Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - ALL IN: Denver Broncos MUST PUSH THE CHIPS In Around Bo Nix

Starting point is 00:00:00 Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton is set to meet with the media here today at the NFL Combine and everybody wants to know how the team plans to push the chips all in around quarterback Bo Nix. You are locked on Broncos. Your daily Denver Broncos podcast. Part of the Locked on podcast network, your team every day. What's up, Broncos country? I'm Cody Roark, Credential Broncos reporter from aisle high sports.

Starting point is 00:00:28 We're going to talk a lot about the NFL Combine on today's episode of the show as we're set to hear from Sean Payton and general manager George Payton later on this afternoon. There are several things that we hope that he will address in today's press conference, including how the team plans to push their chips in around quarterback Bow Nix as he gets ready for his third season in the NFL. The question everybody wants to know, will Sean Peyton address the play calling situation in Denver, especially after the team made another coaching move over the weekend. You'll get all that here on today's episode of the show, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network,

Starting point is 00:01:01 the number one sports podcast network in the country. Thanks to all you every day is out there in in Broncos country. Tuning in, making us your first listen, however you choose to do so. Today's episode show is brought to you by our friends over there at Fandu. Use your profit boost on an NBA future and get enter for your chance to win a trip to the NBA finals.

Starting point is 00:01:18 Play your game with Fandul, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. Broncos country, hope you had a fantastic weekend. Look, we told you early on a few weeks ago, there is not much time in the off season for there to be downtime, so to speak. a lot of events that are taking place. And now with the changes that we've seen in the last couple of years to the NFL Combine, it is a lot earlier than NFL free agency, which is nice because now you get

Starting point is 00:01:42 a little bit of an anticipation ahead of free agency, folks, which begins here in the next two and a half, three weeks. We expect the Broncos to be aggressive there. But our first chance to get to hear from Broncos head coach, Sean Payton, it is going to take place here today. This is the first time we've had a chance to hear from him since his end of the year press conference following the team's lost in the AFC championship game. to the New England Patriots.

Starting point is 00:02:03 And as he meets with the media here this afternoon, everybody here in the local media, Denver wise, we're playing a little bit of game of what if. What is the first question, Bo? I mean, Sean's going to be asked. It's going to be about Bo Nix and the miscommunication that happened early on between he and him. It's going to be about Davis Webb and the play call.

Starting point is 00:02:19 And we'll get into all that here on today's show. But I think really what we want to know, and I think what Broncos country wants to know, is how the team plans to push their chips all in around quarterback Bo Nix, right? We've heard George Payton talk about it. We've heard Greg Penner and Sean talk about it, where they talked about being aggressive. They have the flexibility to go and make some moves this year. And Greg Penner said, we're going to be selectively aggressive.

Starting point is 00:02:43 So what does that mean? In my opinion, if you're going to be selectively aggressive, that aggressive nature and that approach, it has to have everything with Bow Nicks in mind. In my opinion, especially while he's on a rookie deal, he's getting ready to go into his third season. He's in a good place in his recovery. Obviously, after having ankle surgery. following that heartbreaking injury that he sustained and the Broncos win against the Buffalo

Starting point is 00:03:05 Bills in the NFL divisional round of the playoffs. But at this point, it's, hey, we've seen what we can do here. If you're the organization, this is your thinking. We've seen what we can do here with Bo. Let's go out there and let's do more for him. Let's take the pressure off of him solely because I think you can look at some of the results this season. Yes, of course, Bo has a lot of room as a quarterback to still grow and improve.

