Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - ASCEND: Denver Broncos RJ Harvey, Troy Franklin DEVELOPMENT Crucial For Success

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Denver Broncos have three players on the offensive side of the ball who could be in line for huge developmental roles in 2026. 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 Rourke. joined as always by Sarah Bedinger on today's episode of the show here. We're talking about player development here. Caleb Loner taken with a seventh round flyer in last year's NFTA. NFL draft. This is a big prove it year for him. And on top of that, R.J. Harvey must prove that he can run outside the numbers this upcoming season. And Troy Franklin could be in a position to eventually develop into a potential wide receiver one. You'll get all that here on today's episode of the show, Sarah. I always think too, especially now with the addition of Jalen Waddle inside of this Broncos offense. I think there's an opportunity here for some of these players to develop further, specifically at wide receiver. But let's start off here with Troy Franklin, who has some of the

Starting point is 00:01:03 rates, has some of the tools to eventually turn into a potential wide receiver one, if not in Denver, maybe for another team. But that is the path. I think when you look at his skill set, what he can do, I think that there is a chance he could at some point do this. Now there's going to have to be a lot of things that happen in between in order to make that the reality. Absolutely. And one of the biggest things is something that Troy had told reporters earlier this offseason.

Starting point is 00:01:27 I can't remember specifically who, but he wants to add some weight to his frame to be able to, handle the physicality of the wide receiver position a little bit better. We know that Troy plays a lot on the outside, maybe strictly on the outside in terms of what the Broncos want to do offensively. And the team really believes in him as an after the catch threat. They really believe in him as a vertical threat, his speed. Back when he was drafted in 2024, I remember Sean Peyton saying they had a second round grade on Troy, which is one of the reasons why they traded up to get him at the top of the

Starting point is 00:01:59 fourth round of the 2024 NFL draft. Unfortunately, we just didn't see the immediate return on results, right? I mean, Bo Nix and him had great chemistry at the college level. They struggled to discover it at the NFL level. And we saw improvements this past season. But Troy does need to hold up better physically in the NFL to be able to unlock that full arsenal of his skill set. Because as good as the Broncos believe he is after the catch, as good as they believe he is as a vertical threat. It feels like every target that he got, and he had over 100 of them last.

Starting point is 00:02:32 year, it felt like they were all really just kind of like uphill battles in a sense, you know, where it wasn't like it was all coming easy. And we know that development is not just an upward linear trajectory every single year, you know, every target that you get, you're going to get better and better. But Troy, I think, is looking for that level of consistency in when he's targeted that success rate going up instead of being so volatile like he was last year. And I know Sean has a lot of trust in Troy. I mean, look, and I've had a chance to get to know Troy over the last couple of years here in Denver. And there's just this growing effort. Like Troy is always trying to put his head down and he's trying to work. I mean, he's at 180

Starting point is 00:03:10 pounds, right? This offseason, as you mentioned, he wants to put on some weight. He wants to add around 10 pounds. I'd put him around 190 pounds there. So I like maybe what you can do if Troy is at that position. You may lose maybe some of the speed that he has. But I think Troy wants to go back to being an impact playmaker in terms of yards after the. catch someone who can thrive in the short to intermediate passing game. And of course, obviously get downfield. The Broncos, they have a bunch of man beaters that are designed for him to be a vertical threat.

Starting point is 00:03:37 But just on how defense has played the Broncos last season, a lot of those opportunities didn't really present itself because Denver, they faced a lot of zone coverage, a lot of cover two and a lot of cover three last season, you know, and all the teams that decided to play against them. I think the introduction of Jalen Waddle into this offense is certainly going to change the coverage dynamics of what teams are going to do against Denver here. But I agree. I think Troy's got the right size.

