Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - CLEAR: Denver Broncos VISION For Jaylen Waddle, Courtland Sutton WR Roles Solidified

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Denver Broncos wide receiver position features a ton of talent. Really, Cortland Sutton, J. Lin Wano, their roles are crystal clear. You are Locked on Broncos. Your daily Denver Broncos podcast. Part of the Locked on podcast network, your team every day. Happy hump day. Broncos country, Cody Rourke, Sarah Benninger here for another episode. Locked on Broncos, we take a look at the roles for the wide receiver room

Starting point is 00:00:30 that we're paying attention to here going throughout OTAs. Little Jordan Humphrey in a handful of other Broncos. wide receivers. They're looking to get into the mix here as the Broncos look to carve out roles for their receiving group under Davis Webb as the new play caller. Marvin Mims changed agents in a contract year. Could this impact his role in a positive way? And could this be a sign that he's trying to stay in Denver for the long term? We're going to kick things off, though, by going through the Broncos, wide receiver roles and what we anticipate they may be under Davis Webb as a first year play caller really outside of Cortland Sutton and Jalen Waddle, who Sean Payton says their roles are crystal-class. And it's great to have that clarity because for the last however many years, right, Cortland Sutton has been the wide receiver one in Denver.

Starting point is 00:01:13 And while he may kind of still be, I think Jalen Waddle is what I think everybody agrees, that missing piece to the offense. And nobody's anointing Jalen Wattle as the savior of the Denver Broncos, right? They don't need a savior. They needed a missing piece. They needed the final infinity stone for the gauntlet, right? They needed that one player that like Garrett Bowles just talked about on NFL network. And he even said right after the playoffs, I mean, you get that missing piece of a playmaker or two for this offense.

Starting point is 00:01:43 And I think you're really starting to see this team become one of the most complete rosters in the league. So I think that's what clarity for Cortland Sutton and for Jalen Waddle really means for the Broncos is giving this team that missing piece offensively to finally have some form of continuity and consistent. consistency, especially in the passing game. Well, the number of the thing, too, about a missing piece, right? A missing piece is supposed to do a handful of different things for it. It's supposed to unlock certain things. And theoretically speaking, what we all believe and what even Cortland Sutton himself even mentioned, he even said it himself, he thinks that they're going to have a better run game.

Starting point is 00:02:20 It's your Jalen Waddle's edition because of how dynamic of a playmaker he is, theoretically speaking, should open things up for the run game this season because of things you and I have mentioned in the past. defenses then will now have to respect your personnel that you have versus last year. The Broncos offense was facing scenarios last year from opposing defenses where they were saying, hey, we want you to beat us with Troy Franklin, Pat Bryant. We want you to beat you with Evan Ingram and these other guys. But we're going to take away the run.

Starting point is 00:02:47 We're going to load the box and we're going to bracket Cortland Sutton. We're going to make things very difficult. Jalen Wattle changes that. Now, I think when Sean Payton says the vision for this player is crystal clear, he really did highlight for Jalen specifically he's going to be an inside outside player there's complete flex i also think sir we're going to see him used on the motion game a little bit right and they of course they used Marvin and that and Marvin was ultimately one of those guys that you could hand a jet sweep to you could do that with Waddle but i think that you're going to motion

Starting point is 00:03:16 jaylon Waddle around a little bit so you can get a different matchup and you can play off of the motion where it's not necessarily going to be the jet sweep but hey i'm going to motion him across and then we're going to have rub routes and that's That's going to make things very difficult. I thought Miami did a great job of using that in the last couple of seasons with Waddle and Tyree Kill specifically. There was one play. I think it was on a Monday night football where they brought him for motion from the left side all the way across the formation of the right side. And they had a rub route where he got open on a wheel route, probably about 34 yards down the sideline, made a big play.