Starting point is 00:03:28 He has that mindset. But, man, that kid is a winner. wins over the course of his first two seasons in the NFL, leads everybody in his quarterback class in that category. And man, he's clutch. You've seen that. He's got that it factor that George Peyton raved about at his end of the year press conference. So the question here is how they plan to push the chips in all around Bo Nix. Does that mean going and making moves this offseason that strengthen the offense? I mean, typically you would think that, right? But you could also look at the defensive side of the ball as well. I mean, I want to reference Joe Burrell and the Cincinnati Bengals here

Starting point is 00:04:00 for a minute. Man, just a couple of years ago, Joe Burrow and the Bengals, and that offense with T. Higgins, Jamar Chase, and where Burrow was playing at an MVP level, but they were losing games because, you look, they were scoring 40 points per game, but their defense was given up around 42 points per game. You don't want the defense to take a step back. While it is nice to load up on the offensive side of the ball, strengthen that side, especially when you have a quarterback that can elevate everybody around him, especially the offensive line, which is another subject we'll get into as today's show goes on. You have to not let the defense take steps back just so your offense can move forward.

Starting point is 00:04:36 You still need to have a good defense in today's game, especially if they can't get off the field, they can't get a stop. It puts your offense in a tougher situation going down the stretch. You need to have complimentary football, right, offense, defense, special teams. I understand there's not this perfect solution out there that says, hey, you're going to have one of the top five offenses, top five defense, top five special teams units in the NFL, and this is how you do it. players, as we know with free agency coming up, they're going to come and go. Players are going to depart. Denver's going to add players.

Starting point is 00:05:03 How does that make the team better or worse? That's the question about the offseason here. But for me, I bring up the defense as this point. Like, what really do you need to add to this defense? I would say linebackers probably the biggest thing. Is that going to help Bo Nicks this season? I don't know. Maybe, maybe not.

Starting point is 00:05:21 Probably not. Because I look at that pass rush that Denver does have here with Nick Benito, Jonathan Cooper. I mean, back-to-back years of this defensive. unit setting franchise records and leading the NFL in Sacks. Okay, that's great. You have a very good secondary. I like the debt that Denver has defensively.

Starting point is 00:05:35 So to me, this isn't necessarily an offseason, in my opinion, where the Broncos should just go buck wild and boost the defense as their top priority. I think linebacker, big priority. I think the bigger priority here is going out there and adding for Bow Nicks, adding skill players at tight end, whether it be another wide receiver, also bolstering and boosting that running back room. Could you maybe improve the offensive line in some categories? Maybe.

Starting point is 00:05:59 I think all these things are on the table here. But I wanted to ask the question here to Broncos country. And obviously feel free to chime in on social media, chime in here on the show today. And I'll share my thoughts. Are the Broncos one or two elite skill players away from this offense really taking off from them being legitimate Super Bowl contenders? I don't know. I mean, I think adding two guys would be great. I think Denver just needs one elite game changer, whether that be a game changing running back,

Starting point is 00:06:25 whether it be an elite level tight end or a wide receiver. I think having that type of element here inside of this offense takes a lot of pressure off of Bo Nix and allows the offense to maybe grow a little bit. But that's also behind that player. What is the depth of whatever those positions look like? How is the utilization? What is the coaching staff's approach to that? To me, you're going to get the most out of Bo Nix being on a rookie deal by going out there

Starting point is 00:06:49 in giving him weapons, giving him the pieces around him that will help him be more successful, that will help take the pressure off of him having to lead the NFL in overall passing attempts. And I think really going out there, if Denver were to land an elite level running back, I think it changes the game. Look at the Super Bowl, for example, with the Seattle Seahawks. Sam Donald was playing a really good football this year. But the difference in that game was, even though you're going against a really good defense in New England,

Starting point is 00:07:14 Seattle has elite level skill players. Jackson Smith and Jigba. They don't necessarily have a star premier tight end, so to speak, but they have guys that can go out there and make plays. the difference in that game was, hey, you have a really good defense, which Denver has, and they had a game changing running back that when you needed to move the chains for a first down, you needed a big play that was going to just put the New England Patriots defense, their hands on their knees to gas for air a little bit. That's exactly what happened with Kenneth Walker, right? So I think having a dynamic game changing back is probably the biggest push the chips and move here for this Broncos offense for Bowknicks here. because if you actually develop a consistent run game here.

