Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - Denver Broncos Defense DOMINATES Friday's Practice, NO On Micah Parsons Trade

Starting point is 00:00:00 Talanoa, Hufonga and the Denver Broncos defense made Bow Nix and the offense is life miserable in Friday's practice. Can they shake it off going into Saturday? We'll preview that and much more 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. What's up, Broncos country? Welcome into another episode of Locked on Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast. Part of the Locked on podcast network where you know what's your team.

Starting point is 00:00:35 every day for all your Broncos news, content coverage analysis, and more, this is the place to be. So make sure if you're not in every day or already, be coming by hitting a subscribe or that follow button, wherever you get your podcast and a special shout out. Thank you so much to Broncos Country for making us your first list. I'm Cody Rourke, Broncos reporter for Mile High Sports, joined as always by Sarah Bedinger, the longtime site expert over there at predominantly orange.com, and here's what you're going to get on today's episode of the show, recapping Friday's training camp practice, the Denver Broncos defense, won the day led by Talanoa Hufanga.

Starting point is 00:01:07 They swarmed Bow Nix in the offense. We'll talk about what happened in Friday's practice and whether or not the offense can bounce back in Saturday's upcoming scrimmage. Plus, Micah Parsons of the Dallas Cowboys requested a trade. We'll go through why the Broncos should or should not inquire about the star pass rusher in Dallas.

Starting point is 00:01:26 Plus, we'll go through some other Broncos, camp news and notes, including updates on Drake Greenlaw, Hugh Robinson, and much more on today's episode. So, Sarah, look, Friday, practice for the Bronco was after Thursday's practice initially was one that the offense won the day. They benefited from it. Friday was back to full pads and the defense. They controlled the narrative from start to finish. It was a dominant day for the Broncos defense and it was all led and started by Talanoa Hu Fonga, the Broncos key off season edition in free agency. One of my favorite things

Starting point is 00:01:59 when we talk about Talanoa Hufanga is talking about how when he's out there on the field, it's going to feel like the Broncos have 12 guys because he's just that strong in his instincts in attacking the football when it's in the air, right? And he's that type of guy who he's the heat seeking missile. He's the player that you don't want to see coming when you catch the ball and you turn up field. Like he is that guy. And he does make plays on the ball. He's not just a hard hitting safety. I think that's the big distinction that we need to make now because of what he's kind of known as or maybe what he's known for. He's known for those big hits. He's known for being physical. But to me, Cody, anytime I remember what he did with the San Francisco 49ers, it's all

Starting point is 00:02:42 about those ball skills. It's all about the instincts and it's all about being not just in the right place at the right time, but putting yourself where you need to be to create those takeaways. It's more than just causing havoc for an offense, although his ball skills help him do that. I feel like when he's out there, it just gives that sort of Tasmanian devil feel for an opposing offense. So where you just, the guy is almost frantic, but it's a controlled chaos very much so when it comes to Talano, Hufanga. Who is the guy who the kid from the wild thornberries? What was his name that, you know, makes all the crazy noises like, I know, exactly.

Starting point is 00:03:18 I wish I could remember. Yeah. Somebody in the comments, our age is shown that we're old. I think, is it Timmy? I don't know if it's Timmy, but. You mentioned like the Tasmanian devil here for a guy like Hufanga. Donnie. Donnie.

Starting point is 00:03:32 Yeah. That's exactly like when you watch Tala No Hufanga play, that's exactly what I think of here because this guy is everywhere. And look, I like how the Broncos and Vance Joseph are using him. They're moving him around to different spots. Of course, he's playing back and they're doing two high shell stuff alongside Brandon Jones.

Starting point is 00:03:49 But on the interception that he had of Bo Nix, and we'll get into Bow's struggles on the afternoon here a little bit later. It was an RPO concept that the Bronco. his offense was running and Bo, I mean, he had a guy coming free on a crossing pattern there. Hufanga was at about eight yards depth, right? Kind of really next to the linebacker. I don't know if they were blitzing a linebacker, but he was kind of lurking underneath. Bo thought he had a guy wide open on the crosser and then out of nowhere.

Starting point is 00:04:14 You just see Hufanga jump up into the air and pick it. I mean, you couldn't have timed it perfectly was one of those plays. Sean Payton said after practice, he said it was really good. He got a lot of praise there. But also there was a play as well where they got the ball to July. William McLaughlin, who we found out is at 199 pounds there. And he's bigger. He's still just as fast.