Starting point is 00:03:48 The Broncos need more explosives like that. Jalen Waddle is the guy that unlocks that. And theoretically, as we talked about, this should open up everything else for the Broncos. But my question now to you, how does this create roles for guys like Marvin Mims, Troy Franklin and Pat Bryant, who we perceive to be the final three players if they keep five wide receivers on their active roster? I think that's the most difficult question to answer at this point, right? Because Troy Franklin was competing at times last year with Cortland Sutton for basically being the number one receiver on the team in terms of targets. There were certain weeks and certain games where Troy was featured. was the featured guy in the offense.

Starting point is 00:04:28 Then we saw late in the season as well, especially on the Broncos like opening script or whatever you want to call that, Pat Bryant was the featured guy and they were trying to feed him. So I can't help but wonder if this is where things get less clarity, but maybe become more of a weapon, if that makes even sense at all, what I'm saying there. So what I mean is,

Starting point is 00:04:50 and I've said this before, I think this is the year of the best supporting actor in the Denver. in the Denver Broncos wide receiver room, right? This is the year where it's any given week. You don't know who it's going to be, but it's going to be one of these guys alongside, whether it's, I mean, obviously Waddle and Sutton, but whether it's Franklin,

Starting point is 00:05:10 whether it's Mims, whether it's Bryant, whether it's Evan Ingram or somebody else. I think it's going to be the year of the supporting actor where you see, okay, we know teams are going to hone in on Waddle and Sutton. What are they going to do when we move,

Starting point is 00:05:25 Troy Franklin around the formation and we start featuring him in the offense. How are they going to adjust? How are they going to adapt? Because what do we know about Troy Franklin? Well, he's tall. He's fast. He's gotten a little stronger. This offseason, he's a vertical threat.

Starting point is 00:05:39 He's an after the catch threat. So the Broncos then start exploiting defenses, putting their third best corner on Troy Franklin and how they adjust to that. That then determines, okay, how do we then utilize Waddle and Sutton? and how do we exploit what their adjustment is. So that's what I think is going to happen. I don't know in terms of the pecking order, like targets and who's going to be the most consistently featured.

Starting point is 00:06:05 That's what I don't know, or that's where I say that lack of clarity might still mean that this is more of a weapon in 2026 for the Broncos than it has been in previous years. And we know the mindset of Cortland Sutton. He said, I want to win. I would be happy to give up targets to know that,

Starting point is 00:06:23 we're winning games and Jalen Waddle is a piece that's going to change everything. Like once again, it goes back to what Cortland said about this offense in general. He said, we have a selfless offense. And I really do think from a character makeup standpoint, you have those types of guys in that room. Now, when you have five wide receivers and if you're actively using five, it is hard to get everybody, I think, the adequate amount of snaps that maybe you would want, especially, you know, if this isn't a Madden scenario, right? I mean, Cortland and Jalen, we all anticipate are probably partly going to come off the

Starting point is 00:06:53 field. But I think that in situations where Cortland does come off the field, let's say Troy's out there, I think that's going to compliment well with Jalen and with what Pat is doing and with Marvin and getting those guys in the mix here, almost kind of what we've talked about with other positions, like when Nick Benito and Jonathan Cooper come off the field defensively, oh, hey, you got Jonah Ellis, you got Hugh Robinson, Dondrey Tilling. Like there's not necessarily a drop off. There's still an impact to be had here. And that could also force the hand of the defense as well to see, hey, well, Cortland's not on the field, but Jalen Wattle is. Now, how, how. our defense is playing against them, right? If they focus on Jalen, well, guess what? There

Starting point is 00:07:27 goes Troy Franklin down the sideline. I'm excited to see what the Broncos can cook up here, but I also think that Davis Webb, and this is where, and we touched on this yesterday in our other episode on Davis specifically as a play caller, I'm very curious to see how Davis uses these personnel groups and how he factors into snap counts and rotations with the wide receivers, with the tight ends, and what that actually looks like in the regular season. Taking Sean Payton's offense and Sean was always doing it this way. But is Davis going to have his own little sprinkle on it, as Cortland Sutton said. He's the mad scientist.

