Camren Williams

Broncos Notes: Barron, Williams, Webb

May 26th, 2025 at 8:40pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Jahdae Barron‘s versatility was a major reason the Broncos selected him in the first round of April’s draft. According to head coach Sean Payton, he was “too unique to pass up” at No. 20. The Texas cornerback started at nickel in 2022 and 2023 before primarily playing on the boundary in 2024. He also logged at least 140 snaps in the box in each of the last three years, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required).

In Denver, Barron will likely line up in the slot as a rookie, according to Mike Klis of 9News. The Broncos are returning both of their outside CB starters in Patrick Surtain and Riley Moss, neither of whom have much experience at nickel. Ja’Quan McMillian filled that role last season, but Barron figures to be an upgrade who can match up with speedy slot receivers and bigger tight ends.

Barron’s multi-positional experience will give Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph plenty of options in the secondary, though he may have the rookie get comfortable at nickel before expanding his usage at different alignments.

Here is the latest out of Denver:

The Broncos lost several key members of their front office this offseason and tried to plug the gap with new co-director of player personnel Cam Williams. The former director of college scouting for the Patriots is “seen by many as a future GM,” according to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, though he may have to leave Denver to land such a position. Current Broncos general manager George Paton is 55 years old, has a strong track record of success in the draft, and could continue in the job for a decade or more. A near-future appearance on the GM carousel will be something to monitor, however.
Despite the prevalence of the transfer portal in college football, the Broncos prioritized non-transfers in this year’s draft. Six of their seven picks played at least 41 games at one school, per ESPN’s Jeff Legwold, with three selections – Barron, Sai’vion Jones, and Jeremy Crawshaw – staying with one program for at least 50 games. Seventh-rounder Caleb Lohner played basketball at BYU and Baylor before transferring to Utah for one season of football. Payton said (via Legwold) that the transfer avoidance was “not by accident,” and demonstrated valuable intangibles like mental toughness and loyalty.
Jacksonville State offensive lineman Clay Webb received $225K in guaranteed money after signing with the Broncos as an undrafted free agent, according to Klis. The rookie guard received $15K as a signing bonus with another $210K in guaranteed salary, signaling that Denver sees him as a player worth developing along the interior of the offensive line.

Broncos Add Camren Williams To Front Office; Kareem Jackson In Play For Staff Role

May 14th, 2025 at 8:38am CST by Sam Robinson

This offseason has produced a few notable exits from the Broncos’ staff. In addition to the team losing two coaches (John Morton, Declan Doyle) to NFC North OC positions, it has seen some departures — most notably assistant GM Darren Mougey‘s — key changes in the front office.

In addition to Mougey — the new Jets GM — the Raiders poached Brian Stark and Mark Thewes from the Broncos’ executive ranks (Stark is Las Vegas’ new assistant GM). David Shaw, who had worked in a front office role in 2024, is back on the sideline as a Lions assistant as well. As the Broncos make a post-draft attempt to restock their staff, they added a Patriots exec as one of their replacements.

Camren Williams is joining the Broncos, according to MassLive.com’s Mark Daniels. He will serve as the team’s co-director of player personnel, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. This represents a high-ranking move for Denver, as Williams had previously served as New England’s college scouting director. Williams had been with the Patriots since 2016.

The Pats had installed Williams — an Easton, Mass., native — as their college scouting director in 2022, after Dave Ziegler had joined Nick Caserio among the GM ranks. Working alongside the likes of Caserio, Ziegler, Eliot Wolf and Monti Ossenfort under Bill Belichick, Williams helped the Pats move into their post-Belichick era last year.

Playing a key role in the Patriots’ Drake Maye selection, Williams also had ties to Mike Vrabel. The latter recruited Williams — a former Ohio State linebacker — when he was on the Buckeyes’ staff. Camren Williams’ father, Brent, also played seven seasons for the Pats in the 1980s and ’90s. After going through a draft with Vrabel, Williams took part in a recent Broncos interview (per Schefter) — one that will lead to a separation early in Vrabel’s return to Foxborough. Williams will join Reed Burkhardt as staffers with player personnel director titles in Denver.