Starting point is 00:07:54 And look, Denver, that J.K. Dobbins was the top third runner at week 10 before his injury. I get that. A lot of those yards, though, folks came after contact, not before contact. There were times where the Broncos run game, man, it still struggled. Sean Payton at times and the coaching staff struggled with the consistency of running the ball. You had a discrepancy at times where in the first half, Denver's throwing 17, 18 times and only run the ball five or six. that is not good enough. You go out there and you get a dynamic game changing back

Starting point is 00:08:24 who could shoulder the load primarily on the offensive side of the ball. I think that's going to change some things for this offense. And I hope, in my opinion here, I believe that is the key for Denver pushing all of their chips in here for Bonix while he's on a rookie deal, especially considering what the running back market typically is versus what it used to be, as you're now seeing the rise in cost of the tight end position,

Starting point is 00:08:45 the wide receiver position around the NFL, it's continuing to rise and elevate here. Go out there and pay it. decent amount of money for a running back. If he's proven to be a game changer, that you know the moment you put him in the lineup, great things are going to happen. If there is that guy that's out there

Starting point is 00:08:59 and the Broncos have that conviction inside of that, yes, you go out and you make that move. That is pushing the chips all in. Getting Bo Nix and elite level running back will take pressure off him, especially coming off of ankle surgery. How much do you want Bo to run next year? Probably not a lot. You want him to be able to have that skill set

Starting point is 00:09:17 in his back pocket is a break in case of a murder. type of situation. But man, having a running back that could carry it 20 to 24 times a game and then you sprinkling a little bit of RJ Harvey here and there. That is the answer here for the Broncos pushing the chips in for quarterback Bow Nix. And will Sean Payton give us some of that information here today when he stands to the podium? I don't know if he's going to get the way at the podium. We know that Kay Adams is supposed to sit down with him here this week. Perhaps we'll get it when Kay Adams talks to him as he goes through and reveals the team's biggest needs. But I think one thing we have to dive into here, especially as it pertains to the Bonix, pushing the chips in around him

Starting point is 00:09:51 is the play calling question here. Sean, as he takes the podium, it is almost like a 95% probability. He's going to be asked about whether or not he'll be calling plays or if it will be Davis Webb. We'll talk about what that may look like. And another coaching staff change here for the Broncos that took place over the weekend here on today's episode of the show. Broncos Country, today's episode, the show is brought to you by our friends over there at TurboTax. and tax season, it doesn't have to take over your life.

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Starting point is 00:11:06 Take taxes off your plate and get back to your life. Visit turbotax.com slash local to book your appointment today. The play calling question of the off season, it'll probably be something that is screamed from the mountaintops every time Sean Payton goes to talk. Will you be calling plays? Will it be Davis Webb? That is the mystery.

Starting point is 00:11:25 And maybe he'll give us some insight into that here later on this afternoon. But real quick, Broncos country, before we talk about play calling, I just want to remind you the off season, it doesn't exist for the everydayer club. Join the exclusive Discord group chat to talk Broncos year round and get every episode of the show ad free plus exclusive content. head to the show notes to subscribe today between the member version, which gives you an ad-free version of the show,

Starting point is 00:11:49 access to the Discord, or the all-access version, which gives you access to all 22 film breakdowns, exclusive bonus content that you don't get here on the normal lockdown Broncos feet. Thank you so much, Broncos Country, as always, for making us your first listen. We appreciate you. Let's get into the conversation here about Davis Webb

Starting point is 00:12:04 and maybe what we anticipate Sean Payton being asked about today. I think one thing that we all hope to learn, myself included, Sarah, I know he's down ill right now, but he's also thinking the same exact thing. Will Sean Payton reveal his hand as to whether or not he will be calling plays this upcoming season? I want to take a look at what that really means for Sean because, look, I think it's very valid

Starting point is 00:12:26 to say, and we heard four more players at Radio Row around the Super Bowl say it. They don't think he's going to give it up. I think right now, from my optics, just having been around Sean every day during the regular season, Sean is very much in control of everything with this team on the offensive side of the the general day-to-day, the practice, the game plan, it all goes through Sean. He has final say. He is the central CEO of all football operations and that what happens on the field here surrounding this team.