Starting point is 00:07:58 Well, you got to go in. You got to put all the ingredients in there, sugar, spice and everything nice to make this Broncos offense pop. And the Broncos offensive weapons have gone from being, all right, we've got a couple ingredients or we've got a couple of things for the mad scientist to work with. And now, too, you've got the whole periodic table, right? Because you've got five wide receivers. You've got four or five different running backs that could legitimate.

Starting point is 00:08:21 make this team, right? And you've got now five or six tight ends that could legitimately make this team. And so you're no longer just dealing with hydrogen and oxygen to make water. You now have the whole periodic table of elements to work with, to come up with whatever concoctions if you're the mad scientist, right? And I quit. I didn't quit. I changed majors in college, Cody, when I got to my first chemistry lab. So I'm not a mad scientist. But I know when you get into chemistry, that stuff becomes difficult to manage. And you got to to make sure you have the right compounds in order to, you know, you don't want, you want it to be explosive for as far as an NFL offense. But when it comes to combining different elements and

Starting point is 00:09:03 different things like that, you don't want it to be something that, oh, that was a huge mistake. That blew up in my face. So Davis Webb does have a big responsibility before him, because how do you manage having five wide receivers who should be getting targets on a weekly basis, who should be getting touches on a weekly basis. Plus then you have to factor in, hey, we've got Evan Ingram and Adam Trotman, who are tight ends one and two, however you want to interchange those guys.

Starting point is 00:09:30 And we've got Justin Jolie now in the mix. And we've got these other players at running back, like RJ Harvey Harvey needs to be featured in the passing game. So that to me is where I think that Davis Webb needs to be the mad scientist in the right way. He needs to be making sure that it's not blowing up in his face, but that he's actually putting things together that makes sense, and that really helped take this Broncos offense from being so frustrating last year,

Starting point is 00:09:57 which we all were frustrated by them in many different ways, but they came through. Now you got to go from being a frustrating offense to being an offense that frustrates your opponents, and I think that's what he's going to help them do with this personnel. Well, one of the most explosive elements of the Broncos periodic table is Marvin Mims, and he just changed representation ahead of a contract. cracked years. He's looking to get a new deal to potentially stay in Malai City. Indeed is a sponsor of today's episode, Lockdown Broncos, if you're dealing with workplace chaos and you've got deadlines

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Starting point is 00:11:23 Support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Indy.com slash podcast terms and conditions apply. Need to hire. This is a job for Indeed sponsored jobs. Marvin Mims has a new agent and that is a good thing, Broncos country. I'm going to tell you, Cody and I are going to tell you why we think that's the case on today's episode of the show. If you're an everyday listener of Lockdown Broncos, we appreciate you so, so much. And if you want to get your Denver Broncos fix every single day here, Lockdown Broncos, completely ad-free.

Starting point is 00:11:51 You want to check out the Every Dayer Club. And what you get with that right now, a seven-day free trial. So no better time to start than right now. Get your Denver Broncos show every single day ad-free. Lockdownbrancos. That supercast.com. Or you can check out the link in the show notes as well. Cody, I do believe Marvin Mims changing agents is a good thing.

Starting point is 00:12:11 I think that although I'm the eternal optimist and I always see things through a positive. lens first. I think it's easy to assume him changing agents is, oh, well, he's, he's out of here. Like, he's, he's getting ready to leave Denver. He told the media earlier this offseason at an event that he hosted that, look, like, there had been no negotiations. And he was, I think, visibly upset by that. I mean, if you read body language and if you listen to the tone of his voice, like, I felt he was pretty upset by the fact that there had been no negotiations with the Broncos, now that he's entering a contract year, I believe that Marvin changing agents

Starting point is 00:12:50 is indicative of the fact that he wants to get to the negotiating table, ASAP, and maybe to hammer out a deal, or maybe just to find out where do the Broncos stand one way or the other. But we know this is a team. They get out ahead of contracts. They don't like to linger and wait for guys to get to free agency and then try to bring them back.