Starting point is 00:04:00 I think he's got the deceptiveness. Like one thing I liked about him, and we saw a lot of this in training camp with him, is his ability to work in space, find the soft spot, sit, make a catch, make a defender miss, and do damage yards after the catch. I mean, I watch him at the University of Oregon. That's my team. Go Ducks. But watching him and Bo Nicks thrive in that relationship they had there at the U of O,

Starting point is 00:04:21 that's something that Sean Payton wants them to replicate here in the Mile High City. I think we're going to see a lot more of that this year. I think Troy, he had a little bit of an uptick in targets, as you mentioned, because of teams bracket covering Cortland Sutton. So in those opportunities this year, I would say Troy Franklin answered the call. He got better in the department in which people were very critical of him as a rookie in terms of drops there. It's still work in progress for he and entire wide receiver room that had 30 plus combined last season there for Bowman. So Troy, I think, has the traits and the tools to become a very big impact player here for the Broncos offensively.

Starting point is 00:04:55 But this is why you love player development. sir. Troy's not a finished product. What we've seen of Troy is exciting. What he can become is even better. Absolutely. And that full arsenal that he has at his disposal, I think is what makes him so enticing and why we're kind of discussing the possibility that maybe he could be the Broncos wide receiver one of the future. And another big part of that is obviously just financially where the team is at with so many guys getting resigned, so many players getting big money contracts. Now you've brought in Jitland Waddle. Cortland Sutton's. contract situation beyond this season is very interesting because he no longer has any guaranteed

Starting point is 00:05:33 money on his deal after this year. And his cap hit next year is $28.475 million. And that's just going to continue to increase. So will the Broncos look at that situation and say, hey, this is kind of a year where we want Troy to really prove himself as an outside threat to be able to take up that mantle if we do have to move on from Cortland Sutton, who will also, I believe, Cody, be 31 going on 32 as of this time a year from now. But he's going to replace Cortland Sutton. Like, he's got to become more reliable on third downs. You and I were looking at this before we recorded today.

Starting point is 00:06:09 Last year on third downs, 24 targets for Troy Franklin, 12 catches, only six first downs. And every single one of those targets obviously tells a story, right? We don't know if it was third in 12. We don't know if it was third in 17 or whatever. it was on every single one of those plays. But six first downs on 24 third down targets is not a very high success rate, at least in my mind. I don't know what the league average is or anything,

Starting point is 00:06:34 but that's 25% of the times that you're getting targeted on the money down that you're moving the chains. And so we want to see him be more consistent in that way and really producing because that is an area where the Broncos have been able to rely heavily on Cortland Sutton. Well, and speaking of Troy in that conversation, right, on that third down metric according to our friends over there, true media, like six of those 12 catches that he had. His average, you know, in terms of average yards per target was around 15, right?

Starting point is 00:07:01 So if you factor in, hey, 12 catches, six first downs, 24 total targets, average overall depth of your target right there is about 15 yards. It tells the story that, you know, a lot of those situations, the Broncos were third and long plus, which Sean Payton acknowledged was a problem far too often here for this Denver team. And, you know, I'd say we saw at times two with Troy, the one thing. thing I liked about it was let's go to the Kansas City Chiefs game, for example, right? The first one here at home, first half, drops, rough plays, second half.

Starting point is 00:07:31 He gets things going, a couple of big catches. Then he has the clutch catch at the end of the game to set up Will Lutz's game-winning field goal. I like that Troy's kind of turn into this potential clutch player here. Like this is a trait that also has to be developed for him as well, is, hey, when teams are going to go to Cortland and teams certainly at times are covering him, Troy's got to go make a play. We saw him do a lot more with that added height of responsibility inside of the offense. But now, I mean, I think these opportunities are going to increase tenfold for him because

Starting point is 00:08:01 now you talk about Cortland. Now you talk about Jalen Waddle. And in a package where you have him, Waddle and Cortland on the field together, which I imagine Denver's going to get very creative with their personnel looks. You have a ton of options here. I mean, if you're a defensive back, who are you going to stop in that situation? Someone, one of those three guys is going to have success and they're going to eat. And I think the question is, who's that going to be? If you're worried about Jalen Waddle and Cortland, well, guess what? Troy Franklin is the prime target to go out there and make some big place here for this offense. I'm stoked about what his role can grow into here in 2026.