Starting point is 00:12:54 Now, obviously in collaboration with George Payton, they're going to sit down alongside the pro personnel department, the college scouts, as they go through the combine this week, they're going to identify what they need for their team. But for Sean Payton in the optics of him just giving away play calling to Davis Webb, and this is a hot topic right now in Broncos country. The question is, why did Davis Webb stay knowing, and I can tell you this, he had four offers from four different teams

Starting point is 00:13:19 that were giving him full autonomy, full play calling responsibility, installation of the offensive game plans as a coordinator, which would have been a promotion before he obviously got the promotion here in Denver. He turned those downs. He withdrew his name from serious consideration from the Las Vegas Raiders head coaching gig to stay. in Denver. Why stay if you're not going to have an element of the play calling? Now, this could just

Starting point is 00:13:45 be a transition plan here, right, for Sean Payton. And maybe this is what we learned today. Maybe Sean goes to the podium, though I doubt he'll tell us outright. He'll want to keep all of us and all of you on your toes. But what if he says there is a essential transition plan here for Sean to be able to focus more. And he's talked about this. The AFC championship game is a great example where he's trying to get the play call in. Jared Stidham has a scramble. They're marked a yard short. He's trying to get a measurement from the officials,

Starting point is 00:14:14 but yet he still has to call the play and try to figure out what personnel the defense is in, what personnel he has to send in. Then four seconds goes by. The offense isn't set. You have to burn a timeout. And then ultimately you come out with a different look. You don't get the fourth down conversion.

Starting point is 00:14:28 And then you have these questions about should you have kicked the field goal, should have been a different play call. But Sean touched on the fact that, you know, I'm sitting there trying to get an official measurement. so to speak, because when we looked at it, he was, you know, they marked him a yard shy where we believe he was closer than where he was initially marked. So we're asking for a measurement. That process right there, if you're the play caller and Sean made this analogy really right before the Buffalo Bill's playoff game, he talked about. They recommend you don't drive at night in the rain as you get older just because you're not as sharp as you used to be.

Starting point is 00:14:59 And that's one thing that Sean has openly been reflective about in his own career is, can I call it the same way, that I did maybe eight years ago. And he said, I have to start thinking about things differently. He said eight years ago, I used to be able to call a screenplay on our own eight yard line and not think anything of it. Whereas now I'm thinking about if I call this play, what ramifications does it have potentially on the next play if we don't convert it? We're not successful on this play.

Starting point is 00:15:24 Sean thinks about all that. And that's one thing I like and I respect about Sean is he's very introspective. And at times, he comes off as like just callous towards us. I will say this, Sean, it just depends on. and what mood he's in determining whether or not he's going to be open with us or he's going to share these moments of vulnerability where I think it's great to have that from him at this point because Sean is also known as just this hard-nosed, highly competitive, cut from the same cloth of the Bill Parcell's coaching tree where he doesn't want to give anything up,

Starting point is 00:15:55 but I think it is good to also be reflective at times and to be able to keep a coach in Davis Webb who he absolutely admires and wants on his staff was pounded to the table for ways to keep him here, the only thing I can think of is letting Davis call plays. Now, maybe there's a transition plan. Maybe it's not week one where Davis is fully calling plays, but maybe he's having input on this, that, and the other, right? Because now as the offensive coordinator, he's no longer solely working with the quarterbacks. He was the quarterback coach slash passing game coordinator in 2025. Well, now the Broncos over the weekend, Peyton made another addition to his staff. John Morton, Johnny Moe, is returning to the past game coordinator

Starting point is 00:16:35 role on the offensive side under Sean Payton, the one that he had back in 2024. Obviously, Morton, he left, got a promotion of the Detroit lines under Dan Campbell to be the offensive coordinator, and he was demoted in season. He was quickly fired and won and done, ultimately as Dan Campbell took over those plays. And now he lands back in Denver. He spent time, obviously, during the playoffs as a consultant for Sean Peyton. And he also had a hand in the installation or the drawup process of Frank Crum's touchdown, something they used in Detroit there.

