Edgerrin Cooper

Denver sent premium draft compensation to New Orleans for the right to hire Sean Payton, choosing an accomplished Super Bowl-winning coach to stabilize the post-Wilson era. The Payton compensation deal was Denver’s attempt to stabilize the franchise after the Wilson collapse. Coach trades are difficult to grade because the return is leadership and infrastructure rather than player production, but Denver paid a real premium for a Super Bowl-winning coach with the authority to reset the program. The move belongs among the major post-Elway organizational decisions.