Starting point is 00:04:33 He caught a pass from Bo Nixon, was about to turn it up field and got walloped by Fufanga there, right? So you love the physicality. He's going to bring to the table. I have a strong feeling just based on watching, knowing this defense, but watching whofanga and Brandon Jones play alongside each other, I have a feeling this is going to be the most crucial aspect of this Broncos defense. Yes, the pass rush is important.

Starting point is 00:04:56 but I think those two guys on the back end and how they work and what they're going to do at different spots in the middle of the field, downfield across the hash and even in the box, I think that's going to be the secret sauce here to the Broncos defense. Well, because didn't it feel like the last two years that the Broncos were able to kind of have their way at times in the past rush department, and their biggest weakness was arguably giving up big plays. And that's kind of how it felt to me is that just that stretches during the game, you would give up a big play here and a big play there and you kind of let it snowball or late in games. You have a running back that's just able to take over because he's more physical

Starting point is 00:05:33 than the guys that you have. And now you have a couple of guys out there that can not just match that physicality, but swing the pendulum back in your favor. And that's where the Broncos I think are going to be, like you said, improve the most. You and I talked about what's the what's going to be the biggest offseason addition for this team or how is it going to be felt the most? And I think you and I agree that that combination of Hufanga and Greenlaw in the middle of the defense, taking that unit from what was third in the NFL and points allowed last year up to hopefully number one here in 2025, those two guys and Hufanga maybe specifically because he shrinks the field. That's what I mean when I say it makes it feel like you've got 12 defenders out there.

Starting point is 00:06:16 It's just a disadvantage almost naturally when you have guys like that out there. The 49ers experience that. They know that. That's why the guy was in all-pro safety is because he makes defenses or he dictates what offenses do so directly with his presence on the field. And so I'm excited to hear about it. But obviously the questions everybody's going to be asking is like, what about Bo Nicks in that regard? Because the guy's not allowed to have a rough practice or a rough throw-up practice or whatever it may be.

Starting point is 00:06:45 Why do you think or do you think it's a cause for concern at this point? I don't think it's a cause for concern at all. I mean, I think when you look at Hufanga's interception, and I wish, I mean, Sean Payton will see it on film. We don't get a film that. Fans don't get a film that. But if you go back and you watch it, I have a good memory. Andrew Mason's got a good memory as well. It was a fantastic play there by Hufanga where Bo didn't just, Bo didn't see him.

Starting point is 00:07:09 He was lurking. He had really good depth there behind the defensive line. And obviously, you have the big guys on the offensive line kind of creating a little bit of a big lane, big wall as well. He just made a terrific play. You know, Bo had another interception on the day, and we'll talk about that. It was on a pass intended for Cortland Sutton. Sean Payton kind of said it was a similar concept to what the Broncos ran in 2023 at Houston, where it was, I think it was in the third quarter or the fourth quarter,

Starting point is 00:07:32 remember that post pattern that Cortland Sutton was running, and Derek Stingley jumped it and intercepted it. Same exact thing on there, but there was a defensive, illegal contact penalty that was thrown on the play. So it really would have negated the interception. Bo just tried to toss it downfield to where he thought he was going to have Cortland Sutton. And Sean Peyton said after practice, it's not a concern. It's something you go back and you watch on film and say, okay, hey, what, what were you thinking here? Like, what was your process?

Starting point is 00:07:56 What were you looking at? Tell me why you were going here? What did you see? It's that. And it's like, all right, then it's going out there and brushing off. This was a bad day for Bo Nix. It was his worst practice so far of training camp. Bose had a great camp so far.

Starting point is 00:08:10 Today was the real first bad day that we saw from him. But I also feel like after that second throw, that got intercepted by Pat, that Obviously, it didn't count as a pick, but it still was a pick at the end of the day if you talk about it. The thing that I want to highlight there is on the next two plays, I thought Bo did a really good job of bouncing back. He went right back to Cortland Sutton on a cross around the middle of the field for about a 14, 15-yard gain. And then he found Troy Franklin for about a 12 or 13-yard gain. So shaking that off and still going out there and making some throws, you know, you're not seeing his confidence waiver. I think while it's important to acknowledge that Beau had a bad day, there's no reason to be concerned at all.