Starting point is 00:08:34 Now, a lot of people are saying after the Waddle trade, well, is there going to be an odd man out? Sarah, I don't think so. I don't think so unless there is a dire straight situation. The Broncos get some sort of, you know, offer that they simply can't refuse similar to Devon Valey. I just don't see Sean Payton part in ways with this. receiver in which now he views as a very, very underrated strength of the team. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:08:56 And speaking to the strength, what Troy Franklin does that almost no other receiver in the NFL does, Cody. I mean, the second most receptions in the red zone for any wide receiver last year, the only wide receiver that had more red zone receptions than Troy Franklin last year was Amun Ra, St. Brown of the Detroit Lions. Troy Franklin was fourth total in the NFL behind Christian McCaffrey. Amunrah St. Brown and Trey McBride, and he was tied with a number of other guys, all of them tied ends with 14 red zone receptions.

Starting point is 00:09:29 So a 78 nearly percent catch percentage, 14 receptions on 18 targets in the red zone. They were really trying to scheme him touches when they got inside the 20. And Troy capitalized on those. Like may not have capitalized on a high percentage of his third down looks. But when it came to the red zone and two point conversions, it feels like over the last couple of years, He's been really good inside the 20s. So the Broncos need to find ways in between the 20s to get Troy Franklin's skill set unlocked. And I think they can do that this year, especially with those other guys they have in the passing game.

Starting point is 00:10:04 Yeah, I'm real excited about Troy. And I hope Broncos country is as well. But Broncos country coming up next, RJ Harvey, we liked what we saw from him last season. He can get even better. But it all starts with him having more success on the outside. Today's episode of the show is brought to you by friends over there at Fanduil. College Basketball. It's nonstop, folks. The big tournament is here.

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Starting point is 00:12:05 really interesting numbers that we're going to dig into on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos, and want to say thank you to all you every dayers out there that make us your first listen of the day every single day right here on the lockdown podcast network, the number one sports podcast network. And if you're already an everyday listener, Cody and I want to invite you to join the Every Day or club. Right now, you can use the code March and get your first month for free. So a really great deal going on right now, March Madness, the NCAA tournament picking up. You can also enter men's and women's bracket pools on Discord and compete for $100 in Locked on merch.

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Starting point is 00:12:56 Let's talk about RJ Harvey today and really get into kind of the nitty-gritty of what he needs to get better at. Because it's funny, Cody, every discussion that I have with other Broncos fans about RJ Harvey, it's like Harvey two-face, right? It's the, oh, well, on the one hand, he had 12 total touchdowns last year. And that's a lot of touchdowns. Like there's no question. And on the one hand, like without some of his big plays that he made something out of nothing last season, the Broncos may not win the divisional round against the Buffalo Bills.

Starting point is 00:13:31 They may not even make it to the number one seed without some of R.J. Harvey's big plays that he made throughout the course of the year. On the other hand, there's the inconsistinging. There's the, oh, well, the Broncos only gave him, what, six carries in the divisional round game against, you know, Buffalo. And it just didn't feel like they could really rely on him when J.K. Davins went down. And I get that he's a rookie. But what did you see from him and what are the numbers say about what R.J. Harvey has to do better in his second NFL season? Yeah, I feel like the biggest thing with RJ is just maintaining and finding that confidence, right? And I felt like after JK's injury, he had a lot more on his plate.

Starting point is 00:14:13 I felt like at times maybe RJ got overwhelmed. But, I mean, you'd almost never see him pout or you'd never see his body language or head drop, even though that, hey, he might have been frustrated. You know, every game, whether he had, you know, a big play or if he struggled to run the football, because we know at times last season after JK.'s injury, the Broncos, their run game wasn't good enough. It wasn't consistent enough. RJ was very focused on, you know, I'm trying to figure out how I can get better. I also think part of this issue too, Sarah, and this is where I feel very confident in RJ continuing to develop and obviously adapt here.

