Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - Denver Broncos Are BIGGEST THREAT To Kansas City Chiefs For AFC West Crown

Episode Date: April 4, 2025

The Denver Broncos are the biggest threat to the Kansas City Chiefs for the AFC West crown in 2025. Where did the Broncos get better that can serve as a wildcard against the Chiefs? Why are the Los Angeles Chargers the Broncos toughest competition inside the division and why will the Raiders still remain at the bottom of the division? Cody Roark is a credentialed beat reporter for Mile High Sports and covers the Broncos daily in person. Sayre Bedinger is the site expert for Predominantly Orange. Both bring Broncos Country the most in-depth and objective coverage of the Denver Broncos. WANT MORE DAILY DENVER BRONCOS CONTENT?For all of the latest Denver Broncos news today -- Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOBroncos?sid=YouTube Locked On NFL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft & More🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNFL Follow on Twitter: @CodyRoarkNFL and @SayreBedingerFollow the show on Twitter: @LockedOnBroncos Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNBA for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime. Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNFL at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. FanDuelRight now, new customers can get TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in BONUS BETS when your first FIVE DOLLAR BET WINS! Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of the NBA. 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.

The Denver Broncos got better this off season, but where there moves good enough to take the AFC West in 2025, we'll tell you why we believe that is the case here on today's episode, Locked on Broncos. You are Locked on Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast, part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. Broncos country, happy Friday. Welcome into another episode, Locked on Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast, part of the Lockdown Podcast network where you know it is your team every day for all your Broncos. The Broncos news, content coverage, analysis, and more every single day all year long. This is the place to be.

Special shout out to all the everydayers out there in Broncos country. Thanks for tuning in making us your first listen. However you choose to do soon enough, if you're not yet in every dayer, it's easy to become one. All you have to do is hit that subscribe to that follow button wherever you get your podcast, and you'll get daily Broncos news, content coverage analysis, and more. From yours truly, I am Cody Roart, Broncos reporter from high sports and Sarah Bedinger, site expert over there, predominantly orange. fringe.com, where you can check out his written work there exclusively.

And on this Friday episode, we're going to debate the state of the AFC West after NFL free agency and right ahead of the NFL draft. We'll talk about the Broncos having this drastic advantage over the Las Vegas Raiders, despite their new additions, obviously at head coach with Pete Carroll, but also, how can the Broncos get back on track against the Los Angeles Charters? We'll dive deeper to that. And is this the year the Broncos are poised to take over the AFC West and take it from the Kansas City Chiefs. We're going to kick things off with that here on today's episode of the show.

So, Sarah, I mean, let's talk about it here, the state of the AFC West after NFL free agency. And of course, the conversation, the discourse is when you look at moves on paper, things look really good here for the Denver Broncos. And you look at some of the other teams in the AFC West. They've gotten better in some areas. They've also gotten worse in some areas as well. And it's always up for debate. Can you win the off season? Well, on paper, the Broncos, I think, have done just that when you look at the overall state of the AFC West.

I definitely would agree, and especially when you look at Kansas City, right? Obviously, they've been in the midst of what I would consider to be the best part of their window, right? Now, obviously, their window is not closing as long as Patrick Mahomes is their quarterback and as long as Andy Reid is their head coach, right? They've got the infrastructure to be in a Super Bowl window for a very long period of time, pretty much the equivalent now of what the New England Patriots were for the longest time when it was Brady and Belichick. And so it's not like the chiefs are going anywhere, Cody,

but there are going to be cracks in the door. And I think that this year is one of those years where there's a definite crack in the door for the Broncos and the other teams in the AFC West to kind of just remind the chiefs that, hey, like, we're all still here. And you guys are either getting old or you want to make them feel old, whatever the case may be. The chiefs are still going to be great.