Starting point is 00:13:09 They want to get out ahead of it. I feel like that's what Marvin is doing here. He wants to get to the table, his previous agents didn't do that. Now he's brought in athletes first to get it done. And athletes first, they have several Broncos members that are represented, Nick Benito is part of athletes first as well. But here's the thing, like when you see an agent change,

Starting point is 00:13:27 it means that, you know what, my agents weren't doing what I initially hired them to do. And for Marvin going into the last year of his deal, he's an all pro. He's been in all pro since he's came to the NFL as a return specialist. There's value to be had in that specifically in today's NFL. And now we've also seen what Marvin's been. able to do when featured. And I think the Buffalo builds is a great example, that last game that they played in the division around. And then to open things up against the New England

Starting point is 00:13:52 Patriots, his downfield pass where guess what? He got behind who? Christian Gonzalez, who's about to receive a mega contract as well. If I'm Marvin, I'm saying, look, I can do more. I can be more. And look, Marvin is happy with being an all pro return guy. But Marvin wants to do more offensively. And you and I've talked about this. This is our opinion. I know there's some people who disagree. But the reality is when you look at Marvin, and he is one of the most clutch-wide receivers the Broncos have on this roster. When you look at in big-time moments, the Broncos have needed to play.

Starting point is 00:14:18 Dating back to his rookie year, it has been Marvin. Marvin had that really explosive game. What was it? Two catches, 113 yards against the commanders in 2023 as a rookie. But in the comeback against the Chicago Bears, what was it? He caught the 45-49-yard pass across the middle to help set up Will Lutz game-winning field goal. And then you go through the clutch catch against the Cincinnati Bengals just a couple of years ago. You go through a handful of other games as well, like the Buffalo Bills catch.

Starting point is 00:14:45 That was probably one of the more clutch moments in a got-a-habit scenario. Marvin has inherent value here to this offense. And him changing agents says, hey, I want to be here in Denver. And the fact that I had these agents that weren't going to the negotiating table with George or Sean, primarily George and Richard Tato, saying, hey, I want to get a deal done. I feel like Marvin wants to get a deal done sooner rather than later. And I don't think it's going to break the bank. I think a lot of people think it's going to be,

Starting point is 00:15:11 Marvin's going to ask for too much money. I don't think that's going to be into the equation. I think Marvin will want something that's fair, but Marvin is a weapon. Here's the thing, sir, and this might be a hot take. I don't think it is personally. If Marvin leaves the Broncos in free agency

Starting point is 00:15:25 and goes to a team like the Buffalo Bills, even a division rival or a contender, he's going to be an instant impact contributor for whatever team decides to get him, and it's going to scare the rest of the league, in my opinion. I agree. I completely agree with that.

Starting point is 00:15:39 I think that it feels like the Broncos own Emmanuel Sanders situation. Right. I mean, like when Emmanuel left the Pittsburgh Steelers, they had all those wide receivers. He wasn't getting enough targets and touches. Then all of a sudden, he comes to Denver and he just explodes and becomes an all-pro player, becomes a pro bowl player. So you don't want, and Sean Peyton talks about this often with bottom of the roster guys. But the last thing you want is to have had a guy in your building who you coached.

Starting point is 00:16:09 you were around. You watched their practice film. You invested into these players and then you let that player go and all of a sudden they go spread their wings somewhere else and they play way better with another team than they did with you. We know Sean doesn't like that. And so Marvin was his first draft pick with the Broncos. They traded up to get Marvin in 2023. Spot track has Marvin's value right now as a three year contract worth 19 million. I mean, let's get that deal done yesterday. If that's really where we're at with things like that's a no-brainer that is an easy situation to work out give Marvin what he's looking for get him extended for the next three or so years and make him a featured piece of your special teams and offense it's not like resigning him means well you have to give him

Starting point is 00:16:58 a bigger role i think if nothing else you want to keep Marvin for his return abilities right i mean what he's done as a game changing return man weapon is like what most other players in the league are doing. I know last year wasn't as good in the kickoff return department, but we still saw in the punt return department just how much he can change a game. And so it's worth it for the Broncos for that alone, even if that's where they value him the most. But I know if Marvin is looking for a bigger role around the league, Cody, that's not, that's not necessarily why you hire a new agent, right? It's because you're like, I want a bigger role in the NFL, so I need to hire a new agent. No, you hire a new agent.