Starting point is 00:14:44 I still think the scheme was a huge issue for the Broncos run game. I think the scheme was a little bit of an issue for RJ because I think RJ is more of a, hey, hit it, hit a hole downhill and go. And if you can get to the outside, great. Like he's got the speed, but defense is new coming into every game is, hey, we want to prevent RJ from getting to the outside. That was the thing. We want to force them inside. but the Broncos, it's all about patient running there. You know, when you're pulling your guards,

Starting point is 00:15:10 it's about being patient, getting behind those guys. Devere didn't have as much success there. And I think that was a frustrating thing because also think about it this way, Sarah, let's use Javante Williams as another example in this situation. Javante Williams was the primary guy. Down the stretch, RJ Harvey was the primary guy because of J.K's injury. But we saw RJ deal with the same exact issues that Javante dealt with last season, not having much room to go on the inside, right?

Starting point is 00:15:35 the outside runs obviously weren't there. That was one thing that they wanted to do was try to get him on those outside zones where you can stretch your offensive tackles out wide and try to seal guys and maybe get up the sideline. That just wasn't there. And I would say vision can be something that RJ can certainly improve on. But that's what I saw from him last season. And I think some of these issues could be fixed. Like, for example, once again, it's crazy how the addition of Jaylon Waddle could impact things here for the Broncos's offense.

Starting point is 00:16:00 So let's say that the Broncos are just terrorizing secondaries. Well, now I might force it to where defense. defenses can't stack the box against the Broncos as much as they did this past season. So I want to see how the scheme evolves, but I agree with you. RJ Harvey has to have at least better vision on the outside because sometimes he's trying to bounce it out there, nothing's there, and he's trying to make something happen, gets tackle for a loss, only gets one yard on the play. But then there's times where he's running a route to the outside, right, or in the flat.

Starting point is 00:16:26 He's catching it, making guys miss running through contact. It's like, okay, he can make it work as a receiver. If you can just get him there consistently as a runner, he's going to be a fun player to watch. I'm so excited to see where his continued development will take him. We'll see if he gets his Joker wings here in year two for the Denver Broncos, right? I mean, he was well on his way with those 12 touchdowns last year. But to put some numbers and perspective as well to what you were just saying, Cody, he came into the NFL, having ranked second among all draft eligible running backs in runs

Starting point is 00:16:57 of 10 plus or 15 plus yards. And then last season for the Denver Broncos, I mean, talk about the competition of the NFL, hitting you tough. He was 49th out of qualifying running backs in explosives, meaning 10 plus yard runs last season. So you go from the collegiate level at UCF where, I mean, shoot, you are just breaking and busting off big runs every time you're getting the ball, right? 10 plus yards, 15 plus yards. And then you get to the NFL and teams are starting to stack the box and all a sudden everybody is 10 times faster, right? You know, and playing with instincts and they're getting paid to play at a very high level and they're, you know, focusing on you. So RJ going from,

Starting point is 00:17:38 okay, maybe the most explosive back in this draft and George Peyton saying, we feel like he might have the best vision of any running back in this draft to now you are ranking 49th in the NFL and 10 plus yard runs. I mean, that is a humbling thing. So I think the Broncos did a really good job of amplifying some of his best skills as well as working with him on the things that he needs help with right now. And he was, Cody, he hit the, he hit the rookie wall last year. I mean, if we want to talk about the rookie wall, so get this, on November 12th, this is where RJ Harvey was at. He had only 214 rushing yards on November 12th, but he was averaging 4.28 yards per carry. He ended this past season. Get this. He ended this past season, 43rd among qualifying backs at 3.7 yards