Starting point is 00:17:03 So there's this innovative thinking about, like, hey, This is what Johnny Mo can bring to the table. But if Davis Webb is going to be calling plays as the offensive coordinator, how does that relationship necessarily work if Morton is going to be the passing game coordinator? And obviously, he's got 10 years as a longtime NFL coach. But where does a young up-and-coming coach that's rising through the prospective ranks of the optics about being a potential head coach here in the next year or two? How does that get into way of this newly assigned role here for Johnny Moe?

Starting point is 00:17:33 I think that's a very big question here. I'm sure Sean is going to be asked about Morton's edition or reedition here to the coaching staff on a full-time basis. But I really think that the biggest thing that Sean has to be open about, that at least we're hoping for in a perfect world, is saying, hey, this is our plan here. I may call plays for, you know, the first quarter of the season as we get Davis ready to be able to handle that workload. Or they just comes out outright and says, you know what, I'm going to take the CEO approach and I'm going to focus on, every aspect of our game day operation, I want to be involved in offense, defense, and special team side, just so we have the best case possible.

Starting point is 00:18:11 I want to be able to not worry about having to conversate with an official about a potential call. I can be on my headset with my assistant Evan Rothstein, who's up above, and I can go through and say, hey, what was that call there? Should we challenge this? And then he can have those conversations with the officials. He can manage the game while delegating to his other coaches. I think that would be an evolution in Sean Payton's coaching status

Starting point is 00:18:34 that allows him to still have final say on everything from an operational standpoint to a decision-making standpoint while just passing off a play call to Davis Webb, being able to say, Davis, I trust you with this. And then being able for Sean to ask questions during the game, Davis calls a play, Sean says, hey, look, what you're thinking on this? Letting Davis grow as a coach to be able to say, this is why I want this to be our next play. This is the defense that they're in.

Starting point is 00:18:58 This is why I have this play call here. I think that will be good for Sean. And that is my hope as to what happens here is that, We do see this transition plan of handing things off to Davis Webb as the guy who's going to be calling the plays. Obviously, the relationship that Webb has with Bo Nix, it is so valuable right now to this organization. And Bo has a very good relationship with Sean Payton as well. I know there are some questions about that. I think it's a big nothing burger.

Starting point is 00:19:23 As I've said before, maybe Sean will address that a little bit. But figure out what this is going to look like here going forward. And of course, if he doesn't answer that, I'm sure Kay Adams is going to ask him this very question. and he will probably give a more detailed, insightful answer to her that gives us some clarity. But I ultimately think the way that Sean works and he operates, he likes to keep his cards close to his vest. He's not necessarily going to give away anything that's groundbreaking. But I don't see why the reason to be secretive in this type of situation. It's not like NFL teams are going to say, okay, Davis Webb is going to be the play caller.

Starting point is 00:19:59 Well, here's what's going to happen. It's going to be a relative unknown until you start getting some elements of the preceive. season involved, the first five weeks of the regular season, if that's the case. It's not like teams are going to have Davis Webb figured out before week one even comes around here. That's why I think there's no need if you are going to pass it off to be secretive. But that's just me, Broncos country. Make sure you let me know your thoughts here on today's episode of the show here. We're coming up next, we're going to talk about the Broncos biggest team needs.

Starting point is 00:20:25 Is this something that Sean Payton is going to openly address here at the NFL Combine here today? We'll share our perceived needs and maybe a surprise need that Sean Payton might. indicated something the team is looking at. We'll go through that much more here on today's episode of the show. Fandu is the sponsor of today's episode of Locked-on Broncos. And if you've ever wanted to experience the NBA finals live and in-person, Fandu, they are giving you the chance to turn that dream into a reality with their NBA sweepstakes. And here's how it works.

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Starting point is 00:21:27 Play your game with Fandu, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. As the Broncos get ready to navigate the offseason with the scouting combine this week, NFL free agency here in a couple of weeks, how will they attack their biggest needs? As we've known, the Bronco strategy seems to be going out there and addressing their biggest needs in free agency and then drafting best player available in the NFL draft. Is this a year where maybe that strategy changes? Well, there are a lot of questions to be had. And Sean Payton, as he speaks to the media today, we hear from George Payton. I think one of the bigger questions we want to know, in his opinion, What are the biggest needs of this team?

