Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - BACK AGAIN: Broncos Bring Back ANOTHER Familiar Face With Lil'Jordan Humphrey Return

Starting point is 00:00:00 Guess who's back? Back again. Lil Jordan Humphrey's back. Let's talk about it, friends. You are locked on Broncos. Your daily Denver Broncos podcast. Part of the Locked on podcast network, your team every day. The Denver Broncos, to say the least, have been running it back with their own players in the 2026 off season. You can't accuse the team of being inactive because they have been very active, resigning their own players. the Broncos have brought back 16 of their 21 free agents, the latest of which is wide receiver, Lil Jordan Humphrey, who of course caught a touchdown pass in the divisional round

Starting point is 00:00:42 against the Buffalo Bills and is now entering his seventh season working with Sean Payton, the Denver Broncos head coach. Pretty unprecedented stuff, Broncos country. When we're talking about roster continuity, how many guys that Broncos are bringing back, despite kind of the idea that they might lose quite a few,

Starting point is 00:01:00 they're really running it back in 2026. We'll see if it works out for him. And we're going to break down this move and what it means for the wide receiver group, all coming up on today's episode, Locked on Broncos. And my name is Sarah Bedinger. I'm the co-host here of Lockdown Broncos, as well as the site expert at predominantly orange.com. And just quickly want to say thank you to all of you every dayers out there that make

Starting point is 00:01:21 Lockdown Broncos your first listen of the day every single day. If you haven't already considered joining the Everyday All Access Club, we want to invite you to do that today because you can get one month free with the code, free agency, all one word, all caps, free agency. You can get one month free now through March 15th. So time's running out. Make sure you sign up for that today. The link will be in the show notes for you.

Starting point is 00:01:43 Let's talk about little Jordan Humphrey coming back. I've been as critical as anyone about the Broncos bringing all these guys back. And I think you got to maybe think about some of these moves independent of the overall strategy, right? Because I think bringing J.K. Dobbins back, great move. I think bringing back Justin Simmons, great move. Nate Adkins, love that move. Lil Jordan Humphrey actually liked this move. I may be, I think Broncos Country may be split on this one,

Starting point is 00:02:08 but I do like bringing back Lil Jordan Humphrey. We saw how valuable that depth was late last season. I know that, you know, he still had a drop in that Buffalo playoff game before he had the touchdown catch to redeem himself. But certainly you think that somebody like this who's played in this offense for a number of years, I think he just continually raises the floor of that room. And here's the number one thing that I think about if I'm really looking through as optimistic and positive of a lens as I can at these moves to bring back all of these different players to re-sign everybody and what that means. I think one of the biggest positives is the fact that when rookies come in, when new players come in, they are going to have to unseat a lot of players on both sides of the ball and even on special teams who have a lot of experience in this offense.

Starting point is 00:02:56 So talent alone is not going to get the job done. Now, that can be a double-edged sword as well because then ultimately you might not play the more talented player because you're playing the more experienced player. And there can be value to both sides of that, right? To guys sitting and learning versus the more talented guys playing. But I do like little Jordan Humphrey coming back for the Broncos on a veteran minimum deal. It's probably not even going to count against the top 51 on the salary cap. And if it does, it's obviously minimal. but it's really not that bad of a contract when you look at the overall makeup of it one year.

Starting point is 00:03:31 You know, veteran minimum, a guy who has experience caught 12 passes for you just last season. And we've seen the Broncos be very, very, I mean, this has been so important to them to bring these types of guys back, hasn't it? I mean, even Michael Bandy, they had to fend off other teams from trying to get him. And they brought him back by, I think they gave him a $10,000 signing bonus or something like that. as a little way to entice him to choose the Broncos and to come back over going elsewhere. And look, I think it's a great deal for little Jordan Humphrey. He's got a great situation. The Broncos are a young wide receiver room.

Starting point is 00:04:07 He would probably be in there as wide receiver five right now at worst, wide receiver six before we get to the NFL draft because as of right now, the Broncos haven't brought anybody else in to that room. And he's got the experience factor. He's played now for the team in the playoffs. it's a solid move, I think, for the Broncos depth. And just to have a 90-man roster full of guys who know your system, they know the offense, they know the coaches, they know what's expected.

Starting point is 00:04:37 And quite frankly, all these players that, you know, were free agents, they weren't going to get to experience this new training facility that we've been waiting for for a couple of years now in Broncos country. So now they'll get to experience that. So it's obviously great for Lil Jordan Humphrey to come back to a familiar situation. But I think what really is interesting about this move to me is the fact that I feel like the Broncos are putting a lot of faith in their coaching staff to develop these young guys. And they're really saying, hey, we believe that those coaches can raise the bar significantly for these young players. And somebody like Lil Jordan Humphrey is once again going to raise that bar in terms of the competition at training camp.

Starting point is 00:05:17 This is a guy who knows the offense, who's going to be able to execute things better than rookies are. So it's going to say, hey, if you're a rookie coming into this Denver Broncos team, you better learn the playbook quickly. You better get up to speed quickly because you have to beat out a guy who, man, he may be wider receiver five or six on the depth chart, but he's got a lot of experience and a lot of history with Sean Payton. So again, Broncos country, I get it. There's a little double-edged sword there because that experience can cause you

Starting point is 00:05:45 to stick with what's familiar instead of going after something new and maybe better. But for little Jordan Humphrey, I think we've seen his value proven for this team and certainly he's had his struggles, but Sean Peyton is bringing back his favorites. The team is going after continuity. We're going to talk a little bit more about the wide receiver room as a whole going into the offseason, a notable coaching addition that the Broncos just made that we'll also discuss fully on tomorrow's show.