Starting point is 00:18:27 per carry. So it dipped from November 12th. It dipped from over almost 4.3 to 3.7 by the end of the season. I mean, it was tough slut. You hit the rookie wall and teams started to focus on you. J.K. Dobbins goes down with an injury. You're now the focal point of the running game. It was just a tough year overall for RJ, but I bet he learned a lot from that,

Starting point is 00:18:48 and he has a lot of different areas that he needs to get just immediately better at to make this Broncos offense a truly complete group. Well, and I think just like the usage as well, I mean, at the beginning of the season, And RJ's highest volume came in week four, you know, prior to J.K. Dobbins' injury, week four against the Bengals. His highest rushing attempts that he's had so far in a game at that point was 14, right? And this was the game where we saw the Broncos use RJ and JK almost exclusively just as two backs.

Starting point is 00:19:17 One series, RJ, one series, JK. He had 58 yards in that game. He also had 40 yards receiving. He was nearly 100 yards from scrimmage overall in that game. And then Philadelphia, only four carries. The Jets game. It only has two carries in that game. The Giants game, four carries, Dallas, seven carries.

Starting point is 00:19:35 And then he broke off that 44-yard touchdown. After that he had, what was it? I think three carries that only warranted about four total yards after that. So you talk about the usage and how they spread it out a little bit. He just didn't have enough volume. Then after J.K.'s injury, that's when he started seeing the uptick, right? He had 11 carries against Kansas City. The most he had after that, Green Bay, 19 carries for 65 yards.

Starting point is 00:19:59 the week before that against Vegas, 17 total carries, 75 yards. That right there, and even in the AFC championship game, 13 carries for 37 yards in a snowy element. That's where like the Broncos, and I'd say RJ can be better at also running in between the tackle, Sarah's. In that type of snow game, there's no reason the Broncos shouldn't have turned to the run game, but they simply couldn't, especially against New England's front. So part of me is saying, hey, not only is that just a lack of experience thing here at the NFL level for RJ, but it's also a scheme issue that is very, very prevalent that they're going to have to change here going into the offseason. So I'm curious to see how they change things up here.

Starting point is 00:20:36 I am too. And I think that Davis Webb, you know, putting his fresh eyes on as the offensive coordinator is going to be key. But also, we know Sean mentioned going to Zach Streif after the ASC championship game talking about the run scheme like you mentioned. So that is a big deal. And RJ has to, he has to kind of take that next step as a professional. I mean, when you're dominating at the college level, playing at UCF, going to the NFL can be difficult, right? Not everybody's just going to immediately make that jump. So what do you do from year one to year two that's going to allow you to go from being, hey, I was the man at UCF.

Starting point is 00:21:14 But then I got to the NFL and I was only 35th in missed tackles force. Like that's one of his best traits is forcing mistackles. We saw it when he was a receiver. I mean, no doubt, no question about it. Get him out in space. he's going to make guys miss. So now how do you make guys miss when you're the ball carrier? Because that is something the Broncos sorely missed after J.K. Dobbins went down last year.

Starting point is 00:21:38 It was just like teams take that running game away. It's a big reason why the Broncos were number one in the NFL last year in past attempts and why they were 19th in rushing attempts. That is the discrepancy and the imbalance that every single fan felt all throughout last season. It's not RJ Harvey Harvey's fault, but it is. something that if the Broncos get into a similar situation, are they going to be able to rely on RJ Harvey? That's something that a lot of fans are worried about right now, is are they going to be able to rely upon a second round pick to carry the load and take these next steps going into

Starting point is 00:22:13 his, I think a pivotal year for what the Broncos ultimately decided to do long term at this position? I feel like that's a big reason why fans want the Broncos to add another veteran back to the mix. It's just hard to find a veteran guy who's wanted to take on that third role behind JK and RJ. That's also tough here. Broncos country, please let us know your thoughts on what you think RJ Harvey

