Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - Denver Broncos In Position for NFL Draft JACKPOT With 2025 Class

Episode Date: March 3, 2025

The Denver Broncos are in the perfect position to hit the NFL Draft jackpot with the 2025 class under Sean Payton and George Paton. What did we learn from the NFL Combine and how did it impact what positions the Broncos should highlight in the draft? Denver was also in on the Deebo Samuel trade, but didn't end up pulling the trigger — what does this mean about their potential interest in a veteran receiver in NFL Free Agency to pair alongside Bo Nix? 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!ChewyChewy has everything you need to keep your pet happy and healthy. And right now you can save $20 on your first order and get free shipping by going to Chewy.com/LOCKEDONNFL. FanDuelRight now, new FanDuel customers can get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in Bonus Bets if 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 is in our position to hit the NFL draft jackpot with this year's incoming class of players. We'll tell you why they're in a great position here on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos. You are Locked on Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast, part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. Broncos, you know what time. It is. It's time for another episode. Lockdown 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 news content coverage analysis and more that you can't get anywhere as in depth as we bring it to you.

You get all that action here every single day here. We appreciate you so much. Broncos country, all the everydayers out there. Thanks for making us your first listen. However you choose to do so, make sure you subscribe or follow so you never miss out on what's going on with your favorite team every single day all year long. Because for the true fan, there is never in off season. I'm Cody Roark, Broncos reporter here from Mile High Sports, joined as always by Sarah Bedinger, site expert of their predominantly orange.com.

A Broncos country, the NFL scouting combine is over, and we've got a great show in store for you. We'll wrap things up today by talking about why the Broncos passed up on a potential trade for Debo, Samuel, despite them having interest in him. We'll also look at me what the ideal NFL draft strategy will be like for the Broncos after the NFL Combine, but we're going to kick things off by highlighting why Denver is in a great position right here to hit the NFL draft jackpot with this year's class of incoming players will break all that down and much more. So Sarah, I mean, really, let's hit it off here.

The NFL Combine was last week. There was the interview process. We heard from George Payton. We heard from Sean Payton. And then we got to see players tested almost every position, D-Line, O-line, quarterback, running back, wide receiver, tight-end, linebacker, edge rusher, safety, you name it. The Broncos, they were there. Sean Payton boots on the crown for an entire week, keeping an eye on things here. And I couldn't help but look at the NFL Combine, look at the premier crop of players.

And I thought to myself, I mean, Denver's in a good spot here. and I know you feel the same exact way because there's a lot of really talented players, some good starters, but a ton of really good death players as well. Yeah, Cody. I mean, this NFL draft is like the equivalent of one of those machines, you know,

where you've got the dollar bills flying around. It's like a vortex and you can just grab as many as you want while you're in the vortex, right? I mean, it's like the Broncos are going into a vortex full of all the positions that they need the most. And they can just kind of like, hey, grab as many as you can in this draft class.

That's exactly what it feels like. I mean, did you not feel the same watching these guys perform at the NFL scouting combine? I mean, we were watching the tight ends and running backs, I think on Friday. And then on Saturday, you had the quarterbacks and wide receivers and just every single one of these guys working out. I'm thinking to myself, man, this guy would look good in orange and blue. Man, this guy would look good in orange and blue. I know we get accused of the shiny object syndrome nowadays, Cody. But look, I think the NFL draft is the perfect opportunity to have shiny object syndrome.

I'll be a boo in the Cave of Wonders when it comes to this NFL draft class. I mean, it's like touched nothing but the lamp in the movie. And I'm sitting over here like, give me this, give me that guy, give me that guy. Like I love this draft class. This is so amazing. And you know what? The Broncos are set up really well for the first time since 2021. They've got all of their picks in rounds one through four.

