Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - BRONCOS SQUAD SHOW: Which WR Has The MOST PRESSURE On Them After Jaylen Waddle Trade?

Episode Date: March 27, 2026

The Denver Broncos wide receiver room got a major upgrade in Jaylen Waddle. With that, which of returning wide receivers has the most pressure on them to perform with Waddle now in the mix? What are the expectations for guys like Marvin Mimms Jr, Courtland Sutton and Troy Franklin? Join Aniello Piro, Cody Roark, Sayre Bedinger and Nick Ferguson on today's Locked On Broncos Squad Show as they break it down! Everydayer Club If you never miss an episode, it’s time to make it official. Join the Locked On Everydayer Club and get ad-free audio, access to our members-only Discord, and more — all built for our most loyal fans. Click here to learn more and join your team’s community: https://lockedonpodcasts.com/everydayerclub Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! TurboTax This year you’re getting a major upgrade — Intuit TurboTax now has in-person locations nationwide. Visit http://TurboTax.com/local to book your appointment today. Indeed Listeners of this show get a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to help give your job the premium placement it deserves at http://Indeed.com/podcast. Gametime Today's episode is brought to you by Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase. Terms and conditions apply. Robinhood You’re no longer just a spectator. Play by play. You decide. Trade Every Play with Robinhood. Now available across the U.S. Download the Robinhood app now to begin. Futures and cleared swaps trading involves significant risk and is not appropriate for everyone. Event contracts are offered by Robinhood Derivatives, LLC., a registered futures commission merchant and swap firm. FanDuel Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. During the tournament FanDuel is offering $300 back in Bonus Bets every day for ten days. Visit https://FANDUEL.COM to get started — Play Your Game. 5-Hour ENERGY Have your cake & drink it too. Birthday cake-flavor is back, no fork needed. Vanilla-y cakey flavor, caffeinated kick, and no sugar. It's party time. Order Now at 5-hourENERGY.com or Amazon. Home Chef For a limited time, Home Chef is offering my listeners 50% off your first box, free shipping, and free dessert for life. Go to http://HomeChef.com/LOCKEDON. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

I'm a little Piro. It's Friday. And honestly, I'm just excited to see what Sarah has to rant about today. I'm Cody Rourke. The Denver Broncos wide receiver room has an embarrassment of riches. And that's a good thing. I'm Sarah Bredinger. And did you know that D2 the Mighty Ducks just turned 32 years old? We're getting the reference out of the way right now. I'm Nick Ferguson. And I'm here to tell you that Jalen Wado is wide receiver one for the Denver Broncos. All right, let's break it on down on a Friday edition of your Locked-on Broncos squad show. Let's get into it, fellas. From the South stands, it's the Broncos squad. Everything Denver Broncos every week.

Covering all the big hits and game-changing plays from the Mile High City, the way only the Locked-on podcast network can. Gear up and squad up. The Broncos Squad Show starts now. It is your Lockdown Bronco Squad Show right here on. your locked on a bronco's YouTube channel and audio feed hope everyone in and around broncos country is doing well out there happy Friday we've made it to the end of the week love to see that got the full squad here today anilo piero cody warr sara bedinger and nick ferguson and guys

today's episode is brought to you by our friends over at fan duel during the tournament fan duel is offering three hundred dollars back and bonus bets every day for 10 days head to fanduel dot com to get started march madness is here. Opening day was yesterday. My Italian national team got a win in their World Cup qualifier. So away we go. What's up, fellas? You truly are a degenerate. That's the thing. I wasn't bent on that. I had to go kill like three and a half hours at the car dealership yesterday. And it actually worked out nicely, though, because I had the Mets on opening day. So I'm watching that. And then Italy started at 145 and actually made the time go by pretty quickly.

I tell you. Do you have to get your oil changed or what? What took you three and a half out? I had a recall. They had to like fix apart. Oil change as well. And like my check engine light was on, which I found out was just because there was like a plug that was loose. So thankfully nothing actually wrong with the car. I was like,

you're like there. You're like my wife. You know, my wife will hit something or keep driving and be like, oh, this thing's really bright. What does this mean? And then she'd be like,

she'll hit it. She's like, you know, she'll blame it on her. What is it? Astrology or astronomy, whatever the heck they call. She's like,

oops. I'm an asparagus. So it's like, you know, here we go. My God. But happy Friday, everyone. I mean, it's crazy.

Like, this is truly the hardest time of the off season is like right here. The dead time between free agency and the draft. Oy, it's brutal. And it's not like we have like any real meat on the bone with the draft either because they don't have a first round pick. Like, obviously we'll dive into what they should do with their later picks and later rounds. But like usually first round pick, I think is kind of what the conversation likes to focus upon. But I guess we can't complain too much because the reason why the Broncos don't have a first round pick. because they've traded for wide receiver Jalen Waddle.

Great first round pick right there. Yeah, very good. I mean, who are you really getting at 30 that was going to be like a tried and true impact player? Like that's how. I remember sort of like you had a little bit of a, I don't want to call it a rant, but like maybe it was a couple of weeks ago about like offensive linemen and this and that, right?

And it's like with the Broncos in this win now window, you got to do the best of your ability to go out and get win now players. And I don't mean this as a slight or a jab, but like Shaday Barron who did play for the Broncos, right? but you used a premium pick on him in the first round. Like he's still kind of a project. And like whoever you would have drafted at 30 probably would have been a project as well. So when it comes to Jalen Waddle, I think it makes a lot of sense.

Yeah, you can run down the list of 30th overall picks over just the recent NFL draft history. I mean, and that's not to say I hate sometimes I hate that because it's like, well, then you're scouting. It's like you're scouting the helmet, right? Like, oh, what was the whole thing? Texas tech quarterbacks never work out in the NFL. and then Patrick Mahomes comes along. So it's just kind of funny like, oh, 30th overall picks never were. I mean, you could get a good player there, but you're right.

I mean, and that's what we've been banging the table for all offseason is that a roster that is everybody saying, everybody agrees, this is a good roster. They made it to the AFC championship. Probably would have made it to the Super Bowl if Bo Nix had played. So it's a good team. And you started the offseason essentially with 71 of those players that you had on the practice squad and on your active roster throughout the course. So last season, guys you drafted, guys who are on injured reserve, like 71 players out of 90 for

continuity's sake. So you're bringing back all these guys. So if you believe the roster is that good to bring back 71 guys, then go get an impact player to prove that you believe in this roster, not just say, no, let's run it back because we know, Sean Payton doesn't believe in that. He says, we got to shuffle the board or we got to, you know, restart the game or we got to set up the puzzle, you know, throw all the pieces onto the table and shuffle. them all up and mess it all up again because you start over.

