Broncos coach Sean Payton remembers the Saints so respectfully that he has hired nine assistants who were associated with his former team.

None of the 10 realize that their former permanent training headquarters by the airport in New Orleans was a couple of blocks away from a lousy roach-infested Sheraton motel with a broken elevator where the Broncos stayed before Super Bowl XII. They probably don’t know the Broncos will return to the Superdome, where they’ve lost two Super Bowls, for a game in 2024.

Payton and pals Paton and Penner (George and Greg) will consider signing Saints free agents next week. All NFL teams begin negotiating with agents for free agents Monday and officially can sign players Wednesday.

Tuesday they lured the first: wide receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey, who played in New Orleans in 1919-21. Meanwhile, the Broncos did not franchise Dre’Mont Jones.

And the Payton-Paton-Penner process obviously is discussing ex-Saints quarterbacks Teddy Bridgewater and Jameis Winston for a job backing up Russell Wilson.

Bridgewater, the Broncos’ starter for the first 14 games in 2021, started six games for the Saints in 1918-19. He also has been a starter for the Vikings, the Panthers and the Dolphins the past season for two games. Bridgewater, who made $6.5 million in Miami, is a free agent.

Winston played in 14 games with the Saints the past three years, but the franchise has just signed Derek Carr.

Winston and Bridgewater, who Payton must have liked a lot as backups and starters in New Orleans, will be available to the Broncos, but their prices will have to be cheaper and each would have to accept being a placeholder in Denver. Perhaps they like Payton a lot. Wilson has a $22 million cap hit this year.

With assistance from his assistants who are familiar with the Saints roster, Sean The Fixer may reunite with players he drafted and/or coached.

For instance, linebacker Kaden Elliss and defensive tackle Shy Tuttle: Both undrafted free agents out of college, discovered by Payton and his staff, developed into solid Saints starters and will each get about $5 million annually as veteran free agents.

Everyone here remembers Bradley Roby, the Broncos’ first choice in ’14. He was the nickelback in the famed No-Fly Zone defense before leaving for Houston as a 2019 free agent. He was acquired by New Orleans two seasons ago. Two others Payton & Paton might contemplate for affordable contracts are defensive backs P.J. Williams and J.T. Gray.

Don’t expect, though, the Broncos to pursue edge rusher Marcus Davenport and defensive tackle David Onyemata, who are large-ticket items. Davenport has been an underachiever since the Saints selected him in 2018’s first round, and Onyemata has been suspended twice in his career for taking banned substances. Mark Ingram is Payton’s old friend — and too old — and Jarvis Landry landed in New Orleans after Payton left and wasn’t much.

Unfortunately, the Saints haven’t lost a quality offensive lineman, a tight end and a wide receiver to free agency.

So the Broncos have to look elsewhere in those areas. The franchise is expected to increase salary cap space from $10 million to almost $40 million by releasing offensive center-guard Graham Glasgow (a gain of $11 million), cornerback Ronald Darby ($9.6 mil), running back Chase Edmonds ($5.9 mil) and defensive lineman Mike Purcell ($3.7 mil).

The Broncos must add at least three new starters at left guard, right tackle and, especially, the long-forsaken right tackle position. Former Saints veteran tackle and now the Broncos offensive line coach Zach Strief needs to lobby Payton.

Three right tackles worthy of examination are Jawaan Taylor (Jaguars), who is not to be confused with Ju’Wuan James, the worst waste of a right tackle ever with the Broncos; Kaleb McGary, a Falcons first-rounder whose fifth-year option was not picked up, and Mike McGlinchey, who had an exceptional ’22 season with the 49ers. Exceptional guards are Ben Powers (Ravens), Isaac Seumalo (Eagles) and Dalton Risner, who should be resigned.

With their six picks and two more obtained in trades the Broncos can draft two offensive linemen, a tight end, a wide receiver, an edge rusher (“Can’t have enough,’’ Paton says), a linebacker and a cornerback.

The Broncos should wish for a draft comparable to Payton’s in 2006 and 2017 with the Saints.