Beyond Williams, the Broncos’ rookie minicamp featured an interesting presence working alongside GM George Paton. Kareem Jackson was operating with Paton’s personnel staff at the weekend event, 9News’ Mike Klis notes. Jackson, 37, but saw action in just two games — for the Bills — last season. Although a suspension-marred season defined Jackson’s final year in Denver, the veteran safety was a regular starter for five seasons with the team.

The longtime Justin Simmons sidekick signed four Broncos contracts and started 69 games with the team, completing a conversion from cornerback to safety in that time. Jackson making inroads on the scouting side, and not as a coach, would be interesting as well. Paton was not yet in Denver when the Broncos initially signed Jackson in 2019, but he authorized three one-year contracts to keep the veteran DB on the roster. This included an immediate return, via pay cut, after a release in Paton’s first offseason as Broncos GM.

Mike Vrabel, Eliot Wolf Will Both Report To Patriots Ownership

January 23rd, 2025 at 7:31pm CST by Ben Levine

Since the Patriots hired Mike Vrabel as their head coach, there have been some questions regarding the organizational hierarchy. Despite the major changes, it sounds like the team’s operations should remain status quo. According to Albert Breer of SI.com, both Vrabel and executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf will report to ownership, an indication that there’s no singular leader in the front office.

When Vrabel was brought on, it was assumed that he’d have a major influence over player personnel. That will surely be the case, but it sounds like it will be a collaborative approach vs. the former totalitarian approach under Bill Belichick. While last season’s results left plenty to be desired, Breer notes that Wolf and former HC Jerod Mayo already started making an effort to build an actual football ops department, something that was sorely lacking.

The next step could see the Vrabel/Wolf duo look to improve the “player-development side” of operations. The Patriots had “next to nothing” in that regard under Belichick, meaning there was effectively nobody overseeing the development of bottom-of-the-roster players and practice squad players. The Patriots could also look to improve their football analytics/research department (with Marshall Oium a name to watch) and their sports science department.

Following a dismal season in New England, it was thought that Mayo may not be the only casualty. However, Breer notes that ownership was impressed by Wolf during his first season at the helm. The executive worked on “modernizing the scouting department” and building out football operations. Wolf’s strategy won’t be completely foreign to Vrabel; as Breer writes, Tennessee’s Chad Brinker had a similar Green Bay-centric grading system, so New England’s head coach is already familiar with the perspective.

Vrabel is also familiar with a handful of other members of New England’s front office. Ohio State alums Camren Williams and Pat Stewart are the Patriots college and pro scouting directors (respectively). In fact, Vrabel recruited Williams to the Buckeyes when he was on Ohio State’s staff. Of course, Vrabel has also influenced some new additions to the front office dynamic. Ryan Cowden, who previously held multiple high-ranking roles in the Titans front office, was brought over to New England earlier this offseason. Breer notes that Cowden will definitively be under Wolf in the franchise’s pecking order.

Vrabel also continues to add to his coaching staff. According to Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post, Zak Kuhr has agreed to join the Patriots. Kuhr spent four seasons working under Vrabel in Tennessee, and he spent this past season on the Giants defensive coaching staff. Meanwhile, Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic reports that John Streicher is also joining the staff in New England. “Stretch” spent this past year as the Rams game management coordinator, and he also has experience working alongside Vrabel in Tennessee.

The Patriots’ first season in their post-Belichick era revealed some major cracks in the organization’s foundation. While the team still isn’t operating with a traditional front office hierarchy, it doesn’t sound like there will be any power struggle between some of the team’s major voices.