That's why you add the impact player because you are starting over. And Jalen Waddle just takes this team to another level. So I think that is, I mean, bigger impact than anybody they could have possibly taken at 30 overall. You're telling me, you know, all the mock drafts that never taken a safety at 30th overall, Jaylon. My goodness. I would take that every day. It's the same as, remember when, remember,

Remember when you and I were literally in the middle of doing a show when Aaron Rogers signed his contract extension to go back to Green Bay? We spent that entire offseason putting on the tinfoil hats, talking about Shailene Woodleys from, you know, living in Colorado. Aaron Rogers going to want to play for the Broncos. He reached out, blah, blah, blah, blah. Like we were so set on the idea that Aaron Rogers was going to come to Denver. And I think we were right. I think that was the plan, you know. And then he signs with Green Bay.

and I are sitting there doing an episode. We're talking about freaking Matt Corral and Kenny and we're like, what are these guys like, what are we going to do? And then the Russell Wilson news dropped. So like, I get the idea that it doesn't always work out, but I mean, just think about the difference there of that option. It could have got the NDP and then you can you pick it and, you know, Matt Corral and it's like, man, this sucks by comparison. So I think to circle it back, it's like the J-L model thing. Now, it's going to be to

that back then, it's like, well, who's getting 30? You get Casey, Concepcion, whatever, however you say his last name. Concepcion. So it's so much better at this way. Is Matt Corral still in the league? No.

He's a UFL guy, I think. Yes, he is. Where did he get, was it? He played Carolina? Right? Yep. Wow, that's like a name that I just haven't thought of it. I don't think he's holding corral. He's a golden corral. He's working at golden corral. That could have been so great. Nick, you're just overall thoughts,

because we're going to have a pretty lengthy conversation today about, like, the wide receiver room as a whole. Like, not necessarily like X's and O's. I'm sure that'll be a part of it. But like, the pressure is now turned up on this wide receiver room, no doubt about it. But like, when it comes to just the conversation we're having at hand here about the 30th overall pick

and trading that, like going back to Cody's point of this kind of being the dog days of the off season for lack of my better. phrase like yes maybe in the moment like there's not like a whole lot of meat on the bone but the end result with how Denver handled that first round pick among some other picks as well I think is is the right way to go about it this offseason for Denver yeah they said in that room and they were trying to decide okay well let's look at what was uh 20 25 what were the results for the team as a whole but what were the results for the wide receiver room and that's the room that we're

definitely talking about and we talked about it before when we look at things or positions of need for the Denver Broncos, wide receivers was one of the bigger, you know, groups for me, even though most people were talked about the linebackers, but they sat in that room and they said, we have to have a comprehensive plan. Do we like where we are at every position, especially this position? And even though Sean Payton said that, hey, look, we good with where we are with the wide receiver room. Obviously, you were not that good. You tried to add Waddle last season. Didn't work. So you saw another opportunity, another window, and you made sure that, hey, listen, of the big splash that we're going to make in free agency, this is going to be

the one move we're going to make. We're going to trade for the guy and finally get the guy that we want because now we have a different regime with the Miami Dolphins, and they're not really tied to Jalen Wado as maybe the last regime was in Mike McDaniels. So they took their shot. And now you have Jaden Wado, who's a member of this team. And then I'll say this, man, if I'm a Y receiver in that room, I got to feel a little bad and ashamed as to how did the Broncos get to this point? Because you got a new Y-Receiver and Jalen Waddle. They gave up a first, a third, and swapped the fourth with the Miami Dolphins. And oh, by the way, your Y-Receiver coach, they fired him, right?

So someone needs to man up and own that inside that Y-receiver room because if the team was willing to do all of this for a Y-receiver on the outside who belongs to another team, what must that same? truly about what they think about the wide receivers inside the room. And we can sit here and we can talk about court of the sudden Pat Brian, Troy Franklin, Marvin, Mims, so we're blue in the face. But I can tell you, just the business of football tells me that they didn't really feel as high on this group as they openly came out in the public and said. That's what I was going to say.

Look at Sean Payton's thoughts. Like when he was asked about the wide receiver room, like I forget the exact verbates that he used, but seemed pretty confident in the room. Like we like our room, I think is essentially what Sean had to say in that capacity. And look, you're always looking to upgrade, right? Like, even if you do like your room, like, let's take what Sean said at face value. Like, if you have an opportunity to go out there and get a Jalen Waddle type of player or an manual Sanders type of player like we saw back in the day with the Denver Broncos, like,

naturally you're going to do that when you have a team built the way that you're currently built, Cody. Yeah. And look, I think a world exists where the Broncos could like their wide receiver room, but still want to add a guy. I mean, Denver doesn't, Denver didn't have a guy like Waddle, period. right? What is Waddle going to do for this offense? He's going to open things up everywhere. He's a vertical threat in zone and man coverage. He's across the middle of the field threat.

He's a guy who can obviously catch the passes short, do damage after the catch. I mean, he brings something to the table. The Broncos have not had this position in a handful of years. And that complements, I think it opens things up for guys like Cortland Sutton. And yes, I think it does add pressure on the other guys in that room. But I think we sometimes forget that we were talking about the wider receiver room last year where, hey, it was pretty good in the eyes of the Broncos going into the playoffs. They lose two guys and all of a sudden it's dire straits. It's wow. Demer needs to add depth at this position.

Well, you go get two, you have two legit weapons there in Cortland and now Jalen. It's going to free things up for Cortland. Jalen is going to go through and eat. But this is going to do nothing but benefit. I think guys like Troy, Marvin and Pat Bryant exclusively. And I think the guy, the odd man out right now is going to be a little joy. Gordon Humphrey, probably a practice squad guy here for Denver. But I like it.

I think a world for both of those scenarios exists here for Denver. Let me throw out a question. And either one of you three can go ahead and take it. And I'm looking at just the offensive side of the ball before the Jalen Wattle edition. Is there any position group on offense that feels elite to the Denver Broncos? Quarterback. See, and I don't even know if I'd say elite at quarterback. I'd say very good.

Like when I think elite, like I think of the Lamar's, you know, the Staffords. Like I think Bo. Marr wasn't elite last year, though. But body of work saying. Well, I would say, yeah. I think Bo is trending more with less. What quarterback did more with less than Bo Nix over the last two years? I mean, injured, injured running back one.

Wide receiver room was perceived to need an upgrade to the degree of a Jalen Waddle, tight end room, one of the worst in the NFL in terms of overall production. Like, I don't know, Bo Nix. Well, offensive line is elite, but we saw how good, how much better does Bo Nix make the O line look based on what we saw in the AFC championship? And I'm not saying it's a bad O line. But I'm saying that O line wasn't necessarily just road grading dudes in the running game all season. And when they needed to protect for a longer period of time, for Jared Stidham, they couldn't do it. So I just, I don't know.

I'm not saying the bad. I don't think the O line is elite at all. No. I think they have, I think Quinn Miners is an elite player. I think he's probably the one guy right now that I look at it on the offensive line and say he's elite. Garrett had an elite year last year. I would say yes.

They really have two guys that are elite on that old line. Like for me, if I look at an offensive line as elite, I'm talking about an offensive line that imposes their dominance in the run game where they're blowing guys off the line of scrimmage. That did not happen. It was more so we're blocking in place and opening a hole opens up and our running back and hit it. I wish we could get back to seeing this Broncos' offensive line just be a physically

dominant unit. They're a finesse unit. Are they physically dominant? I don't think so. I think a couple guys are. I think Garrett and Quinn are the only two that are physically dominant. Well, to answer Sarah's question, who did more with less, I would have to look out West and further out West and go to the San Francisco 49ers. We watch Mack Jones go out there and lead that 49ers team, and they were beat up. Now, I'm not saying Mac Jones is elite, but he was able to make a lot of plays and Bo. Bo is not elite yet. And that term gets thrown around a lot at one position and one position only.