Well, and it'll be fun too because NFL free agency is coming up. And I think this year we're seeing a lot of mock drafts early on. because you have the NFL combine before free agency. And now it's like, all right, everyone after the combine. They're pumping out mock drafts left and right. We're not quite there yet. We're a few weeks away before we started diving deeper into that here. But certainly I came away this week and thinking, okay, hey, no matter what,

if Denver stays at 20, if they decide to move over, even if they decide to move back, they're going to get a very high quality player in round number one of this year's draft at wherever it may be. But I think a lot of the discussion here, it's like the depth and obviously a skill player, like this is a loaded draft class. And look, I think when you look at like top heavy blue collar blue chip prospects, there are certainly a handful there. But I don't think you necessarily need a guy like that when you look at the quality of players that are out there.

And, you know, it is still part of the effect of like obviously COVID guys gaining another year, getting another year of experience. Certainly. I mean, I think it's benefited, you know, a lot of players going into this year's draft cycle here. But I couldn't help but come away. Like you mentioned tight ends and running backs. That was the position group. I was the most excited to see test.

obviously over the week last week. And to be honest with you, I felt, I felt very good about tight end. I felt very good about running backs. And I couldn't help but think like, I wish Denver would come away with a tight end and a running back in this year's draft. I don't care if it's first round, second round. I would like it to be those two positions in either order, round one, round two. But they certainly have options, even in go round three here.

That was one position group. I like, I was the most impressed with. Like, if you're looking at every position group possible year, sir, knowing Denver's team needs with, what position group stood out to you the most? Well, I think wide receivers when it comes to, I mean, just about every guy had a RAS of nine or above. And for those that have no idea what the RAS is, it's the relative athletic score of a player,

which combines their size, their quickness, speed, explosiveness, all the drills that they do at the combine and puts it into one score. And so basically what the RAS will tell you is what percentile of an athlete a guy is. and just about every wide receiver scored in the 90th percentile or above. Like it's like these guys are being created in labs these days, Cody. We're not 5 foot four receivers run, you know, really fast 40 yard dash. We're having six foot three and above receivers at 210 plus pounds. All of these guys are running, you know, 4, 435, 438.

I mean, it's ridiculous. I know the Broncos like their young receivers, but I couldn't help but be impressed by those guys. And then look, I mean, shoot, Cody, I'm, I, I don't have a Big Ten bias or anything like that. The running backs out of the Big Ten is awfully. I mean, can you, can we just talk about the Ohio State guys? Like, yes. If I have to call my shot right now, those two guys, the Travion Henderson and Quin Sean Judkins, those two guys are going to be absolute ballers from this draft.

Like, they just look every bit the part of an NFL featured running back. like they're just cut they run so fast they're so explosive they play all three downs they do everything effectively like those guys get me excited about the NFL draft i don't cover the NFL draft as much as i used to um which is a little bit sad i mean i do mock drafts and things for nfl spin zone but like to really dive into these prospects like that's what i'm excited about over the next two months is now i get to get fresh eyes on a lot of these guys those two guys in particular plus Caleb Johnson out of Iowa. You got to bring him up.

Just looks like I said it on Twitter, Cody. It looks like he was created in a Kubiak, Shanahan Lab. I mean, he's just perfectly suited for the one cut and go system. I think the wide receivers and running backs from this class, you cannot go wrong with either of those position groups. Yeah, they were the highlights there. And I even think too, I put a tweet out there. I said, I don't care what it is. Give me ducks and give me buck eyes.

I'll be happy. I thought Oregon representative. really well. I thought obviously Terrence Ferguson at tight-in. Man, not only did he run the fastest 40 time out of all the tight-ins there, but you go back and you watch his tape at Oregon. You watch his tape at the senior bowl. This is a guy who can run routes and get away from guys. He's got good size that he uses there. Couldn't help but look at him and say like, oh, he could be somebody that Sean Payton really likes. There was a really good tight-in class. I'm with you. Like, you've already heard my stance on this. I'm a big Tray Beyond Henderson guy. I would love him in

the Mile High City. He's got all those. Joker traits that you could be looking for if you're Sean Peyton. And plus, I want to break out the nickname if Denver gets him, he scores a touchdown. Tray Beyond My Wayward's son, you know, that's the song we're going to be singing it on here, if that's the case here. But I wanted to bring up, too, as well, like, let's bring up Ted Johnson here for a second. Obviously, Bo Nix's brother. Obviously, I've been an Oregon fan since I was a kid, right?

