ENGLEWOOD, Colo. – When Denver Broncos general manager George Paton traded outside linebacker Bradley Chubb to the Miami Dolphins last week, Paton said the decision “really heated up’’ in the final hours before the trade deadline.

But, at the bottom line, Paton’s actions in the months before the deal showed, if and when a team made an offer good enough, he would be willing to trade a defensive captain as he did with Von Miller in 2021.

“We don't make this decision if we're not confident in the players and the coaches on our team,'' Paton said. "That starts with the talented group of pass rushers I believe we have and the depth we have at that position."

The Broncos sent Chubb, as well as a fifth-round pick in the 2025 draft to the Miami Dolphins last week in exchange for a first-round pick next April, a fourth-round pick in 2024 and running back Chase Edmonds. Chubb was tied for the team lead in sacks (5.5), and until the Dolphins made a first-round pick part of the offer, Paton said he was not going to make the deal.

"The draft value we received was significant, we just felt it was too good to pass up and at the end of the day, and it's no secret we need picks," Paton said.

Asked specifically about the first-round pick, Paton added, "we would not have done it without a first-round pick. That was obviously a key piece of [the] negotiation."

But several of the dominos had fallen before the last one -- Chubb's departure -- as the offseason and first eight weeks of the regular season unfolded. Before the start of the offseason program, Paton endorsed the new coaching staff's decision to move Baron Browning, a third-round pick in the 2021 draft, from inside linebacker to outside linebacker.

In March, Paton signed free agent outside linebacker Randy Gregory to a five-year, $70 million deal. A month later he used a second-round pick -- the Broncos’ opening pick of the draft since they didn’t have a first-rounder -- to select outside linebacker Nik Bonitto.

Paton also showed how good he felt about the defense’s depth when he traded outside linebacker Malik Reed to the Pittsburgh Steelers on August 30. The Broncos also acquired linebackers Jonathon Cooper and Jacob Martin at last week's deadline.

Even Chubb had noted in recent weeks how the depth chart was shaping up.

“We have a lot of guys, a lot of young guys, who can rush the passer," Chubb said. “Up and down, I think we believe anybody out there is going to not skip a beat.’’

“The play of Baron, really the entire season, and then Nik Bonitto is coming on," Paton said. “You saw what [Bonitto] has done the last few games. Jonathon Cooper, you've seen what he's done the last two years in his role. Randy Gregory, when he was healthy, [was] one of the better pass rushers in the league and he'll be back, we're hoping soon. We traded for Jacob Martin, who's going to be another depth piece … so that certainly contributed to us making a trade of this magnitude."

Bonitto had 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble in 57 snaps combined over the last two games despite being inactive in Week 2. Cooper had his 2.5 sacks last season in the five games he started as Chubb was battling injuries and after Miller was traded last October.

The caveat in all of it is Chubb, who was in the final year of his rookie deal, had been the healthiest, most consistent and most productive player in the group over the season’s first eight weeks. When the Broncos entered their bye last week, Gregory and Browning had each missed time with injuries, as Bonitto was still working through the rookie learning curve in run defense.

“He’s a quick learner," Chubb said of Bonitto recently. “Like, I’ve said, some stuff Baron was doing right away as a pass rusher was unbelievable, but [Bonitto] knows how to get to the quarterback, he just has to learn all the things you do to keep [blockers] off balance. And the run game is always an adjustment."

The Broncos had discussions with Chubb’s representatives about a contract extension before the trade. While Paton said he wouldn't give specifics on those talks, given Chubb had responded "100 percent, 100 percent," during the Broncos' week in London when asked if he wanted to remain with the Broncos, which would indicate Denver did not approach the financial neighborhood of the five-year, $110 million deal Chubb signed with the Dolphins in the days following the trade.

“It’s good to have [trade rumors] come up … it’s just cool to be in a position where the interest comes in. At the end of the day, I just let all that stuff be handled by the people who handle it. I just go out here and do what I can,” Chubb said during the Broncos’ Week 8 trip to London.

Chubb had missed 32 games over the last four seasons, including nine last season with bone spurs in both ankles, and had not topped eight sacks since he had 12 in his rookie year. Still, for Paton’s plan to work post-trade, especially in the near term, Browning and Gregory, in particular, have to be forceful, productive rushers.

Gregory, because of suspensions or injuries, has never played more than 12 games in a season. He’s missed the Broncos’ last four games and coach Nathaniel Hackett has said he’s hopeful Gregory will return in the coming weeks.

“We believe in the players we have," Paton said. “ … At the end of the day, we just felt it was the best thing for our football team moving forward."