And that's the quarterback. That's why there's been so much devaluing of the running back position because everyone keeps talking about the quarterback. He's elite. He's elite pushing all the chips to the table for the quarterback, making that guy the top guy over the entire team. But let's be honest about what we're talking about. When we look at what Bo did last year, Bo had some moments in the fourth

quarter where he made a lot of plays and he was exceptional with using his legs, but that only happens because you have an elite defense. The defense really carried this team and put them in a position where they could have those fourth quarter comebacks. And Cody, I'm glad you brought this up talking about the offensive line. The offensive line has a couple of elite players, and we just named two, Quinn Miners and Garrett Bowes. But far as a unit collectively, they're not elite because all I heard was a lot of

complaints when Javante Williams was here about he was the reason why the team couldn't run the ball. And that was so far from the truth. Because if you go back and you watch the game against the Washington commanders, right? And you watch the offensive line. And you watch R.J. Harvey trying to find a freaking hole to run through. There were none. And you're telling me you got five guys who can't really command and really bully because on the run play, the defense doesn't know what's happening, right? We don't know. But you know from an offensive line standpoint, so you get the advantage before the ball is snapped and you can't get a reach block. You can't do a combo block, get to the second level, and you can't drive guys off the ball. That's not the damn

running back's fault. This is where the team needs to get better. And Cody, I'm glad you use this word because this is a finesse group that you have across the offensive line. Right. Now, if you want to say, well, there's a, where is the maller on an offensive line? It's one person. And that's Quinn Miners, right? Paul Quinn Moore. This offensive line is not physical. They're a finesse group in order for this run game, RJ Harvey, J.K. Dobbins, who in the hell you want to put back there for them to get to the next level? These guys have to play like they're pissing vinegar. And right now they're

not playing that way. I think it's a great conversation, honestly. I feel like we could even continue this too because I also believe I believe this Broncos offensive line can get to a point. I think they have guys that are strong across the board. I think so much is the scheme asking them to marry their scheme with their, you know, with different physical abilities. And I'll say this, some Broncos offensive line, and I know throughout training camp, I've heard them talking about it. They were like this new outside zone blocking scheme that they were implementing,

they were complaining about it. They're like, you know, this is like, I don't want to say exactly it wasn't like any of the starters. It was some of the backers. This is going away from what we do best, like what we can do. It was more about finesse because, hey, we brought in RJ Harvey. We really want to use him to finesse people on the outside. But the reality is now you have to get to landmarks.

And now what was happening is that defenses are coming out in different fronts and they were really dictating essentially what the Broncos could run from a run game operation. And that is why Sean talked so much at the end of the year about going to Zach's Streif and saying, hey, we, I talk to him about a run scheme. I want to be able to run the ball out of this, this, this, this and this. So part of me is thinking the scheme is going to change. And also interesting enough, I don't know if we talked about on the squad show, Sarah and I did.

Zach Streif, obviously the run game coordinator, assistant head coach, but if you notice, he doesn't have the offensive line coach title anymore. That got changed. What are we making that? The plot thickens. I think the Broncos are self-aware. I do. I mean, they fired the receiver coach.

They fired the defensive backs coach. That was kind of a surprise because, look, the guy that they believe in at that position is not the coach. They believe in Riley Moss. And they're saying, why is Riley Moss struggling so bad? Why is he getting called for so many penalties? Why are we having to put boxing gloves on him during the week? You're gone. You're out of here.

And I don't know the guy personally. So I can't speak to that personal situation. But like the same with the wide receivers and Kerry Colbert. I mean, look, the receivers are not getting separation. They're not making enough clutch catches. They're not coming through for the quarterback. That's the receivers are why Bo Nix is not being considered elite unanimously in this chat. Two straight years of drop passes in the top two or three of the entire NFL.

That's not just your receivers. Like, I mean, it's got to be, it's got to be all encompassing. And yeah, there might be fall guys in certain situations, but there's a common denominator when you change up the group multiple times over, and it's the coaches. And so that's, I just, I think like, yes, maybe there's a devil you know versus the devil you don't. But at the same time, I think the team is self-aware. Like, even Sean Payton, like, he pulls himself out of the play calling.

He's like, I get it. Like, looking back at last season, that was part of the problem, me. And so he's, he's like, I'm out of here. Davis Webb is going to do it now. So I think there's a self-awareness of this is what's not working. This is what has to get better. And we're believing in the players. And we're going to show we believe in the players by changing the coach

as opposed to throwing out the baby with the bathwater and getting rid of all these players that we believe in their talent. See, for me, I don't subscribe to that because two things can be true at the same time. Could coaching be a little poor? Absolutely. Could players not perform their job? Absolutely. So the way that I look at it, yes, you're right, Sayer, they're self-aware.

But that means in being self-aware, you got to throw someone on the sword, right? Someone's got to fall on a grenade. In this case, you got coach Addison Lynch, Addison Lynch, who fell on a grenade and you just can't say, well, he is the one reason that Riley Moss was not excelling. At some point as a player, and Cody, you know this. You got to stand up. You got to say, listen, I'm not good in this particular area. And like I told fans last year, when you look at, look at Riley Moss and the reason he struggled on downfield routes because he was losing at the line of scrimmage, because you got to stop with a hand fighting. Riley Moss can run with anyone in his lead.

So all he needs to do is step and replace, get in phase, stay in phase, and stop grabbing because that's where he got in trouble. That's why he had to wear the gloves. That was an Addison Lent's fault. That was where Riley Moss needed to improve. As far as the wide receivers are concerned, you can only do so much as a coach. You can only do so much as a coach. This is called professional football, not amateur football, right? It's not amateur night at the Apollo.

This is your job. You get paid to do this and you get paid handsomely. You shouldn't drop balls in critical situations. That's not Kerry Cobas' fault, right? LaJourton Humphrey, not his fault. Troy Franklin, not his fault. You know, Cortland Sutton, not his fault. Because he coaches the wide receivers, he's going to get,

blame for it. But I don't remember a time last year, Kerry Cole was on the field and they didn't place their thumbs in the proper place. And you are professional football player. We're not talking about high school. How do you not know how to place your hands to catch a damn deep ball?

Right? Yeah. So that's the part that pisses me off as a former coach. Yes, you shift some of the blame on the coach. You take some, you take these guys through some of these drills, but it's not your fault if they're not getting it. But because you can't fire the group, you fire the coach.

But oh, by the way, you want to fire someone in the group. So that's why you bring in Jalen Wado. And you're sending a message to the group that what you did last year wasn't damn good enough. Well, that is an excellent bridge to the conversation we'll have after the commercial break, which is which wide receivers have the most pressure on them entering into this next season with the arrival of Jalen Waddle. We'll hit a quick break. We'll come back and talk about it.

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I was like, looking at you. I'm like, oh, I'm going to go three. My dog threw up on the floor during the commercial break. So, you know. Nice. Happy Friday. Bro, I tell you, it just can't catch a break, man. Yeah, no, that is, uh, just happy I'm in my room and not yours.