Jonathan Kraft Heavily Involved In Patriots’ Draft Plans; Michael Penix Jr. On Radar

April 22nd, 2024 at 5:07pm CST by Sam Robinson

Patriots preparations for their previous 24 drafts featured no questions as to who ran the show. As the franchise pushed its Super Bowl count to 10 and championship number to six, it relied on Bill Belichick to make the call. While some memorable misses took place, the legendary HC certainly fared well in this role as the team regularly built stout defenses around Tom Brady.

This year, the Pats enter the draft with an unusual setup. Eliot Wolf is in place as the de facto GM, but the team is planning to conduct interviews after the draft. It would be quite odd — given the decision the team faces at No. 3 overall — if ownership would consider giving someone else final say post-draft after letting Wolf potentially choose a long-term QB option. Days away from the draft, a quarterback pick is indeed the expectation for the suddenly rebuilding squad.

As the Patriots consider a potential trajectory-altering pick at 3, another key voice has emerged alongside Wolf. Patriots president Jonathan Kraft is “heavily involved” in the team’s pre-draft decision-making process, according to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini. The son of owner Robert Kraft, Jonathan has been with the organization since his father acquired it in the 1990s. While Russini adds Wolf is running the show, the younger Kraft’s involvement obviously generates questions.

Owners regularly intervene in draft decisions, though a clearly defined hierarchy — one that features football-ops personnel leading the way — is certainly the best path for an organization to take regarding high-stakes decisions. Jonathan Kraft playing a major role would mark a significant change for the Patriots, who obviously relied on Belichick for decades. Wolf’s opportunity coming with heavy ownership intervention would be an interesting start to his GM run — if that should indeed commence — with the Patriots would be interesting, as this is the second-generation personnel man’s first opportunity to lead a front office.

As for which way the Patriots are going at No. 3, signs point to them keeping the pick and drafting a quarterback. Drake Maye and J.J. McCarthy have fans in the building, per SI.com’s Albert Breer, continuing a theme for a team that will probably see both the North Carolina and Michigan prospects on the board when it goes on the clock. The Pats brought a large contingent to Maye’s pro day. In addition to Wolf and Jerod Mayo, Breer adds OC Alex Van Pelt, senior offensive assistant Ben McAdoo, QBs coach T.C. McCartney and front office staffers Alonzo Highsmith, Matt Groh, Pat Stewart and Camren Williams also have input in this pivotal draft decision.

New England has also made it known it would be willing to trade the pick, but as of late last week, no offers strong enough are believed to have emerged. That said, Michael Penix Jr. fans reside in the organization. Penix is not expected to be a top-three pick, pointing to the Washington-developed southpaw being in play if the Pats pull the trigger on trading down. In fact, Breer adds the Patriots’ late Penix visit came about because they could be interested in nabbing him following a trade-down maneuver.

Some NFL personnel believe the Patriots will, in fact, trade down, Sportskeeda.com’s Tony Pauline adds. If the Patriots move back, it adds a significant wrinkle to this year’s top five. But if the Vikings or Broncos — both closely connected to moving up for a passer — make a strong enough offer the Pats agree to slide out of the top 10, Pauline adds a belief around the NFL exists indicating the Pats would then select Penix in the middle of Round 1. Our Ely Allen detailed the former Indiana and Washington starter’s prospect profile recently.

The Vikings hold No. 11 overall; the Broncos sit at No. 12. Those spots could be notable, as the Raiders — who are believed to be interested in Penix — sit at No. 13. The Patriots taking this route would bring controversy, given their chances of bringing Maye or McCarthy to Foxborough at 3. But they would add at least a 2025 first-round pick (and almost definitely more) if they moved the pick to Minnesota or Denver. The Giants are also believed to be interested in moving up, with Maye-New York buzz increasing over the past several days. The Pats would not collect as much if they dropped from 3 to 6, however.

Jonathan Kraft is believed to have advised against his father moving on from Belichick after the 2022 season, but the team powered forward with that separation — amid a feud between the accomplished HC and Robert Kraft — after a 4-13 season. Whichever way the Patriots go in this year’s first round, it certainly seems like the younger Kraft will have a notable say in the matter.