Starting point is 00:08:46 And Broncos aren't concerned. and I don't think anybody's concerned. So if anyone's trying to pedal that, stop it. Yeah, it's football practice, right? I mean, this stuff. You want to make it in practice. Yeah, you want to make those throws in practice and talk about it after the fact. And I think that it's just delusional to think that Bo is going to go into the season and, you know, just, oh, he's going to have the best touchdown interception ratio in the league.

Starting point is 00:09:08 He's not going to throw any picks. And we know that he. Yeah, it would be nice. Absolutely. I'll take 55 touchdowns and whatever the stat line was from. Peyton Manning back in 2013. I'll take that. But look, with a young quarterback, you are going to have mistakes. And during the season, as we've seen many times, you're going to get those mulligans as well. You'll make a mistake and there's a penalty on that mistake and you get a

Starting point is 00:09:33 second chance, right? And that does happen. I mean, how many times do we see that last year with a variety of different great quarterbacks is they make a huge mistake? Oh, there was a flag on the field. They get another shot to go. I mean, it happens for Patrick Mahomes all the time. So I'm not saying that you want to be reckless with the football if you're Bo Nix, but I think testing downfield against a guy like Pat Sertan, it can help you in a variety of different ways. And so I like that the defense, though, is making it, they're not going to go out there and make it easy on it.

Starting point is 00:10:02 Why would they do that? You know, I love that they're making it hard for these guys. And I think that it's, they want to win every day at practice. They want to be the ones that are getting talked about. They want to be the most feared defense in the league. And it's only going to make the entire offense better, the harder they make. make it for them. It's like, you know, Cody, I play basketball with my kids outside. If they come in the lane, I'm swatting that thing out of there. Don't even mess around. I'm not letting you score.

Starting point is 00:10:25 You got to earn that. It builds character. That's right. So I'm not saying that's necessarily what's going on out there at Broncos practice, but I do love that the defense is making it as hard as possible for the offense to get things going in practice because they're not going to face probably anybody better than them this season. I think Sean said it best after practice. You know, he likes the fact that the offense and defense are having days where, you know, one unit is shining and the other unit is not winning the day. He said, you'd be a little more concerned if it was one side at all of camp. He said, that's not the case here. And certainly Bowen and the offense aren't afraid to test them and even test tight windows. That's what I like about both. This defense is going to make

Starting point is 00:11:04 Bowen this offense even better going forward. We're excited about that. But Brockow's country, as we were getting to the Payton, Sean Payton Press conference on Friday, we all got the notification. Michael Parsons has requested a trade. And everyone on Twitter said, should the Broncos inquire? I'll tell you why they shouldn't. Sarah will tell you why they should. You're on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos. Today's Lockdown Broncos podcast is brought to you by friends over there at Monarch

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Starting point is 00:12:45 Should they get on the phone and say, hey, Jera, what's going on with Micah Parsons over there? Are you willing to trade him? Cody's going to tell you why he doesn't think they should. And I'm going to tell you why I think the Broncos maybe should make this deal. But Broncos Country, appreciate you all so much for tuning in every single day here on the show. We love and just are so privileged to get to do this every day.

Starting point is 00:13:06 So if you haven't already done so, hit subscribe. We appreciate you rocking with us wherever you listen to podcasts as well as on YouTube. Cody, let's talk about this. This was the biggest breaking news, I guess, in the NFL on the day. Micah Parsons is one of the premier defensive players, if not the best pass rusher in the game. And kind of shockingly, he's still without a new contract. I think that's kind of been everybody just figures,

Starting point is 00:13:32 well, a guy like that, he's going to get what he's due, or he's going to get what he wants. He's going to break the bank. He's going to get the Brinks truck, have him back it up, you know, blank check. He's one of those type of players. And if you're a Dallas Cowboys fan, you've got to be sitting there just shaking your head because he's requested a trade.