I'll put it that way. Yeah. But anyways, it's, I tell you. All right. Never ends, but the joys. The joys of being a dog dad. Okay, let's have this conversation, fellas. We know that Jalen Waddle is going to assert himself as wide receiver one, right? That's kind of the expectation.

Nick said as much in his cold open there as well. We know what Cortland Sutton is. But I really do kind of feel like after Cortland, it's kind of a mixed bag of like, who's going to step up and be like the tried and true wide receiver three? Will it be Troy Franklin? Will it be Marvin Mims? Will it be Pat Bryant, Campbell, Jordan Humphrey make the team?

So, Cody, I'll start with you. Just some general thoughts kind of on the state of the wide receiver room and maybe what you think the expectation is for those guys not named Sutton and Waddle moving forward into this season. Yeah, I mean, I don't think, and Sean, I know doesn't subscribe to this line of thinking either. He doesn't believe in guys of wide receiver one,

live receiver two, wide receiver three. And the thing I've been trying to get across to some fans as well because we've done some solo episodes, talking about just individual wide receivers where people are like, well, Pat's not a slot guy. I'm like, it doesn't matter. Cortland, Jalen, Pat, Troy, Marvin, all of these guys are going to play outside. They're going to play the slot. That's what Sean wants his receivers to do.

He doesn't want them to specialize. He wants them to move all across because he believes in dictating certain matchups in certain situations. If he can get a certain coverage look by maybe motioning a guy a certain way, if they get the right look, then, hey, they feel like they could take advantage. now having a guy like Jalen Waddle gives them a true, like, legit threat that allows guys like Marvin, Troy, and Pat, I think to go out there and thrive in those situations.

So I don't think that there's really any pressure to be, for these guys to be wide receiver three, four, five. I think knowing what we know, Cortland and Jalen are going to primarily be the main two guys on the field and everybody else is going to come in and contribute. I think there's going to be established rules for each one of these guys this upcoming season. I have some thoughts on that, but I'll default this area.

Okay. I think, guys, I mean, I know Darien's brought it up in the chat. So a little spoiler of what I was going to kind of bring up. But Cortland Sutton, his contract after this year is very difficult to justify in terms of like the cap hits. So let me just pull it up here really quick. So we got a cap hit next year, 27, $28.475 million. The year after that, $29.975 million. And the year after that, 30.6 million.

So the cap percentage doubles after this year. 4.64%, I guess nearly doubles to 8.82% next year. And when you talk about guaranteed money, well, there's nothing on there. So he got a signing bonus that's pro-rated, obviously, 2025 salary was guaranteed. His 2026 money is guaranteed. There's nothing guaranteed, though, beyond this year. So Cortland Sutton, to me, is that guy in his. his, you know, 30s at this point, right?

He's under a lot of pressure this year because, let's say Jalen Waddle comes in and leads the team and catches and has just a monster year. And the Broncos ultimately have to go back to the table and negotiate a new deal with him. I mean, I know he's got three years left, including this year, but shoot, I mean, you don't think if he goes out there and posts 1,400 yards and eight touchdowns or 10 touchdowns that he's not going to want to come back to the table and say, hey, Jackson Smith, and Jigba last off season, by the way, got this much. You saw what I just did for you guys.

So I'm just throwing out hypotheticals, but I think Cortland Sutton at his age with his contract situation, the fact that he had a lot of those drops that we talked about this past season, I mean, to me, he's under a lot of pressure to prove that he is that wide receiver one for this team or at least, you know, the true leader of that group. I think it's fair. Nick, your thoughts? Well, I'm going to look at it from a locker room standpoint. And I'm not going to speculate.

If a team has to bring someone in at your position and you're the veteran in the room and they expect for you to lead to me, that does put a significant amount of pressure on you. I mean, Cody, you were here when you and I stood on the sideline when Manuel Sanders was here as a member of the Denver Broncos at training camp. And we saw a fight, a fight between Cortland Sutton and Emmanuel Sanders. And for me, that fight needed to take place. And there were people who were upset with Emmanuel for, you know, being a veteran in the room. But at some point, as a veteran in the room, you have, you look around the room and you say, look, we're not playing up to the part that I know that we can play up to. That was one of the reasons that altercation actually took place.

because say what you want to say about a guy like Emmanuel Sanders. I know this because I know the dude. He's a dog. And that's not to say that he always does everything the correct way, but trying to find ways to motivate guys in your room, you have to be able to do that. I love Colin Sutton as a person, but he doesn't have that same type of dog mentality.

Now, when we watch him on the field, he shows moments where he can be that dog type of mentality. And you're like, oh, yes, I want to see more of that. So with Wado in the building, he's going to be forced to do it. He has no choice right now because what Wado is going to be in this offense is what the Denver Broncos hope that Jerry Judy would be. Just so happens, both them play wide receiver at Alabama. But sometimes you need someone else in the room to show you exactly what that looks like. Like when women marry guys and they're like, well, he shouldn't know how to be a man and be a leader of a house.

because he's a man. No, he doesn't. He doesn't know how to do that. But once again, if you watch other men do it and you see that's the blueprint, that's how you lead your household that makes you want to do it because someone has already showed you that. So Emmanuel tried to do that for Coralyn. It didn't really take. Now you're going to have Jalen Wadour coming from the outside and is going to force Cortland, you know, by default to lead and be that guy. I hope he can step in that role and be Y receiver number one. But right now in my book, that Y receiver number one is Jalen Waddle,

and I'll say this, let me add this part to it. If I were to ask you guys, well, not were to, I'll just freaking ask you guys. Who's the best rock runner on the Denver Broncos Y receiver room? Who? Well, now it's Jalen Waddle. Now is Jalen Waddle. I was hoping that you guys would say

it's someone else. someone else who's been on this roster. I was going to make the argument for Pat Brian. I think Pat runs routes really well. That's why his 40-yard dash time doesn't really matter. But Jalen is different. Jalen is like miles ahead of like what Pat does. Like Pat does everything well in and out of his breaks at the top of route can sit quickly.

But Jalen is like this all around just he's a secret weapon. And here's the thing too. Like Nick you were talking about like courts leadership and Jalen. And like Jalen is very much personality-wise. He is the trash talker. And we've heard that. Obviously, Luca Evans put out a great story there. Jalen is that trash talker on the field.

Emmanuel was that. Cortland is more laid back calm under pressure. That was very much like DT, who he had the chance to learn from as well. He's kind of taken on that DT leadership style, so to speak, of with the young guys, how he goes about things. He doesn't necessarily, you know, he's not yapping or chirping at guys. It's very much the different approach there. So I kind of like the ging and yang between these two guys in terms of how they lead and how they are. I actually kind of looking forward to that, though.

See, for me, look, maybe I'm going back to my playing days. But I like a Tara Orange and how he approached it. I like a Steve Smith senior how he approached it, right? And I'm not saying that you can't be a reserve guy and just go ahead and play the game because I didn't talk a lot of trash. I just played defense and they paid me to hit people, right? It's one job that I can go out and I can assault people and no one's going to file suit against me. But when you look at from a wide receiver standpoint, in order to get the passing game going, but more importantly, in order to get the running game going, you need guys, man, with that attitude.

