The Broncos are adding an experienced scout to a key position in their front office.
Denver is hiring New Orleans assistant director of college scouting Cody Rager to a newly created vice president of player personnel position, a source confirmed Monday to The Post.
Rager spent the better part of a decade working his way up through the Saints’ scouting department under assistant general manager Jeff Ireland and general manager Mickey Loomis. That, of course, means Rager spent seven years scouting players for a Sean Payton-coached team.
In Denver, Rager will report to general manager George Paton, who runs the Broncos’ personnel department. Paton and Payton have touted their working relationship since Payton was hired a year ago and Paton has said consistently that the Broncos coach makes it easy to understand what he looks for in players.
“Sean sits in all of our meetings. He sounds like a scout, and he’s been around a lot of really good people throughout his career,” Paton said last spring before the 2023 NFL Draft. “He reminds me of (Nick) Saban just sitting in meetings. The two years I was with Coach Saban, they have a similar vision of how they want to build the football team. They have a clear vision on how they want to build the team.
“I’m aligned with Sean on that.”
Rager’s addition will add a new set of eyes to the equation and a long history with Payton.
Rager is an Alabama native who spent three years as a national scout before his three as assistant director of college scouting. He also previously worked for Miami (2012-13, when Ireland was the general manager there) around stints at college programs like the University of Tennessee and the University of Alabama.
Now he’s stepping into a senior role in the Broncos’ front office at a critical stage of the scouting calendar. Denver’s had scouts at the East-West Shrine Bowl in Frisco, Texas the past few days and will be well-represented at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama this week.
Then the NFL Scouting Combine begins arrives in four weeks and pro days around the country kick into high gear as free agency (mid-March) and the draft (April 25-27) draw closer.
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