Starting point is 00:13:48 I mean, it's gotten to the point that he basically wrote a goodbye letter to Dallas Cowboys fans. So the question now becomes, where is he going to play football long term? And do the Denver Broncos enter that discussion? Yeah, I mean, I think there's a great meme that's come out of the announcement, you know, NFL networks Tom Pelliserra. When it first happened, he put out a tweet. And the first quote of that was something that Micah Parsons said in there that said, Unfortunately, I no longer want to be here. So anytime something bad happens this upcoming season, Sarah,

Starting point is 00:14:20 I am going to post that as the running meme there. We'll see how it all goes here. But this is wild. And obviously, you know, if you're a Broncos fan interested in the Micah Parsons, do as maybe some of the options they could have, make sure you go check out our friends of their Locked on Cowboys as they reacted to this whole saga live here. Sarah, as great of a player, an elite level player that Micah Parsons is,

Starting point is 00:14:41 obviously went a couple of picks right after Patrick Sertan did in the 2021 NFL draft. And I even think in the pre-draft process, we were talking about Mika Parsons to Denver there as someone we would have liked. But Denver's got Sertan, reigning defensive player of the year. While Mika would make this Broncos defense even scarier, especially on paper, and he would bring another elite level pass rush presence to it. I don't think that they should do this. And I think the main reason here has to do it. You're going to get rid of.

Starting point is 00:15:11 you'd probably have to get rid of one of your star guys. I think a Michael Parsons trade to Denver would spell the end of Nick Benito. That'd probably send Nick Benito to Dallas. I don't want to do that. Look, I think Nick Benito is emerging. He's a rising star here. The cost that Michael Parsons would command essentially in terms of draft capital, you'd have to give it up to get him on top of what you're going to have to pay him

Starting point is 00:15:32 in terms of a new contract extension, that's going to be astronomical. I think what did TJ Wat just get on a per year basis? 41 million. 41 million. I guarantee you, Micah would be at like 41.9 or 42 or 43. That is just too much, in my opinion, especially when you talk about the other pieces you have around you. If you trade it for Michael Parsons, that would more than likely mean that you have to send one or two defenders, maybe an offensive player away because of salary cap. Who knows how that's going to work. But you'd have to get rid of some of your younger players to bring in a player who's a great player at that. But the cost for him is going to be so big. It also I think would interrupt your ability to pay a guy like Zach Allen and guys, down the road, especially while the Broncos have Bonics in a rookie deal, and they have Pat Sertan freshly extended Quinn miners. You don't have those cap hits necessarily coming up and

Starting point is 00:16:18 hurting you right now. To me, the financial part of it is a big reason why not. And I'm also going to stand by and say, hey, I think Nick Benito should be on this team long term. I like Nick. He's been dominant at training camp. And I think that's where I would like to stand here, as good of a player as Michael Parsons would be.

Starting point is 00:16:36 But I'm curious for you as to why you think the Broncos should inquire in trading for him. Well, I like Nick Benito as well, and I'm excited about his development. And of course, if we're living in the realm of realism here, we're probably talking more likely about a Broncos team that for the foreseeable future includes Nick Bonito on a contract extension, as opposed to trading a horde of draft picks and plus Bonito probably to acquire Micah Parsons. So I want to just preface that by saying that I'm excited about Nick Benito's development.

Starting point is 00:17:09 And I'm not just saying, let's dump the guy to go get the next guy. I think when you talk about the potential of acquiring a player like Michael Parsons, you're talking about acquiring somebody that these types of players very, very rarely ever in the NFL become available. And we don't, at this point, all we know is that the Cowboys have no intention of trading him at the same time, the player is saying, I want to be traded. And so you're at a standstill there. So you might as well talk about the hypothetical.

Starting point is 00:17:38 He's 26 years old, just turned 26 this offseason, averaging 14.2 sacks per 17 games. He's a game record out there. And I think the Broncos, because they're in the midst of contract extension negotiations with their star defensive players already, you're already proving, hey, I'm willing to go and pay top dollar or pretty close to top dollar for an edge guy. And yes, it would probably be close to double average annual value here. So you're talking about almost the cost of paying two players for the price. of one because you mentioned Cody, okay, Zach Allen, the average top five for interior

Starting point is 00:18:13 defensive linemen right now in the NFL would be around 25 million per year. So that would be rough if they franchise tag him next off season. Let's just throw that out there. Nick Benito probably going to get somewhere between 23 and 25 as well. So you're legitimately talking about the potential of paying one guy, Michael Parsons, the price of two players, plus giving up, you know, maybe multiple first round picks and Benito to get him. And I think that it would be a tough, tough pill to swallow. But it's one of those situations where the Broncos, do they have one of the top 10 rosters in the NFL?