Give me a little Steve Smith senior, right? Right. Someone's going to talk trash and get things gone. And oh, by the way, when that wide receiver talks trash, guess what's going to do? do, he's going to get the deep guys on the demons aside fired up and ready to go to go rip the head off of opposing wide receivers. That's where this team needs to get because offensively, they don't have an identity. They don't, right? And Cody, you said it before.

If there is an identity for this offense, it is really passive. I don't want a bunch of passive guys. Like, I played with Tom Nalen, right? And I hated his guts as a teammate. I hated it because he would grab, pull, trip, bite, car, he would do all these things in practice. But when we got to a game, that was my due. I want to see him do that to someone else.

That's where this offense needs to get to if they're hoping that they're truly running it back. I think it's fair. Let's hit a quick break. Let's continue with this conversation because I do like the identity concept that Nick's kind of thrown out there. And what could that look like?

What could it be with Jalen Wallin in the room? Bo Nixon year three, we'll talk about that when we come back right here on your lockdown Broncos squad show. All right, you guys, real quick. Let me tell you about our friends over at Home Chef, because this time of year, where all you really want is something warm, easy, and satisfying. That's my Home Chef has become such a go-to.

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Be sure to check him out and let him know that Lockdown Broncos such a All right. Let's get right back into it. Lockdown Bronco squad show, Nilo Piro, Cuddy, Rourke, Serbedinger, and Nick Ferguson talking about the identity or maybe the lack there of an identity with this Broncos offense. Here's what I will say. I think the Broncos identity has been like Bo Nix's resiliency and toughness and impromptu scrambling, like and just kind of making it happen by any means necessary. But I think to Nick's point, Cody, I'd like to see some definition probably take place.

Like they're always going to be a pass heavy offense. Like we know that with Sean Payton. But like, what are you know? They should be more balanced. They should be more balanced. I think Davis will embrace that. Being a former quarterback, I think Davis will see the importance in that more so than Sean.

Sean at times. I would say this, like when the run game face some adversity, it's like Sean was like, ah, pull back, pull back. I mean, to the point where he's right and run it on the play script just to remind himself. So I think Davis is going to be different. Yeah, I'm curious.

And that'll be fun when we get to training camp of like how different does the offense kind of look in training camp? The drills are probably going to be the same, right? But like, do we notice anything noticeably different with the offense overall? Well, remember in the pre- season game where Davis called plays, the Broncos had 39 passing attempts in that game, right, between obviously Jared Stidham and Sam Ellinger, but they also had 30 rushing attempts amongst five backs in that situation, right?

I don't think there's ever going to be a perfect scenario where you're going to have 32 passing attempts in the game and 32 rushing attempts in the game, right? Like, that's just not how it works. Like sometimes it is skewed based on the situation. But I don't think we're going to see a lot of scenarios where the Broncos are going in halftime where they got 20 passing attempts compared to five rushing attempts. I just don't see that being the case. Now, if that is the case, it means that the run game scheme is still broken and that they're,

I mean, at some point now, people need to be replaced if that is still a problem. Fair. Sarah, want to get your thoughts on wide receivers with the most pressure that also kind of feeds into identity here because I think I can sit back here and say every single wide receiver in that room has pressure on them. That includes Jalen Waddle. Like I think we expect him to come in here and step in. and be the Jalen Waddle that we saw early in his career in Miami.

But it's not a guarantee that you're going to a new place, new system, new quarterback, new coach, right? Like we'll see how all those factors play out. But I also think the Sutton's, the Franklins, the Mims, the little Jordans of the world, all of these guys have pressures there. Yeah, they really do. I mean, and that's the fun thing about it. And kind of to Nick's point earlier that he was talking about, when you bring in somebody like Jalen Waddle, it kind of gives you a, you know, like for me as a musician, like when I watch somebody who's like, the best at what they do.

And you see, oh, my gosh, like, that guy can rip it on the guitar or like that seems so effortless the way that they play that on the keys. Like, that's crazy how they're able to do that. You know, you look at that and you kind of think like, all right, I got to like, I got to raise my game. Like, I haven't learned everything. And this is maybe to a larger point. But like when the Broncos have this wide receiver room, what have they been hearing,

at least through Sean Payton and through the media. It's like, the Broncos love their young wide receivers. The Broncos love this group. They pass on Stefan Diggs for this group. They pass on Debo Samuel. They pass on Cooper Cup. They pass on trading previously, right? Last year's deadline, they passed on trading for Jalen Waddle or anybody else.

So now it's like everybody's getting a little bit of a wake-up call. It's like they're all going to military boot camp and they're having to wake up at 4 a.m. and have their bed made before everybody comes in. Like you got to raise your game. You have to raise every level of what you do. And that's what I think is going to make everybody so much better. Or at least, how about this, like separate the wheat from the chaff in a little bit of a way here for this room. Because who really wants to be part of that?

Like, who really is going to step up and set themselves apart now that you've brought in somebody like Waddle and who's going to kind of cower back? And like, well, he came in and he took my role. And, you know, that was supposed to be my route that I ran. And that was supposed to be my percentage of the target share. like, and I know that Nick brought it up, like these guys are paid millions or hundreds of thousands to play this game. But I think you can find out a lot about a guy when you bring in somebody like Jalen Waddle, these young players that you believe in. And it's going to make them either step up or it's going to cause the Broncos to realize that's why we brought in Jalen Waddle. You know what guys?

This whole Waddle thing that there's so much stuff to unpack. And I want to toss this out to the group. Now, when Waddle first was acquired, this is me being a defensive guy. I said, you know what? Everyone is talking about how much is going to make the offense better. My first thought was how much is going to make the defense better. And the first thing I thought about Cody is training camp. And, you know, fans want to see practice.

But the biggest thing that people tune in for, they want to see the one-on-ones. They want to see the D-Bs versus the wide receivers. And I said, well, you know what, based on, you know, Riley Moss and what we saw last year, I love him as a player. I love his mentality. I know that dog mentality is just technical issues that he is struggling with. What I would do is every time Jalen Wilde is on the field, I'm not putting PS2 against him. That would be great to see every once in a while.

I'm going to make sure Riley Moss is up against him every single day, right? Yes. The reason I want to make sure that he's up against him every single day, we just talked about Jalen Wilder and his rock running. That route running is going to make. make Ralee Moss better. Now, this is no way disparaging any of the wide receivers,

but we know the quality of Y receiver Jailen Wado is. And putting Ralee Moss against him every single day is going to help Ralee Moss later on in the season because his biggest issues, like I said early on, was struggling on routes down the field. So it's going to be okay if you're beating them practice. I know the fans are going to be oohing and I and people are going to be texting out.

after practice what happened in Riley Moss, but I can personally tell you, that's why it's called freaking practice. You want to lose in practice so you can win in the games. And if you don't lose in practice, then once you get to the game and the guy scorches you, you're going to be like, man, I wish I would have seen that route to bear me.

But this is another layer of where I think Jalen Wilder was going to help this team overall. Yeah, I think he's Jada Baron as well. Like you're talking about a guy who's going into the second year of his career just needs to hone in his craft a little bit too. And look, I think you want a little bit like a handful of plays here, a handful of plays there on Sartan just to keep him primed and ready to go. I have no questions about Sartan, but I agree. The bulk of the rep should be Riley Maw-Mach Jadaver and Jekwam to a certain extent as well.