Starting point is 00:17:39 because you want to get paid. And there's nothing progressing towards that right now. So that's what I think is the optimistic view of this. I think you could view it in a pessimistic way. You could view it in a way of Marvin being like, all right, I'm just frustrated with the situation. And I want out as, you know, after the season, I need this agency to go get me the best deal possible, get me out of Denver, get me to a new situation. But man, the grass is green where you water it. And I think Marvin has always been a team first guy, just like We talked about in the first segment of the show with Cortland Sutton. Marvin has always exemplified that.

Starting point is 00:18:14 I think he does want the ball. Obviously, receivers do. But to me, this is not a negative thing. This is a very positive thing if he wants to stay in Denver. Yeah. And here's another thing, too. It goes to the hidden yardage factor that Sean Payton always talks about, like how the hidden yards can make a difference in winning or losing.

Starting point is 00:18:32 Well, I go back to Marvin having a punt return touchdown against the Raiders. And you also factor in the Kansas City Cheats game at home. Remember, he opened things up in a big way, gave the Broncos great field position, ultimately led to them scoring some points on that drive. Like you need a player who can impact the hidden yards that ultimately helps you win games. Marvin is that guy. Plus, you have to factor in Cortland Sutton, J. Loano, their cap hits are going to jump significantly going into next season. So you may, like if the Broncos have to be in a situation where, I don't know,

Starting point is 00:19:02 I don't think it's going to happen, but hypothetically speaking, let's say it just puts them out of the realm of bringing and court back, which I would be shocked about. I think that they'll find a way to restructure the deal. But you have to have some guys there. And we all forget that in the playoffs, the Broncos dealt with injuries to Pat and Troy. And all of a sudden, they were down in the playoff game to just Cortland, little Jordan Humphrey and Marvin.

Starting point is 00:19:23 And they had to take Marvin off the kickoff because like, hey, we don't have any receivers. Marvin, we need you specifically at receiver for this game. He goes on. He wins them this game primarily here for the Broncos in the playoffs. So Marvin has value. Marvin deserves to get paid. And I'm going to pound the table for that as much as.

Starting point is 00:19:38 I can't hear. But Broncos country coming up next. There are a handful of other wide receivers on this roster, including Little Jordan Humphrey, Michael Bandy and some undrafted rookies who are chopping at the bit to establish a role for themselves in the wide receiver room. The practice squad is where so many players around the NFL make their hay. And Lord Jordan Humphrey takes issue with the notion that players are just satisfied with being on the practice squad.

Starting point is 00:20:01 He's one of those players and wants to compete for a spot on the 53 as the Broncos are looking to carve out roles for all of their wide receivers, but also think, too, it's an opportunity for guys to carve out roles for themselves in the event there's an injury. Can this guy be a plug and play feature? We'll go through all that here on today's episode show. Thanks to all the Gary Day. He's in Brockos country for tuning in making us your first listen here on the

Starting point is 00:20:21 lockdown podcast network, the number one sports podcast network in the country. Also, where you know it's your team every day. Sarah, look, the Broncos right now and typically getting ready to go into training camp in the summer, the wide receiver room is always going to be the most loaded room when you talk about quantity of players. But I also think that the Broncos, not only do they have quantity, they also have really good quality as well. We talk about the projected five that we think that Denver's going to keep on the 53. But then you add in little Jordan Humphrey, who's a veteran, who can do the dirty work as well.

Starting point is 00:20:49 You factor in other guys like Michael Bandy that's been on this team for quite some time. You go through and you even factor in. Another pro tryout player that obviously impressed in the offseason. And Michael Woods, who actually had a couple of catches against the Broncos on Monday night football when he was a member of the Cleveland Browns a few years ago. And that shootout that we saw, unfortunately. Thankfully, Denver won that game. But, and then you have undrafted guys that are looking to carve out a role for themselves as well, trying to keep the tradition of making the 53-man roster alive here for this Broncos team. This is a good problem to have,

Starting point is 00:21:19 and I think it creates widespread competition for maybe making the case that Denver could carry a sixth. Yeah, and it starts with Lil Jordan Humphrey, right, who is probably the most trusted among those guys, somebody who has gotten a lot of playing time. Like you just mentioned previously, he was one of the only guys available in that playoff run for the Broncos this past year. And yes, he had a critical drop early in that game. But he also made up for it with a touchdown catch, a really tough touchdown catch as well.