Starting point is 00:22:32 has to do better here in 2026. But coming up next to the Broncos, they took a flyer on seventh rounder. Caleb Loner, 2026 is a make or break year for the Broncos project at tight end. Today's episode of the show was brought to by friends over there

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Starting point is 00:23:44 But you have a time to develop on the practice squad for a season learning more about how Sean Payton wants things. Here in 2026 in a room, Sarah, that Broncos fans are desperately hoping that, you know, they were going to upgrade in free agency. They decided to run it back. Broncos country's hoping a Caleb Loner can maybe emerge into something special here. But he's got a lot of things he's going to have to improve on if he's going to do just that. He does. And obviously, coming into the NFL with just 59 snaps played at the college level,

Starting point is 00:24:16 it's a project among projects, right? And it wasn't like the Broncos were the only team intrigued by Caleb Loner by any. That's why they drafted him in the seventh round. I think the Colts were the team. that was trying to get him. Actually, funny enough, I think the Colts just signed a Notre Dame basketball player. So, like, the Colts are making this happen one way or the other.

Starting point is 00:24:35 But that's neither here nor there. The Broncos, they've got Caleb Loner. He's now done what a lot of folks thought he would do when he was initially picked, which is Marinate on the practice squad. What does he have to do better? Well, he has to learn the nuances of playing football, doesn't he? I mean, he's still learning the game, essentially, by coming over playing basketball.

Starting point is 00:24:55 obviously then you play one year of football, 59 snaps. I think every catch that he had at Utah, which was not many, but every single catch was a score, whether it was a touchdown or a two-point conversion. So he definitely brings a very fascinating element to him with his size, athleticism, the ability to be a red zone threat, the ability to potentially go out there, maybe block a kick on field goal team,

Starting point is 00:25:21 but it's learning the nuances of the game of football that now we're expecting, okay, you passed on a really good draft class at Tide End to take this guy. And ultimately, I mean, there's more pressure on him because of that. And it wasn't just fans throwing out the name Jimmy Graham, like Sean Payton threw out the name Jimmy Graham after the draft as well. So there's a lot on this guy as an older young player, which I know sounds weird to say, but he came into the league as an older rookie. So there's just a lot of factors at play here that I think he does have to have a huge offseason program and training camp and preseason to crack this roster. But the intrigue is for sure there.

Starting point is 00:26:04 Yeah. And he's going to get these opportunities here in training camp. I think obviously in the preseason games. This is why, Sarah, I wish the NFL had all four preseason games, right? Instead of three because some of these games, the starters and the second string guys are going to see a lot more time in the first couple of weeks. And then it's like, all right, hey, Caleb, you get to go out in the third game. you get to play the whole game, but, you know, hey, this is it, four quarters of meaningful football for you. That's not a lot for a player to get accustomed to the game.

Starting point is 00:26:30 Like, Sarah, think about this. You mentioned how many snaps he played at the college level. Think about even just for guys who played four years, sometimes even five years at college, coming to the NFL, and there's still a huge learning curve. So it's like the expectations for loaner, I think, are a little unreasonably high. But with Sean Payton saying these things about him, it puts a lot of pressure on him, which doesn't necessarily help. But it could also, maybe it motivates.

Starting point is 00:26:56 Maybe it challenges a player of loner stature. But I think in terms of where we can see him get better, I thought he struggled with drops in his hands last season, especially in the preseason. We saw a lot of that blocking. That was also an issue. Penalties. That was also an issue.

Starting point is 00:27:10 All these things, I also kind of expect, though, from a guy who doesn't have much playing experience. That's now trying to get his feet wet in the NFL, which is a completely different animal for the first time. Now I think maybe going through an NFL routine, staying in the wait room, being in the playbook, knowing these things, I think maybe now coming in a training camp, he could be one of these players to keep an eye on. There's not going to be a lot of high expectations on him to make the roster, but everybody's going to be making sure to say, hey, can he make a few plays? And look, he's even up his game a little bit this off season. He's training with a former well-known NFL player.