Starting point is 00:18:48 I believe they do. They are top 10 next year in available cap space with over 67 million or 68 million, something like that. They can afford this. They could structure things in such a way to fit it under the salary cap. And if you believe that Bo Nix is that guy that's going to lead you to a Super Bowl, You have windows in the NFL. You can reset windows.

Starting point is 00:19:09 You can go through, hey, the next four years, we're going to roll with Micah Parsons and we'll see what else we can add around him, as opposed to, you know, let's see if we can try to accumulate as much talent as we can with the guys like Benito and Alan. I just think when you have a premier pass rusher like this, like when Khalil Mack became available, the Bears gave up the farm to get him. And they had pretty immediate success, right?

Starting point is 00:19:32 Obviously, they didn't win at all or anything like that. but guys like this just don't become available often. And I think a guy like Micah Parsons could bring that Von Miller type of impact off the edge for this team. And it would be something that I would be very much in favor of if the Broncos could actually make a deal happen. And I think there's just so many moving pieces to a move like this. And certainly it would change the landscape of the AFC West. And all of a sudden Justin Herbert, Patrick Mahomes and Gino Smith were like, wow, they got Micah Parsons now. like I said, an elite level, unbelievably ridiculous player.

Starting point is 00:20:08 He is a Madden created player. I mean, Micah is an unbelievable talent there. Just like I said, I'm more along the lines of I'd rather pay Nick Benito and Zach Allen, guys that, you know, want to be here. And I think that, you know, a guy like Micah Parsons, I feel like he might want to be in the mile high city, but we don't know. But you're bringing in a new guy. You're taking a big chance.

Starting point is 00:20:27 It would be a big chance. Yes, he's a proven player in Dallas, but how will he mesh in a new environment? think he's an elite level enough player. He could probably go to a terrible team in the NFL and still have an immediate impact and do that. It's rare to find players like that, but it also drives up the premium, I think, on those types of players around the NFL. And I think everybody's watching.

Starting point is 00:20:47 And look, I think, you know, if we're going to look at it from a 30,000 foot view that's not related to the Broncos, imagine being a Cowboys fan right now and seeing this happen in real time. And you got C.D. Lamb tweeting, shaking my head, like, just pay the man. Like, stop doing all the extracurricular stuff. It is crazy over there in Jerry's world And thankfully the Broncos have great ownership And great management running of the team here

Starting point is 00:21:08 Broncos country We want to hear from you should the Broncos entertain the idea Of trading for a guy like Micah Parsons Make your case in the comments If you're watching on YouTube Or you can tweet us on social media At Cody Rock NFL at Sir Bedinger At Lockdown Broncos

Starting point is 00:21:21 We're not done yet Brockos country We still have more recap of Friday's training camp practice ahead of Saturday's scrimage Which will preview as well Including an update on Dre Greenlaw and his injury status You'll get that on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos. Today's episode, Lockdown Broncos, is brought to our friends over there at five-hour energy transfusion.

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Starting point is 00:22:45 get the energizing boost you need to power through. Order transfusion flavored five-hour energy shots today. The Denver Broncos will scrimmage on Saturday in what's expected to be a fully patented highly competitive period here, but will Drey Greenlaw be back into the mix here? We'll share all our updates on today's episode, Locked on Broncos. Real quick, thanks. Once again, everyone in Broncos country, we appreciate you so much for making the show exactly what it is.

Starting point is 00:23:10 Sarah, let's get to the news that I think a lot of people wanted an update on initially after yesterday's scare with Drey Greenlaw and the quad injury. The Broncos, they gave Greenlaw and MRI. The MRI results came back clean as what Sean Payton indicated in his press conference. And then he just felt tight and something kind of just pulled up. but there is no, there's no real injury there. It's just tightness and something that the Broncos are going to be smart with is what Sean alluded to after practice with how they get him back onto the field,

Starting point is 00:23:37 maybe even his overall snap count going into some practices. He even made the illusion, maybe with some guys that they may get reps, like certain guys may get more reps in a joint practice against the 49ers and not play in the game on Saturday or it could be vice versa. Not a lot of reps in practice, but you get some preseasoned auditioning stuff. So obviously a lot to look forward to next week here. But the best news here,

Starting point is 00:23:58 Drey Greenlaw should be good to go. Cody, I've got a handful of shoes in my big collection of sneakers that I have. I've got a handful that are just, they're Sunday shoes, right? There are shoes that I ain't wearing until I get to Sundays. And I'm not wearing them if it's bad weather.

