When a Rob Walton-led ownership group purchased the Denver Broncos last summer, the NFL draft and the bulk of NFL free agency had already passed. The new owners took over in time for the start of the regular season, but they weren’t around for the offseason roster-building process.
Walton is the team’s controlling owner but his son-in-law, Greg Penner, is a co-owner and chief executive officer who oversees day-to-day ownership duties with his wife, Carrie Walton Penner.
The Penners experienced their first NFL draft this weekend, sitting in the team’s draft room with general manager George Paton and head coach Sean Payton.
“It was outstanding,” Paton said of Greg and Carrie Penner sitting in on the team’s draft room. “Greg and Carrie were with us the entire way. They were very supportive with the trades. They were on board. We met with them early in the week, and they kind of knew the plan. 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.
“It was funny — I think it was Wednesday — 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.”
Penner made it clear last summer that he’s self-aware of what he brings to the team — the CEO won’t interfere with the club’s personnel decisions. The ownership group will provide the resources for Paton and Payton to build a winning roster and train in world-class facilities, and they’ll let the football people handle the football decisions.
So far so good for the team’s new ownership group.