But the weakness that they have right now, Cody, that I think is more pronounced than even in some of the seasons where remember the Super Bowl where they got whipped by the Buccaneers and then this last year by the Eagles, their offensive line with the departure of Joe Tuny at the left guard position and then just really not having any clarity at left tackle. They bring in Jalen Moore. They're hoping that Kingsley, Suo Mattaea can become that left guard. But I just don't know that no matter what happens the rest of this offseason, that they've got a solidified situation there. And that offensive line could be a problem. It feels like the Kansas City Chiefs this year of all years kind of feels a little bit more like a

question mark, right? Because obviously Travis Kelsey, even after they lost the Buccaneers, Travis Kelsey still was, you know, he's still playing really good football. He's not producing at the same volume in which he was three or four years ago, but he's still a guy that can hurt you here at the Broncos in that matchup at Arrowhead where he scored pretty much a wide open touchdown against Denver in that game here. But I think as we've seen the landscape of the AFC West kind of shift a little bit, I think the Broncos are better suited right now to compete against Kansas City than maybe the Chargers and the Raiders. Though I would say the Charters also have a really good argument to make. But this is a Bronco show.

We're going to focus on Denver and their chances here at this. I look at it as, okay, hey, Denver's defense against Patrick Mahomes, I feel like that's their biggest strength against the Chiefs right now, right? Defensively, they found a way to fluster Patrick Mahomes. And even though he still made some plays on third down in that matchup at Arrowhead last year, Denver, I felt like as of late defensively, they found ways to fluster him, probably make him a little more uncomfortable than most teams have. Now, I'd say the Eagles are a different factor because we saw that obviously in the Super Bowl

with four-man rush, whereas Denver, they're sending five, six, sometimes seven guys on a play. So I think that's where Denver's got the clear-cut advantage. And when you factor in the additions now at Tala Noah, Hufanga, and obviously I think Drake Greenlaw, to me, that makes Denver better than whatever they had last year, at least on paper. And obviously the NFL draft, they have a chance. to fortify that. The Chiefs have a chance to go out there and get some playmakers as well, I think, in the draft. I don't know what direction they're going to head, but Denver right now with Bo Nicks solidified in his position, if Denver goes out there and they find a running back that

can help really solidify their ground game, I think the wild card addition here for the Broncos offense against that Steve Spagnolo defense, I really think it is going to be Evan Ingram, and if they can get the running back situation resolved, Denver's got a really good chance, I think, to compete for the ASEW West, for the foreseeable future here. while they had this window with Bo Nix. I don't know how you feel about that, but this is the evolution of the NFL. One team that has been on top for so long,

Kansas City's reign inside the division. It's insulting in a sense. You want more teams in ASUS to have pride. Go out there and take it. That's why Sean Payton said, hey, our goal is to win the AFC West. This year, Greg Penner has reinforced that. Denver's making moves, I think,

will give them the best chance to reclaim the division than they've had in quite some time. Yeah, and it's not that we're just getting bored. of the Kansas City Chiefs being good either. It's the fact that, I mean, the last two years, they've been 15th in the NFL in scoring. They were actually pretty bad last year in terms of red zone offense. And so the Chiefs have a lot to work on right now.

And they have a lot of stuff that they need to get fixed and personnel that needs to be replaced. And that does give team like Denver an opportunity, especially with all the talent the Broncos have now. And they're getting out of salary cap purgatory, right? They've added really talented players. They've been drafting well. The Broncos are perfectly equipped now with Bo Nix, like you said, Cody, to be able to actually maybe make some noise here in the ASC West.

And I think defensively you're right. That's where you have the clear advantage right now over Kansas City's offense in particular, even though they've got the great neutralizer in Mahomes. But offensively for the Broncos, you talked about Evan Engro being that wild card and then finishing off that triangle that Sean Payton talked about with the running back position and opens up the middle of the field because we know Steve Spagnolo likes to, he likes to blitz. He likes to bring extra guys as well.