And, you know, I'm not trying to get too far into the future here, Cody, but it feels like historically, at least the last couple of training camps that I've gone to, like, I know he's not here anymore, but there's like the P.J. Locke interception on Bownex. obviously there's just Certan stuff, right? And I think it's going to be interesting to see when we're doing these. I call them stupid because I don't think it really means too much. Like, who won the day? Did the offense win the day?

Did the defense win the day? Like, I'm not into that. But some of the loudest pops that we've seen from training camp in recent years are from the defense making big plays. Well, yeah, but that's like, that's normally to be expected. Because, right, like the defense, it's easier for them to be further ahead than the offense because for the offense, I mean, everything for the offense has the receivers making sure that when they're running a route, they're hitting the right depth.

And that it's coinciding with the routes on the other side underneath, right? Those are the things they go. Whereas defense, it's like, hey, we're going to make sure our communication is good. If we're playing zone, corners stay deeper than deepest man. Safeties, play your quarters or play your middle third. I mean, to me, it's so much more difficult for the offense to be successful. And look, I would say, like, for a majority of training camp last year, even the joint training camp practice, we were like, man, the Broncos offense is not getting anything.

going like they can't do anything outside of bow nicks like bo nix was making plays left and right finding guys like devon valet but the defense i would expect them to be further ahead no matter what because most everyone's coming back that played last year outside of jfm so yeah pj once again but yeah like that's always my favorite thing about training camp who won the day like it like it really matters i can't wait oh my gosh i can't wait the joys of summer when it comes to training camp and all that kind of stuff. But no, it's interesting. And there's obviously a lot of moving parts with the Broncos in totality, just with the coaches they brought in, the addition of Jaylon Waddle. How does that kind of change things? And look, Nick, I think you could probably speak to this

and correct me if you think I'm wrong here. Like I know Cortland was like posting on social media, like the addition of Jalen Waddle and how excited he is. But there's got to be some self-reflection at some point. I think you hit on it earlier of like, this guy might take some snaps for me. This guy might take some catches for me. And so while I think outwardly these guys are happy to have another big time receiver. When you kind of like, you know, you're laying down at night and you're like reflecting on your day and reflecting on your life, you're like, oh my gosh,

if I don't perform, like what's going to happen to me? I mean, that's just human nature, no? It is human nature. And it's great for guys to get out in the public and talk about it on social media. I think on altitude, Marvin Mims was on with Vic Lombardi. And Vic asked him a question about, uh, in a waddle. And, you know, you can just tell by looking at his body language,

what came out of his mouth was different than what maybe he truly felt. And I know this, I know this all too well. And I've been through this a lot in my career. So really quickly, guys, I'm at Georgia Tech finishing up my college degree. And then I get a phone call from Denver as my DB coach, David Gibbs. And he's telling me, hey, listen, I want to be the first person to let you know, we just acquired John Lynch. And I'm like, oh, wow.

Oh, we just did. And then he said, well, you know what? Don't worry about it, man. it's not a big deal. You play well, you know, coming in for Sam Brannon, and you guys are going to have an opportunity to compete. And I had to move the phone away from my face. Like, did he just really say that to me?

You're telling me that me and John Lynch are going to have an opportunity to compete. Hey, man, that's a bunch of cow chips. We both know that there's no competition. He's being slotted into that position. So like Cody said, yeah, you lay awake at night and you think about it. You try not to put too much emphasis on it. But yeah, your job is in jeopardy. But the whole thing that happened with me was just because I was the third safety behind

Kenoy Kennedy and John Lynch, that didn't necessarily mean that I went at those dudes head. I went that they had every single practice because I knew I need to make them better. Right. And the only way to do that is to make sure they knew I was nipping on their heels. That's what we should see from this wide receiver group. Yeah, it's going to make you step at night. Well, why do they fire Kerry Coburn? Why do they bring Jail and Wadwin?

I thought we had a great wide receiver room. Yes, let that piss you off. Go out in training camp and just dominate every single player. I don't care if it's Pat Sartan. Dominate that particular player. Let them know that I don't care because you brought Jaila Wado. He's not taking my job. He may get this guy or this guy, but he's not getting my job.

And when you play with that type of mentality, it makes everyone that much better. So when we're sitting here going like, wait a minute, last year the Broncos kept five receivers. Who is it going to be this year? We don't know. Like Cody said, well, Joe and Humphrey may be the odd guy out. Hey, who's to say that he doesn't look at Waddle, take his game to another level,

and put someone else job in jeopardy that we didn't even anticipate? Well, it would be weird. Speaking of training camp, there's something that happened last training camp. Could it happen again in this training camp? What are you talking about? Yeah, what are you talking about?

What are you talking about? It's called a tease. Tell you that. What does it mean? We come back right here on your live on. I know what that means. I know what that means. Yeah.

Ha, ha, ha, Cody, Cody. Ha, ha, ha. All right. Let me tell you about our friends over at Indeed. Because workplace chaos deadline stack it up, inbox is overflowing. And the one position you have to fill is still sitting open. When the pressure is on and you need the right hire, this is a job for sponsored jobs. Indeed, sponsored jobs helps you reach.

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All right. What? Come on, man. I'm telling you. Indeed. I got to have fun with it. Dude, if I just-

I love it. I absolutely love that. I'm here to, I'm here to bust your chops a little bit, my man. Spend less time searching and more time actually interviewing candidates and check all your boxes last time. Like,

no, dude. I was just saying, you know. Give you a jingle to sing, man. They need, once they give you a jingle to sing, it's game over for everybody in this. Yeah,

we're got the mute. I mean, You know what I'm saying? It's my ADHD mind at work. You know, I've got to try to spice things up whatever I can. What were you teasing there, wise guy? You had us on the edge of our seats there. All right.

I think I wrote something on a piece of paper. So after you said, then I'm going to go. Let's see. Okay. Okay. So the conversation were, and I'm 99% sure this happened in training camp. It may have been OTAs, but I'm pretty sure we're training camp. We saw last year as Denver was filling out their wide receiver room, right?

Okay, Cortland's here, Troy's here, we drafted Pat Bryant. With the conversation that we've been having about receivers that have pressure on them now that Jalen Waddle is in the wide receiver room, is there a chance someone gets to Von Velaide? There we go. See, there it is? Is there a chance? Nailed it. You know, that they're sitting there and like, okay, like Wadden and Souten look really good. Whether it's Marvin or Troy or Pat that really steps up, like do they look?

look at maybe, and I'm just spitballing here, I'm not projecting this, but like maybe a Marvin is the odd man out. Maybe a Troy is the odd man out. Like maybe they're like, hey, we have four really good guys and we can go out there and trade this fifth guy with little Jordan Humphrey as kind of a backup option as well and get some draft capital. Like, do we envision a Devon Valey type of scenario this training camp period? I don't. And the reason is because, I mean, Denver really doesn't need the picks, right? They really don't need the picks. And also think about it this way. What if the guy goes down in training camp? What if guy goes down in the preseason?

