Serious question, NFLPA: Did Russell Wilson get to vote in the Broncos’ annual player survey before he left town?
That’s one of the few logical explanations the smart alecks in the Grading The Week offices can come up with for how coach Sean Payton went from getting an A-minus from anonymous players during his 8-9 debut campaign of 2023… to landing a B grade for ’24-25 — a 10-7 season that culminated with the franchise’s first playoff berth since 2015.
Or maybe “Club Dub” wasn’t as much fun as everybody said it was.
Broncos’ NFLPA report card — C
The NFLPA released the results of its player vote during combine week, and the Broncos’ feelings as a whole weren’t that far removed from where things were in 2023-’24. The Walton-Penner Group, who’ve made multiple upgrades, received an A from players again. High marks also went to “team travel” (another A) and “nutritionist/dietician” (A-minus), while the lowest grade went to the locker room, which scored an F. The season prior, team travel registered a B-minus; nutritionist/dietician got a B-plus, and the locker room, which will eventually be replaced as part of a new training facility in the summer of 2026, got a D.
That said, Payton dropping a letter grade during a season that was Denver’s best since the Gary Kubiak Era had the GTW crew scratching our heads. Especially given how a young locker room that saw so many veterans jettisoned seemed to rally around each other and rookie QB Bo Nix as the wins stacked up.
The NFLPA’s breakdowns by individual criteria weren’t super detailed. But when it came to Payton, the union only published this:
• 80% felt the coach was “efficient with their time,” which ranked 27th out of 32 coaches.
• Payton is “moderately receptive to locker room feedback on the team’s needs,” the survey said, which ranked 29th out of 32 franchises.
Which sort of leaves your imagination to fill in the blanks. It’s no secret that Payton’s personality isn’t for everybody, and even longtime friends jokingly describe the differences between “Game Day Sean” and “Everyday Sean” as being something of a Jekyll-and-Hyde situation. Also, Payton’s 61, and a proud graduate of The Bill Parcells School of Tact — which is to say he sometimes lacks it.
On one hand, only four rosters gave their head coaches a lower grade than Payton’s B. And all but one of those changed said coaches. Saints players gave the combo of Dennis Allen (2-7) and Darren Rizzi (3-5), now the Broncos’ special teams coordinator, a B-minus. The Browns gave Kevin Stefanski — who wasn’t canned despite a 3-14 record — a C. The Jaguars gave Doug Pederson (4-13) a C. And the Bears gave the duo of Matt Eberflus (4-8) and Thomas Brown (1-4) the same.
On the other hand, Payton’s B grade matched that of Baltimore’s John Harbaugh and Buffalo’s Sean McDermott, which is perfectly fine company. If this thing was graded on a curve, then it must have been thrown by Sandy Koufax or Bert Blyleven.
Mikko’s Carolina blues — D
Our old pal The Moose got loose for a goal and three points over three games with Carolina from Feb. 22-27. Mind you, it was only his second goal for the Hurricanes since joining the team in that blockbuster trade in late January.
Over his first nine games on Tobacco Road, the winger’s totaled just five points. And the latest buzz out of Carolina is that his new team is considering putting him on the trading block themselves. Why? Reportedly, the ‘Canes are having just as hard of a time hammering out a long-term deal for the Finnish speedster, who can become a free agent after this season, as the Avs did.
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