He likes to fluster. If you have guys who can beat man coverage, if you have guys who can get open quickly against those blitz packages and create after the catch, you really nullify what the chiefs do best on that side of the ball. And so it just helps in these individual matchups, but it does feel as good as the chiefs are and as nobody's riding them off by any means. It just feels like there's a crack in the door

that the Broncos are prepared this season to kick down. Yeah, and look, I understand the conversation every year. Like, all right, hey, this is it. This is the year the Chiefs fall off. And of course, the Chiefs come out and they prove to a lot of people that, hey, no, we're still top dogs in the AFC. And look, going into the season, you got a lot of flack, you know, when we did the season preview because you said, you know,

until someone beats Kansas City, like people were mad at you for them. It's like, that's you just being honest and objective. And that is still true for the rest of the division, until somebody knocks Kansas City off, they're going to be the favorite going into the season. Now, that's where it's like, you know, teams like the Broncos, the charters, even the Raiders say, like, we're tired of hearing that conversation. Let's go out there and do something about it.

That is where you have to really kind of take some pride and add some juice, right? Because remember that, you know, the Broncos used to have shirts back in 2015. This is iron, sharpens iron. You know, there's one that was like win the AFC West. Like, you know, you got to crawl for you walk. I wonder what the mantra for the Broncos is going to be this season. because you have to find a way to make some noise. You've shown that you can compete with Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.

You went into their own building and you almost beat them if it weren't for a block-filled goal and it leaves a sour taste in your mouth. And can the Broncos find a way to use that as motivation? Hey, we know we're here. We're right here with the Chiefs. I think with the DNA and the chemistry and the culture that Sean Payton is built inside that locker room, I think that the Broncos, they are. They see that crack in that door and they're ready to kick it down.

And I think that they're going to have a great opportunity to do just that. And obviously, Broncos country will continue to evaluate every move Denver makes. We'll look at the rest of the AFS as the entire season goes about. But one of the things I think we have to take a look at here as well, there is a team inside the AFS at the Broncos struggle with last season. That is the Los Angeles Chargers. How can the Broncos get back on track, even though the Chargers have made some tough moves this off season? We'll break that down and much more on today's episode, Locked on Broncos.

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Take the Nissan Armada, the rogue or the Pathfinder, and go finder. next big adventure at shop nisson usa.com. Shockingly enough, the only team in the AFC West, the Denver Broncos, did not beat in 2024 was the Los Angeles Chargers. After a handful of years of splitting matchups at the very least with the Chargers, what are the Broncos got to do to get back on track versus Justin Herbert and the boys out there in LA? We're going to talk about that and much more on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos.

And thanks so much Broncos country for making us your first listen of the day. If you're not already, go ahead, take a couple seconds. Hit subscribe because you know your boys, Cody and Sarah. We'll have you covered all throughout NFL draft season and the remainder of the off season with everything that you want to know about your favorite team. The Broncos do have to get back on track against the Los Angeles Chargers, especially because the second matchup between these two teams last year was arguably one of the most disappointing losses of the season.

The Broncos had an 11-point lead into the second half of that game. and obviously they kind of let the chargers come back and just dominate the end of that second half. It was frustrating to see because of how awesome that game played out in the beginning stages, Cody. It was one of those situations to where like, man, everything's going the Broncos way. Their offense is clicking. Everybody's getting involved. Chris Abrams drain got his first career interception off of Justin Herbert, who had only thrown like two at that point in time. It was shaping up to be something special.

and then Jim Harbaugh and the Chargers, they just kind of, you know, they did their thing. They didn't make mistakes. They made the Broncos pay for their mistakes, et cetera. What do you think the Broncos have to do to get back on track? Let's talk about maybe some of the losses for the Chargers too, because Joey Bosa, not there anymore. They're going to have some new personnel, but you feel like Jim Harbaugh is kind of doing something similar to their culture as what Sean Payton is doing in Denver. Yeah, I mean, what worked for the Chargers against the Broncos last year really was the run game. that first matchup, they had no answer for J.K. Dobbins. Now, obviously,