Starting point is 00:24:13 I'm not wearing them if it's snowing outside. I'm putting those bad boys on ice for nice days where I know they're not going to get messed up. And I feel like that's kind of what the Broncos got to do with Dreanlaw here. It's like, hey, that's a Sunday guy right there. Like, I don't care how we get him there. He's got to make it to Sundays in the regular season.

Starting point is 00:24:31 That's the goal right now. It's to get him. Bubble wrap, Dre Greenlaw doesn't. By the way, Cody, I saw a picture where he's got his, he's got his, like, jersey tucked under his shoulder pads. The dude already looks like he's made of bubble wrap, essentially. His abs are popping out all over the place out there. He's got a crazy athletic build, man.

Starting point is 00:24:51 We used to say that about Jonas Griffith. Drake Greenlaw is chiseled out of stone. Stone. Like he's ridiculously athletic. It's unbelievable. I wish I could look like that. Seriously. Seriously. The guy's Jack. So I mean, look, physically, we know he's going to be good. And we know that he brings that tone. So yeah, keep him on the snap count during training camp. Let's not screw around with this. I think the scare has got us all enough. Like we had Drew Sanders carded off. Alex Singleton's going to probably be in a hand cast or a forearm cast or whatever it is. Dre Greenlaw. Like, he's the guy. Like besides Talano Hufanga, he's the guy that's going to take this defense of the next level. So make sure you're getting him to Sundays in the fall. That's the most important thing.

Starting point is 00:25:38 I think for that position group as well. We got an update on rookie outside linebacker, Q Robinson, who I noticed after Tuesday's practice, he was limping pretty significantly coming off the field. We didn't see him Wednesday. We didn't see him Thursday. He was back out on the field with a knee brace on Friday, no helmet, just observing. And Sean Payton told us after practice that the rookie. pass rusher has a bone bruise and that there's just some things that they're taking care of that

Starting point is 00:26:01 are symptomatic. But the expectation is that he'll be back on the practice field on Monday. So a good sign for the Broncos rookie pass rusher that they drafted in this year's NFL draft. He'll obviously be in the mix with Jonah Ellis and Dandre Tillman behind Jonathan Cooper and Nick Benito here. But let's talk about a couple of standouts here as well that didn't get as much focus early on in the show. Troy Franklin continuing to stack days, had himself a nice day whether was catching passes from Bo Nix, Jared Stidham or Sam Ellinger. He was making plays, and he caught a big pass 20, 25 yards, a perfect throw by Ellinger across the middle of the field.

Starting point is 00:26:35 You're seeing him go up and win these contested ball situations. He's aggressive, his releases off the line of scrimmage. He's having a great camp. And Sean Payton said that in his post-practice presser as well. That's exciting. You want to see and hear about him continually stacking days. And I think that's what we heard also from his 2024 draft class. last mate, Audric Estimate, once again, kind of stacking another day out there, just looking

Starting point is 00:26:59 really physical breaking tackles, you know, being that physical presence at the position that the Broncos need him to be. Also sound like Blake Watson made a couple of plays out there, Cody. And that's exciting for the running back position where I think you and I are both kind of leaning maybe towards the Broncos keeping more along the lines of four guys at that spot instead of three. So that competition is very much heating up. And I think the preseason, Sean Peyton said, the entire spectrum of this offseason is going to be considered when it comes to the running back position.

Starting point is 00:27:31 So it's less of day to day and it is way more about stacking days. So when you're hearing about Estimae and Watson's stacking days, that's important. That whole body of work is what Sean kind of loose. I want to go back to Troy here for a minute because John did give us a little bit of insight as to what they're doing and how he's managing the workload for a guy like Troy Franklin. Well, Troy compared to a year ago, I mean, he looks like an entirely different player. in a great way. And that's exciting here. I think when you factor in this overall wide receiver room, but not only is Troy playing the Z role, he's also playing what Sean Payton called the sub or the slot role there. So he's working outside. He's working inside as well, which is great.