Starting point is 00:22:04 And I felt like at times last year, especially when he was asked this question by Kay Adams, what he outlined as the biggest needs of the team, I felt like we're a little surprising compared to maybe what most of us had thought there initially. But let's get into that here. The initial perceived needs, I think you can objectively speak to anybody who's a Broncos fan. I think you can look at some of these mock draft boards that are now starting to go out. The biggest needs for this team right now on paper have to be line. linebacker, running back, and tight end.

Starting point is 00:22:34 In no particular order, though I would say my personal preference is linebacker is the number one. Running back would be the number two, tight end, the number three. But it's almost kind of like a 1A, 1B, 1C type of approach from my perspective, at least. And I want to hear from you, Broncos country on the team's biggest needs. But is that something that Sean Payton is going to come out and confirm today. I think very much, I want to hear his thoughts on the running back position. We know that after the season and his end of the year conference, he was asked about the run game. was there and his answer was, you know, I went up to Zach Streif's office and I said,

Starting point is 00:23:06 I like where we're at with our RPO looks. I like where we're at with this, but I want to be able to run the ball under center more effectively. So was that a scheme issue? Certainly it is. I mean, that indication, at least what Sean gave in the end of the oppressor seemed to give the notion that, hey, there might be a little bit of an issue with our scheme. I think scheme and personnel certainly go hand in hand. I think that there are valid critiques about Denver's personnel upgrading the running back room alongside RJ Harvey keeping RJ in the mix, obviously. That has to be a priority here. Are you going to run it back with J.K. Dobbins? I'm sure he's going to be asked about him. I'm sure George Payton is going to be asked about

Starting point is 00:23:41 whether or not they're looking to extend J.K. at the combine last year. Peyton also gave the same kind of conversation about Javante Williams. We like Javante. We like to keep him here, but we're going to evaluate our options here as free agency goes about. To me, what is the biggest need here for the Broncos. That's what we want to hear from Sean Payton. But I also teased it as well in the last segment here as we wait to maybe hear this answer from Sean. Last year when he sat down with Kay Adams, she brought up the fact that the Broncos need to go out there and they need to get another veteran wide receiver to pair alongside Cortland Sutton. She said to him and her, that was her perceived biggest need for the team. And he kind of said,

Starting point is 00:24:19 no, no, no, no, no. I understand why you would say that. I think we are higher on a wide receiver room more so than people think. We're much more higher on it than people think. And they stuck to that commitment. They went out there and they added Pat Bryant, who my goodness, I'll tell you, for Pat, some of the pre-draft critiques, the, you know, after he was selected, everyone was like, oh, this guy's 40-yard dash time. We all saw in training camp. We saw in the preseason. We saw in the regular season that this kid is special. He's got talent and he can thrive in a role where he's not necessarily the wide receiver one. He could be a wide receiver too. I truly believe here. in Denver. Is that going to be here in 2026? I don't know. Maybe it could happen potentially.

Starting point is 00:25:00 They love Marvin Mims. But the challenge is, how do you get Marvin on the field more? I think Denver at the end of the season in the playoffs, they really realize that, hey, we've got to keep Marvin as a punt returner. We have to take him off a kick return. And he just needs to be one of our receivers. He needs to continue to grow there because he is a special player and he is a true threat that really changes how defenses try to play you. When they see Marvin on the field and let's say it's on a full-time. basis, you always have to be worrying in the back of your head about his deep ball, his speed, and the ability to get behind defenses. That's going to change how defenses play against you.

Starting point is 00:25:35 And it may open up things for Cortland Sutton a bit more for less bracket coverage, more one-on-ones where he obviously has to come up and step up in a big way at times too. But, man, Cortland has been consistent in that regard. You want to get the drop issues a little fixed there. I think that's a valid critique of him. And then you got Troy Franklin, who just took such a big leap from his rookie. season to his second year. And now he wants to do even more.