J.K. Dobbins saw a little bit of a career resurgence last year coming off all the injuries that he had, but I'll make the argument. They got better at running back there by adding Najee Harris to the mix. When you factor in how Jim Harbaugh loves to run the football, his style in which he does it, I feel like that's the perfect fit for a player like Najee Harris. And that's a little problematic here for the Broncos, who obviously had a drastically improved run defense. They were a top five run defense last season. They had a couple of games where there were some letdowns. One of those came against the Charters,

really in that first matchup that the Broncos had there. But, you know, I look at all this, Sarah, and I think like, okay, hey, like the Charters have revitalized themselves. There's a lot of conversation like Justin Herbert did not play well in the playoffs against the Houston Texans, even four interceptions in that game. But you and I, I think, were both saying it last year. Outside of Ladd-McConkey, Justin Herbert really had nobody to throw to. I mean, it was almost like throwing to practice squad players at that point.

They bring back Mike Williams, who was obviously, I think, one of the guys that we brought up maybe on a potential wish list here for the Broncos in free agency, if you needed a veteran guy that could give you some solid contributions. So they give him back. And there's still a chance they can even add Kenan Allen back into the mix. I know there's been some conversations about that. There's been social media posts of that. So we'll see.

But really, the Broncos had no answer for Ladd-McConkie last season, Sarah. And now when you add Mike Williams into the mix, part of me is wondering, what does the coverage dynamic now mean? Like, does that mean you're going to put Riley Moss on Mike Williams? and you're going to put Pat Sertan anywhere that Ladd-McConkie goes. It's hard because Ladd will work a lot in the slot. And while Pat can do that, Lad is shorter, a little burstier. Do you want to match up a nickel guy there?

I think, you know, we talked about the teams attacking the middle of the field for the Broncos, especially the chargers in that game there. They really attacked where the linebackers were. So I think the addition of Drake Greenlaw will help with some of those crossing patterns that you have there. But you have to find an answer. I think the chargers right now, like if we talk about top competition, competition, you know, by default in terms of who got better. Look, no disrespect to Kansas City.

I think that the Chargers right now are probably the Broncos biggest threat inside the division for winning the AFC West in terms of competitive toughness and where they're at. If they can shore some things to get Justin Herbert some weapons, I have a strong feeling that they're going to be a tough team to face next season. And Denver's going to have to find a way to overcome that. But I think Najee Harris was a big boost to what they want to do. The Broncos, they also made moves I think can counteract that with.

Ray Greenlaw, Talanoa Hufanga, keeping that defensive line, the continuity there, I think that helps out a tremendous amount. It does. And the Chargers are going to continue to get better in the NFL draft, right? I mean, they're going to get a pass catching tight end after missing out on Evan Ingram in the competition with the Broncos, right? They brought Evan in after the Broncos visited with him, and then he chose Denver. So the Chargers have to still get a pass catching tight end.

And maybe Jim Harbaugh is going to go get Colston Loveland now, who he recruited to play for him at Michigan and that would make a lot of sense or maybe it's going to be mason taylor we don't know but whoever the chargers add in the nfl draft it's going to add to the same narrative that's there every single year for this team which is that the chargers are kind of everybody's favorite flavor of the offseason everybody likes how they look on paper everybody always loves the the talent that they assemble on the roster and yeah they have holes they have you know areas that they need to improve but where the chargers have gotten so much better under jim harbaugh is just immediately in the trenches.

And defensively, you saw the effect that Jesse Minter, their defensive coordinator was able to have after Brandon Staley left, you know, or after he was let go. And that defense just, they fly around the field. They make plays. They've got so many talented guys there that shrink the field for opposing teams.

So I like the addition for them of Najee Harris. I think they're kind of one of the only landing spots to me that was like, all right, that's pretty good. That's a pretty good pickup because Naji, I think, works best with that type of strength on the offensive line. The Chargers are going to be one of those teams, Cody, to where no matter what happens, I don't think anybody's really going to think the Broncos are better than them this year. I think it's going to take proving it on the field.