And I've been able to watch Oregon, heck, last year before they even had Bo Nix. I even said, like, I put out on Twitter after Bo Nix and the Ducks beat down CU as bad as they did, I said, hey, I said, Bo's going to look great with Sean Payton. All right. And now obviously they're together. You got, you know, you see the poster behind me in my setup. I got a, we got a mile high sports cover magazine of Bo Nix. Ted Johnson, though, we already knew undersized, right? Didn't necessarily run the greatest 40-yard dash year. But it's also one of those examples. I understand the weight factor is a concern. But, man, when you watch this guy's tape, how he can create. separation the way he runs route he plays drastically faster than just four or five speed he is a legitimate player can't create separation what was your thoughts on that but also more importantly the the narrative surrounding like testing scores because sometimes they don't always tell the full story about a player and how he can play yeah i've got five letters cody for uh the tez johnson 40 time i d g a f i do not care one single bit about it and the reason being is exactly what you

said, the dude can play football. Like, that's one of the guys that I have watched, obviously quite a bit, having seen Bo Nix's tape from last year after the Broncos picked him up. Look, the proof is in the pudding and the combine actually revealed exactly what people say. Like, well, you excuse a bad 40 time by saying, hey, the guy plays faster than he, than his time speed or whatever. That's an easy cop out.

But then at the combine, do you know what he did? He had the highest miles per hour of any on-field wide receiver at the scouting combine. So if you want to talk about 40 times, why are we not talking about him running the fastest while doing the actual drills? I think that's, it's really interesting. Coding. His broad jump too? His broad jump. I mean, the three cone was the best at the wide receiver position at 665. So I think that's why Sean Peyton always warns against, hey, don't follow this NFL train. It's a bunch of bull crap, what people say. And I think that it's such a hot take. And I'm willing to say this because I know a lot of Broncos countries paying attention to his workouts.

I think it's the hottest take that you can have to say, I'm not drafting that guy after what we saw at the scouting combine. I think he's deserving of being drafted. He's a man coverage beater with the Broncos need, and he's got chemistry with the quarterback. I mean, that's crazy to me, especially if you can get him at a discounted rate now, that teams are probably, you know,

writing him off a little bit after that 40 time. Yeah, and look, I think if anyone's going to pay attention to that and monitor the trends, especially as the draft develops, Sean Payton is going to do so at this point in time. the Broncos country. We want to hear from you. What were your thoughts over the NFL scout and combine from last week and over the week and what position groups stood out to you? But Sarah and I, we're not done on today's episode's show. We're going to tell you why up next. We're excited about why Denver's probably got the best ideal draft strategy in place that's

going to help push them over the top here in 2025. You're going to get that much more here on today's episode. Locked on Broncos. Broncos Country, today's episode of the show is brought to you of our friends over there at Fandu. And as you all know what Fandu, they are America's number one sportsbook in the NBA season is in full of swing right now. And when the game tips off, the NBA action is just getting started. And there's no better place to get in on the action than with Fandu, America's number one sportsbook.

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Cody and I were going to talk about that on today's episode, Locked on Broncos. And I'm sure all of you Broncos fans out there are wondering exactly how this team is going to upgrade the roster. Well, you don't have to wait too long, free agency right around the corner, the NFL draft, not long after that. And your boys, Cody and Sarah, we got you every single day for whatever happens in Broncos country, a free agent signing, a trade, NFL draft, whatever it may be.

So hit subscribe. miss a single episode this off season. Because you know, Cody, there is no off season in the NFL, right? I mean, it's just starting to heat up. We're just getting going. I mean, we had Matthew Stafford get a big money deal from the Rams at the Combine week. Yeah, Debo Samuel get traded to the Washington commanders, which we'll talk about in a bit.

