wanted to witness the dynamics of everyone working together – Paton and Payton, the coaching staff, personnel staff and support staff -- in what can be a high-stress, pressure-packed environment. There is a time limit to making a draft pick and the Broncos had to rush to beat the clock to execute trades up the draft board to get Mims and Moss, and a move back to acquire veteran tight end Adam Trautman.
Afterwards, Greg and Carrie Penner accompanied the football personnel to their post-draft get-together at a local establishment. And rather than decompress the next day Sunday, Greg Penner hung out with Sean Payton at Ball Arena for Game 7 of the NHL first-round playoff series that the home-team Avalanche lost to Seattle.
And to think some people assumed the Walton-Penner group would take the corporate approach and become absentee owners for the Broncos. Hardly. They’ve been all in.
“It was funny. I think it was Wednesday,’’ George Paton said. “We met with them and kind of told them what to expect for the draft and they were like ‘OK. Well, what do we do? What do we do during the draft?’ I said, ‘We just kind of sit there.’ Long story short, it was outstanding. They were part of the collaboration. When we were trading and were discussing the players, Greg had great questions, and Carrie had great questions. Like free agency—ever since they’ve arrived—it’s been outstanding.”
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