I don't think anybody's going to say, hey, Denver is clearly, you know, head and shoulders above L.A. I think it's going to be, hey, we got to see it happen on the field because the chargers are on paper very, very, very. good. Yeah, and look, I always think that the storyline for L.A. every year, for some odd reason, happens to be, can they stay healthy, right? And of course, like, you've seen them battle injuries, you know, you've seen them, especially on the offensive line, an offensive tackle. You know, our friends over there at Lockdown Chargers, I know they're talking about, what's the future of Rashaun Slater looking like there? So you're going to sign an extension. Joe Alt, I think proved out to be a tremendous addition for them on the O line, but really,

it's just about getting Herbert weapons. You know, you still have Derwin James, you know, Khalil Mack is back for what probably will be his last year in the NFL out anticipate. Like this is still a very good defense. Though I will say like they lost Asante Samuel Jr. And I don't know if they necessarily made a move that's going to be like, hey, the cornerback room is great because they also, I think lost Christian Fulton as well.

So they lost two of their corners there. They've got Derwin. I'm very curious to see where they decide to go in this year's NFL draft. Do they bolster? They get another edge rusher. Do they go out there and get a cornerback like Will Johnson? I mean, that's just, I think anything is on. the table right now, but I agree with you.

The Broncos have to go out there and they have to prove it against a team like the Chargers because, hey, you got swept by them last year. You should have beaten them when you had that 11 point lead in that third quarter. You let the run game dissipate. Like it really got away from them. Like we saw Blake Watson, Audrake estimated me. We saw all these guys getting involved in the mix and the Broncos were rolling in the first half.

And then all of a sudden that fair, that fair catch free kick suddenly shifted momentum. And then the Broncos, they couldn't get off the field on third down defensively. And then the offense just sputtered in the second half. So it's really about trying to overcome some of those growing pains there. When I think about a clear cut advantage, I think the Broncos may have over the charters. When you analyze offense, defense, special teams, I really feel like the offense is going to be in a position. If they can find a running back, that's going to be where they have success because they were able to run the ball well against the chargers. But, you know, in that first game, when they were down 20 nothing, they couldn't run the football because you're down by multiple.

full scores and they still came back and almost found a way to win that game. So I think Debra can't compete relatively well with the Chargers. It's just about trying to play your best mistake-free football against them, which Denver, unfortunately, didn't do last season? We want to know from you, Broncos Country, do you agree with us? Do you think the Chargers right now are the biggest threat inside of the AFC West for the Broncos trying to win the division for the first time going back to 2015? We want to hear from you on today's episode of the show here.

But Broncos Country, we're still looking at the AFC West here. on today's episode of the show. And even though they made the additions of getting Pete Carroll and signing Gino Smith, giving him a contract extension, the Las Vegas Raiders are still a little bro right now in the AFC West. We'll tell you what advantage the Broncos have against that here on today's episode, locked on Broncos. The red-headed stepchild of the AFC West is the Las Vegas Raiders.

They went out there and they made some moves by bringing in Pete Carroll to really kind of bolster this team as they head in a new direction. But they've handed the keys to the kingdom to John. Gino Smith is their quarterback of the future, which was an interesting move here. But despite all those, Sarah, I strongly believe that the Raiders are still at the bottom of the division from a perceptional standpoint. I think they'll be tougher and Pete Carroll, more disciplined. But I think the Broncos are rising at the perfect time where, you know, I think a lot of people were worried that the Raiders were going to make strides ahead of them when they had Derek Carr initially,

when they had Devante Adams. The perception of this team from a couple of years ago to now has changed drastically. And I still think right now they're at the bottom of the AFC West. How do you feel about this? I think they are too. I think that they're going to be a lot better this coming season with Gino Smith at the quarterback position. Anytime you raise the floor at quarterback, that's a issue for teams that you're going to play multiple times because Gino has been

good and he's been good against the Denver Broncos, right? The last two matchups, the Broncos have had against Seattle. Gino has made some big plays, even overcoming some pretty bad mistakes like we saw early in last year's season. opener. So I do think that the Raiders got better there, Cody. Going to be fascinating to see what they do with that sixth overall pick. Are they going to take a, you know, page out of the Atlanta Falcons book and draft another quarterback there?