But I think more importantly, kind of building off of the Broncos hitting the jackpot in the 2025 NFL draft, I guess that's more of a tongue twister than you or I anticipated going into this show. The ideal draft strategy, Cody, regardless of what happens in free agency, it might just be revealed now that the combine is over, considering what we saw from some of the top prospects out there. Yeah, and look, it certainly gives the Broncos. I think a lot of data points going into maybe even free agency here, right?

Because they're probably looking at a crop of different players in free agency. They're looking at the draft. The thing with the draft in free agency, as we all know, is free agency, you can make a call, you can make your pitch, the draft you have to hope the board falls your way you know a certain way or if you're getting chatter then maybe it's a couple teams ahead of you really want the player that you want like how do you get ahead of that like there's a lot of manipulation and smokescreen around that time of the year so I'm curiously how the combine being as early as it was you get a lot of data points and obviously there's still going to be

pro days that are coming up for a lot of these players that were at the combine you're going to see some players do more things at their pro day than they did at the combine like for example a handful of players didn't really test in a sense. Some guys didn't run a 40-yard dash. Some guys decided not to lift the bench press. At the end of the day, teams want to know, can this guy play here?

We talked about really this year's draft and where Denver's at, picking number 20. It's not necessarily a bad spot to be in, especially when you have your biggest need to dress, right, which was quarterback. Now, if you need a quarterback, you're picking pick number 20,

that's problematic. Denver's not in that position now. So what can the Broncos go out there in NFL free agency, which begins in about one and a half, two weeks from now here Broncos country. We're going to have you covered every step of the way for that. So what can you kill in free agency in terms of your needs? That's going to just allow you to approach the draft by saying,

hey, we're going to take the best player available. And also, we're going to draft the best guys to have a chance to develop into potential studs down the road. That is the ultimate goal. You know, every team kind of aspires for when you're in a position like the Broncos had been in the last handful of years, minus real. I mean, even last year they're in that position where it's like, hey, are you going to get the quarterback that you're looking for?

do things out of desperation sometimes. We see so many teams do it. Now, luckily for Denver last year, they weren't desperate. They didn't go out there and play the desperate card. They were patient, but they were also like, hey, we really, really want our guy. And we hope that, oh, no, the Rams, they might be looking to move up to try to trade up to maybe get Bo Nix. We can't let that happen. Let's make people think we want J.J. McCarthy.

And that makes people get a little desperate. So I think so much of this, the ideal strategy for Denver is you can sit there pick number 20. If you want to move up a couple of spots. and swap with the team. You can take the best player available, and I don't think it would be a reach unless, sir, I'm in agreeance with you. I saw what you tweeted over the weekend.

I would not like Denver drafting a safety with their first round pick. I don't think that's the most pressing thing. And honestly, we just talked about the best player available approach. Is that what Denver truly needs right now? Is that as game, like we see the valuation of the position, is that as game changing of a need right now for the NFL as it used to be probably not, right? So does that make your team better? I don't know, especially if you want to

see the development of J.L. Skinner, like, if it was safety, I'd probably be like, wait, what are they doing? Any other position? Open. It's on the table for me. Yeah, 100%. And I'm with you on that because, look, I think it has nothing to do with Malachi Starks or Nick Eman Worry. I think is how you say his name. I'll learn it as we get closer to the drafter. So I apologize if I just butchered it. But the dude obviously put on a show at the combine. I mean, a 43 inch vertical, 438 in the 40 like he's a tremendous athlete and a potential chest piece and weapon for your defense. But at the same time, like Cody, if we get to the NFL draft, looking at the free agents that are available, I know that not everybody's going to be a fit for Denver, but I just feel like

it's roster malpractice if you don't go out and target somebody that can be a fit for your defense and get them in the building next to Brandon Jones. If you believe that's a need for your team, the draft is simply too good at other position groups to justify passing for a safety in any of the first three rounds, in my opinion. And I just think that that's, I mean, I know that might be a little bit short-sighted. It might be a little bit too much of like a, you know, get off my lawn kind of a take, but I'm not here for it. It has nothing to do with the players.