Starting point is 00:27:45 Yeah, Donald Driver, very interesting. Luca Evans dropping that note on Twitter the other day. talking about how Caleb Loner is doing some offseason work with former Packers legend Donald Driver, a seventh round pick himself once upon a time. I believe back in 1999. I think I have one of his rookie cards floating around my collection, Cody. Somebody can fact check me on that. But Donald Driver is a very interesting player to be working with or former player to be working with

Starting point is 00:28:11 because you assume if you're working with a receiver, obviously you're going to be working on hands catching the ball, but also running routes. And I think that's something that Caleb Loner, obviously being a raw football prospect, you have to be efficient at running routes. And that's something that can make or break for a tight end, your effectiveness. As if you are a good route runner as a tight end, you don't even have to be the most athletic guy. You just have to be able to make people think you're, and he is athletic, right? But like Zach Ertz kind of torched the Broncos last season when he was with the commanders,

Starting point is 00:28:45 I think Zach Ertz is close to my age, Cody. But he's out there cooking younger guys because he's so good at running routes and creating ways for himself to get open. So again, it's those nuances of playing the game of football, which we haven't even touched on really the blocking element that Caleb Loner, I mean, I don't think he's necessarily going to be asked to go out there and pummel guys into the ground. But that was another problem. We talked about RJ Harvey's issues running to the outside. Perimeter blocking was not very good for the Broncos last year. And that includes guys like Adam Troutman, who was brought back. It includes the guys at wide receiver and, you know, these players that are supposed to be good perimeter blockers.

Starting point is 00:29:23 So if Caleb Loner can be effective as a big slot, you know, go run over a defensive back and get him out of the way if you're running back. I mean, I'm interested to see the progression. And what does Sean Payton always say? Confidence is born from demonstrated ability. So if Caleb Loner can get ahead of steam going in training camp, I mean, shoot, he might carry it over into the preseason and steal a roster spot. that's the hope right that would be so huge too and i think it would excite broncos fans as well especially at that position i mean even talking to adam trotman last year when they implemented the outside zone i adam's like it is the hardest thing that we've had to learn like it is such a

Starting point is 00:30:00 adjustment imagine you know jerry greenlaw said learning the broncos defense was like learning spanish i imagine for caleb loner i don't know how he is in terms of like his knowledge of mathematics but i'm sure that's like you know algebra versus trigonometry like learning this broncos offense playing the infill was probably like trigonometry for a guy like Loner. So I want to see him obviously tackle that. I'm also very curious as well. And this is something I'm sure like when I get a chance to talk to him,

Starting point is 00:30:26 maybe a training camp, I want to ask him maybe what he learned a little bit from Mercedes-Lewis for a good portion of last season. That's one reason why the Broncos honestly kept Mercedes around when he wasn't playing was, hey, this is a guy who can help out these young guys behind the scenes on the practice field, show them little tips and tricks. I'm curiously how that benefits maybe a player like Loner going into his second season, where, you know, I think the observation of him making a roster, there's a lot of pressure. But at the end of the day, he was a seventh round pick.

Starting point is 00:30:54 The expectations on him aren't necessarily too high. So with that, could take some of that pressure off of his plate. I'm curious to see how he responds here. But if he does hit that developmental trajectory that maybe Sean Payton believes, and we all see it, it could be exciting here for this Broncos team as they go into 2026. Her Broncos country, thank you so much for tuning in rocking with us. making us your first list and make sure you subscribe, follow the show wherever you get your podcast or on YouTube. We appreciate you so much.

Starting point is 00:31:21 Take your time out of your day. All you every day is out there. You can follow us on Twitter at Cody Rock NFL at Sarah Bedinger. Tomorrow's episode of the show, Sarah and I are going to take a look at the Broncos defensive side of the ball where player development is going to follow under the microscope for players like Jada Barron and others. You're going to get all that on tomorrow's episode of the show. We'll see you then.

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