Are they going to take Ashton Genty? Are they going to do something completely out of left field? Everything the Raiders are doing right now is, I think, sadly, the right thing to do. They're getting a good veteran quarterback in there. You've got Brock Bowers, who is one of the best, you know, playmakers at his position in the game already going into year two. And defensively, you've got Max Crosby, who I think just kind of raises all boats in the harbor with the way that he plays. And he was missing for a good chunk of last season. I think the Raiders are going to be very competitive under Pete Carroll.

You know, we saw their response when Josh McDaniels was fired. I think that team is going to have a much better culture. They're going to be fired up to play for Pete Carroll because the Seahawks were always competitive for him. So I still believe that they're the worst team on. paper in the AFC West, but at the same time, it's way different than last year where they were going into the regular season with Gardner Minshu and Aidan O'Connell. The weird thing to me, though, is just I don't understand them handing the keys to

Gino Smith long term. Like, that was my thing. Like, for me, if they were like, all right, hey, you're bringing Gino in, you're trading for him. You're going to give him, you know, one or two years as a bridge quarterback while you develop a guy, them going out and giving him an extension was something that was a little shocking to me like I don't know what it is so far but like what is it about gino smith right now that warrants that you know comfortability in the raiders saying hey this guy's going to take us far granted

this is much better than aiden o'connell or gardner minshu on a drastically different level i'll say that like those guys did not move the needle for the raiders and even though the broncos they got down a little early on to gardner minchew in that first game at home that Denver ended up going on that 38 nothing run to kind of end the game there Gino Smith is drastically better. So for me, I understand getting better at that position right away. But to me, it kind of speaks volumes that they may be looking here to really revamp in the next two to three years by adding draft picks and maybe sounding a couple of key free agents.

They've lost some good players. They lost, obviously, Nate Hobbs. They lost Trayvon, Moly, who obviously I think was one guy that Sean Payton pinpointed out, saying, hey, we got to know where this guy's at number seven because he's a great force player. He impacts really what you want to do in the run game. So, I mean, they still have Max Crosby, the Baba Yega, the boogeyman there. And he is legitimately one of the most dominant players. And you have to face him two times a year.

And even with a bad ankle, he made it a little difficult for the Broncos and Bo Nix in that first matchup. And then Tyree Wilson, who obviously, you know, I think this matchup between Denver and the Raiders, even though I consider the Raiders to be kind of like little bro in the division right now, I still think it's going to be competitive. I think it's going to be tough. It's not going to be, hey, you're playing the Raiders twice a year. an automatic W.

No, I think it's going to be competitive. It's going to be fun. But the Broncos are at the point now where, look, they've ended the streak that the Raiders previously had over them. Can you keep the streak going that you now have a two games over them? Can you extend that to four? Can you extend that eventually to six to eight? Can you get that dominance back over a team, even if the matchups are competitive?

Pete Carroll is going to be a wild card for them, but is going to be enough in the rest of the AFC West. I'm not sure. Yeah, the good thing is that I think a lot of Broncos country worries about every other team in the division getting better. But I mean, the Raiders being better is beneficial to Denver as well because, I mean, they gave the Chiefs fits last year. They'll give the Chargers fits.

They're going to give everybody. It's not just that it affects the Broncos when the Raiders get better, right? It's that, hey, the entire AFC West is affected by this. And it can help you. It can help you win your division. If you take care of your business, I mean, the Raiders might take care of business against the Chiefs or the Chargers, right? So it's better for everybody, I think, to have.

the division at the level that it is. I mean, yeah, you'd love to be able to just say going into a year like the AFC South Lash, we can just beat, beat up on everybody in our division because the division stinks or the NFC South or, you know, whatever it may be. But the Broncos playing in a tough division like this, everybody has to deal with that. It's not just Denver. So, and with the Raiders, I think they have a lot to work on. Like, they don't have a running back right now.

They don't have a wide receiver one right now. They don't have a secondary right now. they also lost Spillane, the linebacker. I can't remember who he, I think he signed with the Patriots. So they lose guys like that on their defensive side, the best players that they had on defense other than Max Crosby, you lose those guys and how are you going to replace them? So there are multiple drafts away from being a really good looking roster, but at the same time, they've got those key players on either side of the ball that can keep them in games.