Starting point is 00:28:08 And you have other guys working in specified roles, whereas I think you have Velae and Troy Franklin are two guys who are really kind of working in these two spots in the slot and also on the outside. So having guys that are complimentary that can do those things, I think is beneficial here for the depth of that wide receiver room. I'm excited about that. But I want to highlight a couple of special team standouts here. Look, Chris Abrams drain, I felt like last year when he got on the field a little bit more on special teams. I thought as a jammer. He did a really good job. But in today's special teams period, I thought he stood out like a sore thumb, right? He was going against Trent Sherfield and J.L. Skinner who were playing the jammer role there. He was able to beat

Starting point is 00:28:45 those guys, get downfield where he would have made a play on the returner there. So a big opportunity for Chris Abrams drain to see more time on the field than his. second season in the NFL. And then obviously a little shout out to an undrafted rookie for agent, Joshua Pickett, also shining as a gunner there. The special team's work is going to be big with everything coming up. And I think that's going to be something we're going to see heavily emphasized here in the preseason.

Starting point is 00:29:06 I'm excited to see how the Broncos attack the special teams approach, especially in the return game. Is there anybody you feel like, hey, I really haven't seen enough from this guy or I'm not seen a lot from this player or a couple of players? I mean, is there anybody that's not standing out that has been a lot. a little bit disappointing to you so far in camp? I don't know about disappointing. I would just say more so, maybe just haven't seen like their name called a little too much.

Starting point is 00:29:30 It would have been Damari Mathis at corner for me. I love Damari. But, you know, in the practice, I've been there. It's been quiet. Damari actually had himself a good practice. I think on Friday, he ended the day by intercepting Jared Sidham. He was working press coverage against Pat Bryant. And I thought that he did a really good job staying on the hip.

Starting point is 00:29:46 Pat Bryant slipped on the route and Damari was able to pick it. And that ended the practice. I mean, I think Damari needed that. But aside from that play, like Damari's had a really, really quiet training camp, you know, especially with just the focus being on Jada, Barron, J. Mack and Pat and Riley. It's just hard for him to be in that position that he's in. I would even say safety too. J.L. Skinner, not so much on defense.

Starting point is 00:30:07 We're not seeing too much just yet. I don't know if that's just because you're evaluating so many guys at training camp. But maybe we'll see him really kind of shine here in the preseason. I think special teams, he's been a standout. But defensively, we haven't seen a lot of plays so far. throughout the entire training camp practice and really on the offensive side of the ball. I feel like the tight-in room has been quiet outside of Evan Ingram and obviously Adam Troutman, which I find to be very interesting because maybe that could be a position.

Starting point is 00:30:34 Caleb Loner has been emerging a little bit more as of late the last couple of days, but they've been standing out more so with the guys like Nate Adkins and Lucas Crowell or even Caleb pre-scorn at this point. I'm very curious to see if Denver's going to add to this position before during the preseason. Yeah, I am too. I think that's one of the most concerning position groups on the roster right now. I think if I had to rank them, I would say inside linebacker where they added Garrett Wallow. We were talking before the show about how the team now has three different iterations of the Garrett tree.

Starting point is 00:31:05 You got Garrett Bowles, who spells his name one way, Garrett Wallow now, and then Garrett Nelson, who's the double R, double T on the team. So all the garrets in Denver will take as many as we can get, apparently. But yeah, Garrett Wallow coming in to play some inside linebacker. I think that's the number one most concerning position group on the team for me right now, followed closely by tight end. So I hope that the Broncos are looking for ways to upgrade there as you. If you're George Payton and Sean Payton, I mean, yeah, the young players developing is that has tremendous value. But also if you have a chance to upgrade the roster now, I mean, you might as well do it.

Starting point is 00:31:40 It brings competition for everybody. So those are the two positions to me that I would say, yeah, those are standing out right now, as we talked about in the offseason as probably the most concerning on the roster. On Broncos country, we want to hear from you and your thoughts on today's episode of the show. We appreciate you so much for rocking with us. Tomorrow's episode, you're going to get a bonus go here of Lockdown Broncos because Bo Nix and the offense are going to look to bounce back. It's a scrimmage day on Saturday.

Starting point is 00:32:04 Can they strike back against what we perceive to be is one of the NFL's best defenses in a Saturday scrimmage format? We'll get all the recap and action here on Lockdown Broncos. We'll see you then.

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