You know, like under these hypotheticals. These are things you have to factor in. Denver next year has 10 draft picks. They're slated to get two more, which are expected to be cop picks with the JFM, PJ, lock deals going into next year's draft. So essentially 12 picks next year and the roster that they have. I mean, I think that's why they made this move this year

because there really wasn't a pressing need to have all this capital this year, whereas nine rookies were more than likely not going to make this team this upcoming season. So for me, I think Devers in a good spot right now. I don't think there's a need to trade anybody right now. Unless what? Like at the end of the day, like even if you get off for a second round, third round pick, it's like we're seeing more and more teams now.

The Rams being a great example of them saying, we really don't care about them picks because we want to build and develop the right way. Now, I still think you need picks, but I understand why the Broncos wouldn't necessarily do that. Last year was one of those weird situations where, they traded valet because he also couldn't stay on the field for them during the training camp in the preseason. That was somebody that the Saints were in a desperate position for needing a wide receiver. And they're like, you know what?

We need a guy with size. So I think it has to be like the perfect circumstance for that to really open up for Denver. But no one saw them trading valet. I think it was what? Who said that? QB Easy 88 in the chat brought that up. Like I remember when the valet news came across at least I wasn't expecting it. Like especially just because like the wide receiver room for Denver, I think had room for improvement.

like why would you get rid of bodies when it felt like you needed bodies? So again, like just a thought, but like let's say Waddle's as advertised, Sutton steps up, and then one of the three of Mims, Franklin, and Bryant, like, really show up and show out in training camp. Like, maybe that becomes a little bit more of an option. And also, like, Sarah, like, we've talked about it as well. Like, if you can get a third round draft pick in this upcoming, not the 20226 draft, but the 2007 draft, which is considered to be loaded with talent, maybe it's intriguing for the Broncos.

I'm just saying we've seen them do it before. wouldn't surprise me if they did it again. Yeah, and because draft capital has, you know, multiple different uses, right? I mean, obviously you could spend draft capital on college players or you could trade for Jalen Waddle. So there is reason to have like an open mind when it comes to the idea for sure. But I kind of wondered like, okay, sitting there seeing the Devon-Vayle trade come across the wire last year was shocking, I think, to everybody. but at the same time, was there not a bit of relief from, I mean, it can't have been just me. Because for the guy who loves the draft and roster building and all that stuff, like Devon

Valle was a second year player who was going to be 28 by the end of the season. And you just got a fourth round pick. And then some, I think. I think they got two picks in exchange for him. So you get a fourth round pick on a rebuilding team that's expected to be high in that round. So to me, that was like a no-brainer. offer that, okay, you can't turn that down. At the same time, how much did they regret maybe trading Devon Valet late into the season?

Because Michael Bandi is playing and, you know, I guess scoring a touchdown against the Green Bay Packers, but also muffing a punt against the Houston Texans. And then you've got Lil Jordan Humphrey out there. And you've got Elijah Moore playing in the AFC championship game. And so there's just so many question marks that came up because that the injuries are, a real thing when it comes to late in the season. And no matter how much depth you think that you have, that's why I've never understood why there's this like unwritten rule that

Sean Payton only keeps five receivers on his rosters. And everybody's talking about, well, Sean only keeps five receivers. Okay, that's great that he always does that. When is the last time that worked out great? You know what I'm saying? Maybe in New Orleans when he had Jimmy Graham and Alvin Camara, you can only keep five receivers.

But shoot, you needed Devon Vele. late last season. So happy to have the fourth round pick at this point and happy that Jalen Wattle is in Denver, but really don't feel like that was a good overall move necessarily for the team, given where they were at at the end of the 2025 season where they could have, I mean, Velae was really productive as a rookie. And he was an outlet for Bo Nix. He helped stretch the field vertically. He helped move the chains. He was a, I mean, important role player for that team. And I don't know that anybody stepped into his shoes and filled what he like honestly it wasn't that great of a contribution but did anybody fill those shoes that what he brought to the table in

24 who filled that on the roster last year i can't think of anybody yet not fully i think if pat brian stays healthy he was the prime candidate for that and i think that's the thing is like if pat brian can stay healthy you love him as a prospect and what he was able to do on the field when he was on the field i also think what we saw from pat and o t's and training camp, I think made that decision a lot easier for the Broncos to trade Vela. If Pat didn't have, I think, the offseason or the preseason that he did, I think they would have held on to Velae. See, I'm glad you said that, Cody, because when we look at this situation, everything

is on the table, right? Everything is on the table. Let's look at how we got to the situation. See, there was Tim Patrick, and then it was Devon Velae, who they moved Tim Patrick because they had his replacement in Devon Velae who had the same body type. And then you say, okay, well, what made them move Devon Velae? Well, they moved Devon Velae because of Pat Bryant. So what we're talking about, there is a possibility that the Broncos can look at trading someone in training camp because, like Sarah said,

see, it's not just to get a draft pick to just draft a guy in a college. No, no, no. It is to accumulate draft picks to trade for veteran guys. That could be the mindset, especially the Broncos feel as it seems as though they're in the championship window. So there could be a situation that presents itself in training camp where the Broncos, once again, they're not sitting at 30. They gave that pick away. They could draft another Y receiver or two in this upcoming draft. We start to see those guys start to play well.

We see the wheels start to spin like, hmm, which one of these guys could we possibly? trade because before Velae was traded, the whole talk that everyone was talking about on the sideline as we were standing there how great the chemistry was between Bownakes and Vail. And it was like, oh man,

we're looking for him to do some exceptional things and as we're standing there, I'm standing there with Cody, it is Jeff Legwall right, and I'm standing in with other people and we're talking about this and Bayle called a deep crossing route, right? And everyone went crazy and he was like,

That's what we're talking about. Days later, he was goddamn traded, right? So that tells you that it is out there, the possibility. But here's the other thing that factors in. What happens with the other 31 teams? Cody talked about injuries. We know injuries takes place in training camp. What if another team loses a wide receiver, right?

And they say, well, what are you guys doing with Marvin Mims or Pat Bryant or Troy Franklin, right? And it's like the Broncos don't want to give up those guys. Until you get an offer, you can't refuse. And then all of that goes out of the window. So there is a possibility that someone could be traded based on how the other guys in the room perform during training camp. I was going to say AP, you airballed that shot. I heard it, man. Well said, Nick.

Yeah, you got me. Hey, man. I didn't know you could hear that. I didn't get the level thing pop up on my. No, you didn't. I just assume lucky guess. There we go. Bang!

It was a bottle cap. I think that's, but I agree with you, Nick. I think that that was the point. It just depends. Like, really for the Broncos. And being around Sean these last three years, the one thing I've seen is they evaluate other teams situations, right?

And if other teams pick up the phone and call, they may try to leverage it in a sense like, hey, like this actually benefits us more than it benefits you. Look, and here's where Denver is benefiting from the valet trade right now. they have the fourth round pick of New Orleans, which is actually the eighth pick in the fourth round, and then a couple of plays,

I mean, a couple of plays, couple picks after that. It's what they swapped with the Miami Dolphins. And once again, I very much think that they're going to move those two picks to move up into round three. So.

Yeah, and Mike Cliss has alluded to that as well, Cody. He talked about the fact that like now without a first round pick, the Broncos can still come away from this draft with a second, a third, and a fourth. So they might not even have to use both fourths to get into the third.