Max Crosby keeps them in games. Brock Bowers keeps them in games. We saw that over the holidays against Kansas City. And I think that that's going to happen again this year. You cannot overlook this team, especially now that they've gotten a better quarterback in place. Well, and the thing I also like right now of them not having a wide receiver one, you know, the Broncos, PS2 is proven to be an eraser for Brock Bowers,

who went off against everybody else. Brock Bowers getting that big touchdown catch against PJ Locke, but when they put passer Tan on him, he didn't see anything. He had an interception. Obviously, he locked them up in the road game that the Bronco has had there, at the midway point of the season and the game in which they lost Riley Moss. For me, I look at that, and part of me is wondering, I think their strategy is going to be probably going with Ashton Genty.

I mean, all the T-leys have kind of been there. Like even the team officials have talked about Ashton Genty in a way saying that, hey, like my family is like, I forget who it was, spy. I think it was Spy Tech who said, you know, his kid said, you guys got to take Genty. Like, you know, now we're traveling to the Joe Shane territory here. You're going to listen to your kid and actually get it right, or are you going to go a different direction?

I'm curious to see where they go with their pick. They're going to be competitive, but adding a guy like Gentie to the mix there with Gino Smith, I even think Tyler Lockett's going to sign with them eventually. I think on a one-year deal, a little bit of a late signing, probably after the NFL draft. That would make them obviously competitive, tough. And with a guy like Genty,

you kind of have that Marshaun Lynch style of mentality of maybe how they plan to run the football next season. I think that's big under Pete Carroll. And they got a quarterback who obviously operates an offense where he's got autonomy, but more so I think he follows what Pete wants to do there. So I'll be very curious there. Let's go through a little rapid fire here real quick.

If we had to give an early prediction here today on April 4th, 2025. What order do you think the AFC West is going to be next season? Oh, boy, putting me on the spot there. I will say I'll go, let's be optimistic, right? There's no reason not to be. We're all defeated right now. I think the Kansas City Chiefs won a lot of one-score games in very fortunate fashion last year. I don't think that's going to necessarily happen for you every single year.

I think the Chargers may take a slight step back. They overachieved, in my opinion, a little bit last year. I'll say I'm going to go Broncos first place, Chiefs, second place, Chargers, third place, Raiders, fourth place. Everybody wins eight plus games. Oh, so it will be one of the toughest divisions in football. I like that. And I, you know, how many years have we done this show where it's like we look at the division in a hole and we say, hey, this might be the best division right now on paper and all football and ends up being really just lopsided.

Like Kansas City, just one year is really, really good. Charters, you know, they're competitive. And then the Broncos and Raiders were at the bottom. Now, I felt like even last year, I mean, you had three, you had three representatives from the AFC West inside the playoffs last year. I wouldn't be shocked to see that be the case here once again. I think the AFC West is becoming one of the better divisions in football. Obviously, there's always an honorable mention there, a consideration for the AFC North. That's always tough there.

But I think that the AFC West, AFC North, they have the two favorite, like, talking points about being, hey, like, this is going to be a tough out for anybody that plays them. And luckily the Broncos, they play the AFC South next season, Sarah, which right now might be the weakest division in all of football. We'll see the Broncos can find a way to take advantage of the way that the Detroit Lions and other teams in NFC North did just that against. that division in 2024. But with that said, Broncos country, we want to know your thoughts here on today's episode of the show. If you had to predict the AFC West here today, based on moves made in the off season,

where do the Broncos stand in your opinion? Make sure you let us know here on today's episode, locked on Broncos. But for all you every dayers, we'll be back for a new episode on Monday. It is mock draft Monday or Sarah and I, we're going to sit down, we're going to collaborate, we're going to conduct a three-round mock draft.

We're going to see where the Broncos go based on how the board falls and we'll share our thoughts here. on lockdown Broncos. We'll see you then.