Starting point is 00:21:47 And I think with little Jordan, the problem has never really been his presence on the team. The problem has been, why is he the one that's getting featured in the offense at times? You know, because we won't go out there and pull the trigger on bringing in other players. And now the Broncos have finally done that. So now little Jordan can be what I think he's best at being. which is quality depth for your team. And that does probably mean early on the practice squad. But as we talked about,

Starting point is 00:22:16 like he posted on Twitter a video that Tom Brady, I can't remember who Tom was talking to, but they were talking about the practice squad and how valuable those guys are. And Lil Jordan quote tweeted it and said something to the effect of like, I've never met anybody who's satisfied with just being on the practice squad. So kind of felt like a little message was maybe sent there.

Starting point is 00:22:35 And in terms of his standing with this team right now, to where I think he's aware of where he's at, but at the same time, he's also produced when he's been given opportunities. And so I could see why he'd be saying those types of things. And I also feel like having a guy like that, it raises the bar so much for everybody else on the team. I know Lil Jordan is not necessarily the player that everybody's looking to

Starting point is 00:22:59 in terms of, hey, like this is the number one receiver on the team. But he's that guy who's been with Sean Payton for the longest, I think, out of anybody in this receiver. group, maybe even the offense as a whole. And now you get a guy like that who knows the offense, does the dirty work, like you said, and has played in big games now. So I feel like he's one of those players that you can look to as an example.

Starting point is 00:23:23 If you are this undrafted free agent class and say, hey, what did Lil Jordan do to get to this point? And what do I got to do to, you know, it really exemplify the same way he's been? And he's made some big plays over the course of the last three seasons when called upon for the Broncos in the regular season and to the point you mentioned it doing the dirty work. This is why I feel like situations like this are a great example because we talk about the numbers crunch of why the NFL needs to just expand the active rosters. 53 is such a dumb number just when you really think about it.

Starting point is 00:23:54 Like why 53 and only you can only address I think what 48, 47 on game day. So you have to keep some guys inactive. I think they got to find a way to expand active rosters because this is how like if the NFL has always kind of clamored for like, you know, we got to figure out. player development. Well, guess what? It's hard to develop players when there's constantly the shifting and you're moving guys up and down off the practice squad or guys are going to different rosters being plucked off of the practice squad. Keep, I'd say expand the roster numbers. Then you allow guys like you can pinpoint as a coaching staff. Hey, this guy is very reliable. Even if we've got five guys ahead of him that we believe are going to be better contributors, this is a guy that we can rely on here in this situation. Having those extra roster spots allows you to keep some of those players. You eagerly feel like. like you need that can contribute in the event of an injury throughout the course of a game or obviously throughout the course of a season versus the practice squad game where some of your guys may actually get plucked and poached off of the practice squad by other teams.

Starting point is 00:24:49 So that's where things are kind of interesting here is the state of today's NFL. But the Broncos, I feel like I've done a really good job of managing it. So there's a little Jordan Humphrey, the any factor in Michael Bandy, who actually got called up last season. Interestingly enough, he had the second most yards per reception on the Broncos last year, albeit only four targets, four catches, 12.5 yards per reception there. He stepped up in that regard there. I would say in the return game, didn't necessarily do a great job trying to fill in for Marvin Mims

Starting point is 00:25:18 when Marvin was out with a concussion specifically against the Houston Texans. But I would say this, like you've got a guy like bandy who's got experience in the system, terminology, and I think ultimately he'll probably end up in Baltimore with Joe Lombardi. That's kind of Joe Lombardi's pet cat eventually, maybe something to keep an eye on here. but then there's other guys too the undrafted rookie free agent wide receivers Colby Katzis Joseph Manjack those guys that are looking to compete Katz is a guy who's got some really good speed as a return option probably won't factor in much if he were to make the active roster for Denver