Starting point is 00:25:58 He wants to double his touchdowns. I think he had seven. He wants to have 10 plus this upcoming season. He wants to have a thousand yards as a receiver. He wants to put on five to 10 pounds of muscle. I'm here for it. But the Broncos may benefit from adding another veteran into the mix. As we've seen,

Starting point is 00:26:13 and maybe this playoff lesson will kind of rear a teddy here for Denver going into the off season from a roster construction standpoint is we saw what happened when we lost one or two wide receivers. That's happened. It happened at a pretty frequent level and in two consecutive games for Denver. And that's what we saw impact their level of production because then they're relying only on a limited number of guys. And the AFC championship game, they have to rely on a practice squad wide receiver to go out there and try to make some plays for them after you had the injury to Pat Bryant. You don't have Troy Franklin in that game because of his hamstring.

Starting point is 00:26:46 It really put Denver's depth in a tough position. So that means replacing little Jordan Humphrey in his role with a veteran receiver. And maybe that guy is a wide receiver. one. Maybe he's a wide receiver too, but he's an impact player. That is where I think Sean Payton could come out and maybe say this year, hey, like we are looking seriously at receiver to upgrade that room to give another weapon opposite of Cortland to bowl, so to speak, and saying what we love our young guys, we're still trying to develop them, but adding a proven guy might help accelerate that development of those younger guys. It just adds more competition

Starting point is 00:27:18 to the room, which in return usually elevates the performance of some of those younger guys. it puts a chip on everybody's shoulder. The Broncos wouldn't hurt from being put in that position to put an extra chip on their shoulder of skill players there. Now, tie it in, I think you can make an argument as well. That room right now is just Evan Ingram. And you got practice squad or Caleb Loner. Everybody else is a free agent or a restricted free agent.

Starting point is 00:27:42 You have to get production out of that room here going forward. I've talked about it ad nauseum on this show. But I want to hear what Sean has to say about this position, about the offense because I would argue two of the biggest needs on this team have to be on the offensive side of the ball. And look, the offense made a jump this past season. Don't get me wrong, but you still can't lead the league in three and outs. You can't have, I think Jeremy Crosh had the most punting attempts out of any punter in the

Starting point is 00:28:10 NFL this past season. That number has to drastically change. Your third down numbers have to be better. You got to stop getting friend zoned in the red zone here. That was a concerning element down the stretch for Denver as that. kind of tightened up and defenses played a lot more zone coverage against them. And they took away some of those easy windows because that's where you really want to capitalize. The Broncos need guys who are man-beaters, essentially at the wide receiver, skill player position,

Starting point is 00:28:36 RJ Harvey out of the backfield. When they get a man coverage look, we saw them capitalize on that in several big games this year. I think going on the road against the Houston Texans against that bonted defense. You saw that take place. But, you know, you got wide receivers who got big bodies like Cortland Sutton. You got guys like Marvin Mims who are proven clutch playmakers anytime you need a big play. Even going back to the NFL division around against the bills, hauling in what essentially was that comeback down 23 to 27,

Starting point is 00:29:04 gives you the lead against the bills with 55 seconds left. It's Marvin Mims coming up big. Once again, that's what Denver has. They have some special pieces here, but are they maybe one ingredient away from being able to really push the chips all on bonecks? It all ties back around to number 10. And Broncos Country, I want to hear your thoughts on today's episode of the show, what you hope to hear from Sean Payton in today's press conference at the NFL Combine.

Starting point is 00:29:28 He'll speak and then George Payton will speak and best believe. You know, Sarah Bedinger and myself, we're going to react to all of that on tomorrow's episode of the show. A little bit later, stay tuned, Broncos Country. We've got a bonus episode dropping for you on Q Robinson and why he may step into a more premier role here in 2026. But what that may mean for Dondray Tillman, who is an exclusive rights, free agent. We'll see where Denver is at with that. Here on tomorrow's episode, Lockdown Broncos. We'll see you then.

Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - ALL IN: Denver Broncos MUST PUSH THE CHIPS In Around Bo Nix

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