They could use their fifth. They could use a future pick. And they probably are going to be planning on compensatory picks coming in pretty significant droves next off season, right? I mean, I think the team will go into this year expecting to lose Vance Joseph next offseason, although that's not a foreground conclusion, but that would give you a third round pick. A fourth from John Franklin Myers, a seventh or a six from PJ Locke, whatever that one is. So I think they'll have that.

And I don't, don't even, don't even go to that. But I think that that's part of the equation here. And also part of it is, does the team try to supplement as we've had, I've done an episode on this, Cody and I've talked about this, do they supplement the kick return position and the punt return position by also bringing in another player who can do that? And is that player a wide receiver or is it a running back or a defensive back? because if it's a receiver who comes in, that gives you a clear indicator.

Oh, Marvin Mims might be on the trade block here going in because he's in a contract here, even though he's an all pro return specialist, Jalen Waddle, kind of stylistically and sizewise, very similar guys. But I think if I had to put money on it now, if you were saying, hey, I'm just letting you know I've been to the future and a Broncos receiver was traded before the start of the season. I'm not going to tell you who it is. You can only guess.

If that's what you're telling me, then I would guess that it's going to, going to be Troy Franklin because I think his value with two years left on the contract is probably going to be highest to the other teams, which means that the Broncos would be able to maximize the value of the player in terms of saying, hey, we love Pat Bryant. He can play on the outside. He can play in the slot. We love Marvin. He can be a all-pro return specialist, deep threat, clutch receiver, and obviously we've got Waddling, we've got Sutton. So if anybody is going to get traded from this group, my guess would be from, from, if I'm thinking about like how other teams would view it, it's got to be Troy Franklin.

Get ready to speak. Jalen Hertz. Hey, I want to, I want to say something. Typically I don't do this. Because the comments are not typically up on my computer. But they are today. Oh, boy. So, so.

Spy plane. He's coming. Well, Nilo, I guess, uh, there, there's someone on the chat that is saying that both you and I are unwilling to say that Bo is elite. And I think sometimes, you know, fandom can disrupt a lot of logic for a lot of people. So when I look at this team and I evaluate Bo Nix, I'm not ever going to take the fandom standpoint. Because there's not a single player that has mastered the game of football. Even the great Peyton Manning, as cerebral as he was, there were still certain things about his game.

he had to master. Now, what tossed around a lot in this game, when it comes to quarterback is that word elite. And you got to define what does elite actually mean. And a lot of people really don't know what that means. But as it pertains to Bo Nix, Bo Nix is not in that elite quarterback category yet. Does that mean that he cannot get there this year? No, that does not mean that way. he has a lot to improve on to get into that particular space.

Is he far ahead of the curve being as though he's going into his third year? Damn right he is. But it takes a lot to get into that elite category. And in that room, you know, we always talk about that velvet rope or whatever, that red velvet rope. When you talk about elite, it's not even red, it's purple. So that means you're in a room that's separate from a guy, a bunch of, the guys who are dogs within themselves. So I think we should just kind of

fall back a little on this whole elite thing because there's so many other things that kind of go into it. So for whomever that person was who was saying that I'm unwilling to do that because I'm taking an opposite negative opinion just for the sake

of it, no, I'm not doing that. I watch this game a lot, right? And I break down film a lot. Is bold trending on on that kind of position of being considered in that category, yes, but he's not there yet. Yeah, no, I think it's fair.

And I think we're all unanimously unanimously in agreement that, like, Bo is a very good quarterback. Bo is a developing into a franchise quarterback is going to be a franchise quarterback for this Broncos team. And I think there's just levels to it. Like personally, I don't want to go on a tangent about this. Like, when I use the term elite, like, I think of like Mahomes Allen. Like, that's kind of where I'm at. I just don't think Bo is necessarily there yet, but I think he's on his way.

Right. It's not a jab at Bo Nix. And I also think it comes down to scheme and coaching. Davis Webb might be the offensive coordinator that takes Bo Nix to that next level for all we know. So, no, I agree with you. I agree with you. And I like Bo Nix a lot. And I think the Broncos are in good hands with him at quarterback.

So we'll have some fun with that throughout the course of the off season. Any closing thoughts from Cody and Sayre before we get out of here? Nothing really outside of the fact. I just think that this season, and I'm hoping, I just hope everyone stays healthy this year, right? I hope the offense, the nucleus can stay intact and core. Just because I really do think I think Bonix can assert himself into the MVP conversation this year if he plays at the pace he did last year and guys catch the dang

ball, right? If they can do that, not even like, okay, let's say you're at 43. let's say there's 20 drops. That is a drastic difference. And that could ultimately mean Bo accelerating. And I'm excited to see how Bo himself as a player, how he improves,

what he does to improve in some of the categories where he could have been a lot better in last year too. So that's the hope. But you know what? We got some time and it's exciting. Yes, we do. Sarah. Yeah, no, I love the discussion.

I think it's really great. I mean, especially just to think about being in this position versus wondering if your team is going to be taking Ty Simpson after the Raiders take Fernando Mendoza or you know I mean I think it's just it's nice to be at least debating about that kind of stuff I will throw this out there I I never I want my fandom this is not like I'm not arguing with what Nick said I just want to clarify something that I think is great for people to maybe know like the vantage point that I come from from this but I would never want to want my personal fandom of the Denver Broncos,

which I don't think anybody is under any illusion that I'm not a diehard fan, like 20 and O until we ain't, you know, sort of a situation. But when it comes to what I see, I never want what I want the Broncos to be to cloud what we actually see or to change the way that I would talk about what we actually see. When it comes to like,

all right, Bo Nicks through four interceptions and lost the team the game, I'm not going to sit here and ignore that or blame the receivers, you know, or blame the offensive line or blame the play calls and things like, like I never, I want my fandom to enhance the analysis that I bring because I think when you want the Broncos to be good, it can help in terms of the perspective that you bring to the table of saying,

like, look, this is how the team thinks. This is, they want to be good. They want to go out there and win games. They're not thinking, oh, yeah, we're, we're, we're predicting. to go 11 and 6 this year. So this is just one of those weeks that, you know, we're going to lose. And so I hate that. Like when people say like, oh, I'm just being realistic, like, no, I think realistically

can win any game. You know what I mean? So that's all I will. It's fun too. It is. It's fun when they're good. It's fun when they're winning because like, Sarah, how many times like you and I were covering this team for all the losing years that we've endured since Super Bowl

50, right? And like, we get excited about things in the offseason. It's like, ah, the excitement doesn't matter. what you see on the field. And it's just frustrating. And it's like, ah, we strive for that. Like this last year, oh, it's incredible. It's incredible.

And hopefully more ahead. A Super Bowl win would push the envelope to the next level here. And that's ultimately why you play the game. One day. One day. Let's see the Broncos get back there and climb the mountaintop. But good show today, fellas. Everyone in the chat, we appreciate you guys.

You guys are the absolute best. Everyone on the audio feed, you guys rock and roll as well. back up again next week with a couple of episodes here on your locked on Bronco squad show until then enjoy the weekend and we'll talk to you guys soon peace out y'all