Starting point is 00:25:50 he'd be a return guy specifically special teams guy here for Denver but then you even go to Michael Woods who's played against the Broncos before he's going into year number four of his NFL career he's got an opportunity as well this is a good problem to have and Denver's going to have a lot of competition for these spots. But ideally, Sarah, I think of it this way. Denver will probably carry five on the active roster. And I think everybody else right now is just competing to say, hey, who's going to be best suited for the practice squad? Which, once again, I think it kind of sucks because there's so many guys who are deserving.

Starting point is 00:26:22 Yeah. How many spots do you think on the practice squad? Because if the Broncos are able three, three, I think is a good number. Three, I would say three. Yeah, that's what I was thinking as well. because I am assuming at this point with their veteran status, like unless they want to go, like if Bandi wants to go to Baltimore,

Starting point is 00:26:42 I mean, then he may. But I'm assuming it's going to be Bandi, Humphrey, and then one of these rookies that ends up making the practice squad. And so I think that that is what you're, to your point, it's like,

Starting point is 00:26:53 okay, so who sets themselves apart in such a way that's like, we need to keep developing this guy, whether it's, you know, in the return game or whether it's as a wide receiver, because they, there is the reality that after this year,

Starting point is 00:27:05 there are the potential at least of Marvin leaving, right? I mean, so you have to be ready in the event that that does happen. And if you need somebody who can return kicks, like there's nobody on this roster that we saw last year that's capable of returning kicks to the level that Marvin can. There's nobody, if Bandy was the backup punt return option, Houston told us everything we need to know. I remember that play very distinctly, very vividly,

Starting point is 00:27:29 because we are all, we've sat here, done a show is every single day for the last however many years. And we've questioned at times, like, why the heck are the Broncos sticking with Michael Bandy? And I've been as, I've been a way overly critical of Michael Bandy because then he comes in, he catches a touchdown against the Packers. He made a couple of other clutch catches for first downs last year.

Starting point is 00:27:52 Like you said, yards per catch was up there. He made some big plays. But when he's the backup option as the punt returner, that I have a problem with because then you go into Houston, he has to come into the game and he muffs the first opportunity that he gets, right? And so it's like okay, that's your backup.

Starting point is 00:28:10 It leads to points and it almost cost you a game that would have really mattered late in the season. So thankfully, like Bo Nix put on the cape at the end of that game, but man, that's one of those situations where you need your depth options to be quality depth options.

Starting point is 00:28:26 They have to be that level where they can come in on the road against Houston and return a punt and make a play and not make a mistake. So that's where I feel like the Broncos have upgraded tremendously, even just by adding Jalen Waddle, but now you factor in the progression of other players. I think it's important. And yes, these guys, these rookies, they've got an opportunity because we've seen what the bandies, they've stuck around for a long time. Humphrey, he's stuck around for a long time. So these undrafted players, that's what's at stake is like, you could

Starting point is 00:28:57 become one of Sean's most trusted wide receivers. Broncos Country. Let us know how you feel about today's episode of the show and who could become John's next trusted wide receiver option. Could it be any of the undrafted guys? Could it be somebody that's on an NFL roster right now that's not the Denver Broncos. All things are certainly on the table here. But with that said, we'll wrap up today's episode of show and give you a preview of tomorrow's episode. Broncos Country. We'll do a little bit of a rookie check-in. What's going on with the rookies at OTAs as we get ready for Thursday's OTA practice that'll wrap up week two of the whole entire organized.

Starting point is 00:29:31 team activities leading us into mandatory minicamp. You'll get that and so much more on tomorrow's episode of the show. Thanks so much for tuning in. Your brand new viewer listener, you like the show, hit the subscribe with that follow button so you never miss out on what's going on with your favorite team. Boots on the ground coverage of your Denver Broncos every day.

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