Starting point is 00:06:10 But want to get into a little bit more of the additions to the coaching staff that the Broncos made and why this team is putting so much faith at the wide receiver position in the guys that they already have coming up on today's episode. Lockdown Broncos. This episode of Lockdown Broncos is brought to you by Fanduel. College basketball is nonstop. Big games, tight spreads, momentum swings every single night from early tip-offs to late night West Coast shootouts.

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Starting point is 00:08:36 And yes, I understand that what it represents is more of the same for the Broncos and the frustration of the fan base to want to go out and make impact additions. But I think independent of the overall strategy, I do like bringing back Will Jordan Humphrey. and I like this wide receiver room. I don't think I bring that up personally enough on this show. I really do like the young receivers that the Broncos have. I mean, Cortland Sutton is obviously a nice veteran to have at the top of your depth chart.

Starting point is 00:09:03 Troy Franklin made a lot of strides this past year. I think we would all agree that Marvin Mims Jr. needs way more opportunities in the offense. And then the glimpses that we saw from Pat Bryant last year were really nice. And I just, I don't know. I know you can poke holes. in any one of those young players in terms of, hey, well, Pat Bryant, he struggled with some injuries last year, particularly concussions, which are very serious. And that's an issue that you have to keep an eye on going forward.

Starting point is 00:09:32 Marvin Mims also with concussions last year. And then obviously, Troy Franklin didn't even play majority of the playoffs for the Broncos because of a hamstring injury that he suffered. So there's concerns and they are valid when it comes to these young receivers. The Broncos also one of the leaders in the NFL last year in drops. And Sean Payton was talking about that after the season, about how you're supposed to catch a ball properly. He was like visually showing everybody. And so what did he do?

Starting point is 00:10:00 He fires wide receivers coach Kerry Colbert, who's now with the Baltimore Ravens in case you didn't know that, on Declan Doyle's staff over there. And they bring in Ronald Curry, who was a converted quarterback, played wide receiver in the NFL, coached up Michael Thomas during one of his best years ever with the New Orleans Saints.

Starting point is 00:10:17 on Sean Payton's staff. And he's been working with the Buffalo Bills the past couple of seasons, I think, with Josh Allen as their quarterbacks coach. So he's going to come in, coach up the wide receivers. They're also bringing in Willie Sneed, the fourth former Saints player

Starting point is 00:10:32 as an offensive quality control coach. And he's somebody who, when you kind of mix these two things together, somebody on Twitter pointed out that, hey, the Broncos are bringing in somebody who's obviously a former, a couple former NFL wide receiver. and two guys who are very familiar with Sean Payton's offense,

Starting point is 00:10:51 you figure that those guys are not only going to try to help with technique, but get somebody else potentially, maybe a rookie wide receiver coming in up to speed on the offense as quickly as possible. And when you have former players working with players, obviously that's a huge advantage when it comes to, hey, this is how you do it the right way. And so Ronald Curry and Willie Sneed now being on the Denver Broncos staff, that's kind of an important couple of additions to this coaching staff.

Starting point is 00:11:19 And it's not for nothing, right? I mean, the Broncos haven't gone out at the time of this recording and made a big free agent acquisition at receiver. They haven't made a big trade at receiver. I think they're really buying the talent that they have and that the right coaches can get the best out of those young guys. And I think while that's a faith-filled strategy that doesn't necessarily say, hey, we're adding a guy who had, you know, 900 yards and nine touchdowns last year.

Starting point is 00:11:43 or we're adding a premier proven playmaker at wide receiver with a big time blockbuster trade. This guy has proven production. Like obviously those moves give you some concrete ideas of, hey, if you insert AJ Brown or J. Brown or Jalen Waddle or, you know, player X, whoever it may be, even somebody like Joanne Jennings, who's still a free agent as a time we're recording this, if you insert that player into the offense, like they have production that you can reasonably expect. but when it comes to the progression of young players, you're putting faith behind the coaches.

Starting point is 00:12:16 You're putting faith behind the scheme. You're putting faith behind the player showing growth. And we know that growth is not always a perfectly linear thing. It's not that upward trajectory all the time. There's hills and valleys that come along with that. So you're putting faith behind your young guys. And rightfully so, you drafted those guys. You drafted Marvin Mims in the second round.

Starting point is 00:12:37 You drafted Troy Franklin in the fourth and traded up to get him. You maneuver it around the board to get Pat Bryant. So I get it. The Broncos like those guys, but they're putting serious faith behind them by not making any other notable moves except for bringing back somebody like Lil Jordan Humphrey, changing the receivers coach, bringing in somebody like Willie Sneed to be an offensive quality control coach and really help bring these young guys up and get the best out of them. So it's going to be really fascinating to see how it works out, Broncos country.

Starting point is 00:13:07 Once again, I mean, the team is running it back. They're running it back with so many different free agents that have been brought back. Honestly, wouldn't be surprised if, you know, later on we've got to do another bonus episode on the team bringing back to Lul McLaughlin. It feels like he's kind of the last stone of the infinity gauntlet that needs to be added, right? So I think that the overall strategy this offseason has been a bit disappointing. But at the same time, you know, Broncos, they're entering sort of uncharted waters in terms of continuity. We don't see this in the NFL.

Starting point is 00:13:38 We don't see this amount of continuity. in the NFL. And yes, familiarity breeds contempt in some ways. But also that continuity could be a huge deal when it comes to the team being tight, that chemistry being so important. And we'll see how it works out for the Broncos. And of course, there's a long off season yet to come.

Starting point is 00:13:58 It's still only the middle of March. And so they've got plenty of time to make other moves. Let us know what you think of the little Jordan Humphrey move Broncos country. But we appreciate you so much for tuning in to today's show. And we'll catch you on. the next one.

Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - BACK AGAIN: Broncos Bring Back ANOTHER Familiar Face With Lil'Jordan Humphrey Return

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