Those are great players and excellent players. They might have huge impacts in the NFL. They might become all pros. But are they what the Denver Broncos need right now to support Bo Nix? I just feel like the ideal scenario. and I posted this as well, I feel like defensive line in round one, as deep as that class is, you cannot go wrong. If you sit at pick number 20,

whoever's sitting there on the board, there's going to be somebody who's probably should have gone 10 picks higher in any normal draft. So if you're taking a D-Lignment in round one and then going after a running back and a tight end on day two, it doesn't matter the order, doesn't matter who you're taking. I feel like those guys, that right there,

that top three, D-line, and then, either running back and tight end in the next two picks that you have, I don't know that you can go wrong. In this draft, like what we just saw at the combine, do you think, Cody, there's a possibility. I mean,

we could go through any number of scenarios here. You could take a receiver in round one. You could take a running back round one, tight end round one. You could do a lot of those different things. I don't know if you're going to be able to capitalize on the value better than going D-line and then going after your two options for the Joker, tight end and running back in rounds two.

and three. No, I don't disagree with you one bit. I kind of to make this a little bit more of a broader question in a sense, do you think even if the Broncos re-signed DJ Jones, would you still be okay with them going out and getting a round one defensive lineman knowing that you still have JFM, Zach Allen, you know, got Malcolm Rote still on the roster? But we also go back to what George Payton said is like we still believe investing in the trenches. Like even though we have a really good defensive line,

offensive line, we still feel like we can invest and continue to get better there. does that change maybe that thought process or maybe going, you know, interior defensive line or does that shift maybe a position like if they resign DJ, does that maybe push that position down like to round two or maybe elevate a running back or a tight end into round one? I think it's one of those position groups that if you look across the league at the top guys that are getting paid. If the price of the best guys is hovering around or above 20 million per year on a new contract going forward, that's worthy of your first round investment, you know. And that's not to say, well, the Broncos should take a corner because lots of corners are getting close to or above 20 million nowadays because they don't need one at all. They have four guys that are on rookie deals right now that can play. And so I just don't think that that's wise. But then you look at that defensive tackle group where everybody is a free agent as of 2026.

Now, that is something that I could be talked into regardless, you know, to say, hey, we can't necessarily extend or resign everybody at this position group. because we need to take care of other positions. So you could talk me into that as well as I think if you say, all right, we're set on D-Line and we're going to continue to invest there in free agency going forward, then I would say, all right, let's pivot back to this wide receiver topic because your top receiver is a free agent

after this season now. So I think it's got to be slightly forward thinking there in the first round because you do want to try to take advantage as much as best you possibly can of that rookie wage scale. Yeah, 100%. And look, I'm very much okay with that being the theory.

You go on the NFL scout and combine. They interviewed like Peter Schroger, interviewed Sean Payton and it brought the graphic on the screen that said, team needs tight end. What was it as well? It said tight end linebacker. Was it running back? Yeah,

I can't remember. I think it was, it was wide receiver. They said wide receiver. Tight end linebacker at that point, which I'm like, okay, I wouldn't be mad at that.

But I agree with you, you kind of the draft, the idea behind it is being full. we're thinking, we're also thinking, can this guy, like a round one pick, can this guy play now while also helping us down the road? You brought up the Cortland Sutton thing. Currently doesn't have an extension right now. Cortland wants to stay in Denver. You better find a way to preserve Bo Nix's best option here in the Maui City. I know there's some conflicting reports out there, some speculation. He's not going to be back.

I am not buying it. We'll talk about that later on this week here on lockdown Broncos. But, man, give me any combination of tight end running back the line. the first, you know, your first three picks in the NFL draft. I'm happy with it. I would come away very satisfied thinking that does a lot. And look, this might even be more in depth for us to understand once we see what they do in free agency here in two weeks, which, hey, anything is on the table at this point. I'm excited to see it.

Broncos country buckle up. It's going to be real fun here. We still got a lot to talk about, though. It's Sarah Bredinger, myself. We're not done just yet. Broncos country. We're going to tell you why the Broncos passed on a potential trade for Debo, Samuel, even though they had some interest in him,

but how can Denver maybe use this as motivation to get a guy for Bow Nicks? We'll break that down and much more here on today's episode of the show. Broncos country, Debo Samuel was on the table here for the Denver Broncos, but it was the Washington commanders, and they're soon to be second year quarterback, Jaden Daniels, who get a shiny new weapon inside of Washington's offense. I want to say thank you so much to all the every dares out there in Broncos country. Once again, thanks for making us your first list.

however you choose to do so when you need Broncos news content coverage analysis every single day all year long even in the off season lockdown Broncos is the place to be you can't get better coverage anywhere else than right here. Sarah, I mean, let's obviously put it out there on the table. The Debo Samuel traded over the weekend to the Washington commanders. You want more in-depth analysis on that. Make sure you go check out the reaction from our good friends over there, Lockdown 49ers and David Harrison over there at Lockdown Commanders for all the recap on there. but the Broncos, sir, they had interest in Debo Samuel, maybe not as stronger as aggressive as some of those other teams, but they were a name that was brought up as a team interested

in potentially acquiring Debo Samuel here via trade. And what's really interesting is that Diana Rusini, Cody of the Athletic, reported that the Broncos were one of the top three teams that Debo wanted to go to. It was the commanders, the Texans, and the Broncos that were on his short list, which I believe, in my opinion, it really speaks volumes to the direction that the Broncos showed this past year and where they're at in the eyes of big name players. I know that everybody in Broncos country split hairs in recent weeks over Debo Samuel and his abilities and his injury history and whether or not he's a diva, which is it interesting

that the guy who knows him the best ended up being the one who traded for him and is paying over $17 million to have him on his team this year. So kind of funny how that works Broncos country. For those of you that were wondering about the validity of the idea of trading for Devo, Samuel, the guy who knows his medical history better than anyone and who knows him as a person better than anyone, Adam Peters, the GM of the commanders, former Bronco, by the way, he's the guy who traded for him. So funny how that goes. But I just think, Cody, when you look at a guy like Samuel wanting to come to the Broncos,

even if the Broncos's interest was only cursory or if they just asked, hey, what's the price? I feel like him wanting to come to Denver potentially is the biggest story here. It's like, man, a player of that caliber. I know that he's maybe his best days are behind him. The fact that he wanted to come to Denver is absolutely massive, in my opinion. Yeah, no. And I think it just goes to show that we have talked about this so many times. And look, obviously, it helps that there's guys like Mike McGlinchy that have played

with Debo before they obviously have those ties. I maybe said, hey, Debo come here. Debo acknowledged, I think, was an NFL radio road during Super Bowl. week about, hey, like, I think Denver's going to be a team that's going to be reckoned with next year. Like, he gave the Broncos a lot of praise. Now, my thought process on this is like, okay, like obviously Denver had interest. They decided not to pull the trigger, which I always find it. Every year, the conversation around compensation for what a player will command or will get,

it certainly changes. I think a lot of people are saying like a Debo would be like a third or a second. Guess what he ended up going for? A fourth round pick. And it just goes to show like, it is changed. changing a little bit in terms of what guys are going for, like perceived value versus actual value. I find that to be a little interesting.

Now, obviously, I think there's, you know, a little bit of who's going to eat, you know, dead cap, who's going to, you know, take on the signing bonus. Who's going to, you know, do all this stuff for, you know, the year in which Diva's going to play. But now you look at what the Washington commanders did, and they did something that we desperately want the Broncos to do for Bo Nix, right? Go out there and get Bo another guy.

Like all season long, you and I were saying, and look, we're not ignoring the development of guys like Devon, Velae, Troy Franklin, Marvin Mends. Marvin came on strong in the second half of the season. But even then, during that playoff game, you and I were talking about it. Broncos country was talking about it. Man, if Denver just had another reliable veteran option, that might help out a guy like Bo Nix because when Cortland's getting double-teamed or bracket covered there,

you're hoping somebody else can step up and make a play, right? Like obviously, Cortland in that game had a drop against the bills. We're not ignoring that. Troy had a drop. Devon Bailey had two or three drops in that game that were very costly. And Marvin seemed to be the only guy who can make a, you know, some big plays outside of Troy Franklin's deep ball touchdown. Getting another veteran guy in here's a security blanket option for Bo Nix that he currently

doesn't have. Now, they could address that in free agency. If, you know, Mark Andrews somehow gets released or traded, Denver. If they try to go get him a veteran tied in, I'm happy with that, Sarah. I think that scratches that itch that we've been talking about. But you're going out and you're seeing what a team with a rookie quarterback did last year, made it as far as they did in the NFL playoffs. And now they go out and they get him a guy who's,

who can produce, who is an elite level weapon in the National Football League, they're doing whatever they can to maximize this window that they have around Jaden Daniels and my only hope. And look, I think this is the plan for Sean and George Payton. I think they're planning on doing that, right? Like right now, I think just the lack of movement, the lack of like anything coming out of the building, which if you see things being reported about Cortland Sutton,

potentially getting traded, don't believe it. Like, you do realize since George Payton has come on board, leaks have not gotten out of that building. Since Sean Payton's come on board, he's certainly not telling people what he wants to do or what the team plans on doing that stuff is under lock and key it's under embargo off the record conversations are not getting out here so be very very careful in who and what you believe in around this time of the year but man i think they're going to be all in on trying to do the same thing for bow nicks now what is that going to look like that's currently unknown yeah i think maybe a strategy that's worth looking at is kind of the way the baltimore ravens have built around lamar jackson in recent years cody obviously Obviously, having Mark Andrews specifically has really helped Lamar, but then adding Isaiah likely as well. So, hey, why not go get a veteran tight end like Mark Andrews and then still draft somebody who's

maybe a little more athletic or maybe a bit faster gives you that option there in the passing game as well. I think the Broncos have to double dip at tight end one way or the other. I mean, I think they're going to keep four tight ends on the team next year. And I think only two of them are on the team right now. and that's obviously Adam Trotman and Nate Adkins. So I think two guys will have to be added there. And then you look at what the Ravens have done in investing at the wide receiver position.

I mean, they've got a couple of first round picks out there, Zay Flowers, Rashad Bateman. They've taken some other shots in recent years, players and veterans, you know, that have been brought in, guys that they've brought in via trade. They've really done a lot. Obviously, Derek Henry, the big signing for them. So I think the Broncos are going to take a similar approach in, in adding playmakers to this roster of what the Ravens have done.

It's just like you bring pass rush in waves on the other side of the ball. You've got to be able to have a plethora of weapons at your disposal. I mean, yeah, it can get tough at times when you say, hey, there's only one ball to go around here. How are we going to spread the ball to all these different guys? But you let that take care of itself. I mean, you don't have to worry about that. If you've got guys that are consistently making plays,

that's what it's all about. So to me, the Denver Broncos have ever. every opportunity this off season to add playmakers. They're set up really well. They need to bring that same energy, though, that we're seeing from teams like Houston and Washington and even Baltimore, like we mentioned, and saying, hey,

we know we've got a franchise quarterback. We know we've got to stud at the quarterback position. We've got to do anything that we can to surround him with the appropriate level of talent. No, I agree with you there. And look, I also think as well, you need as many playmakers as you can. And not to say that the Broncos offense in 2025 is going to be anything like the 2013 Denver Broncos. Let's take a look here at who Peyton Manning had to throw to in terms of volume of guys who are making plays.

Demarius Thomas obviously led the team with 1,400 yards, 14 touchdowns. You had Eric Decker, 11 touchdowns, tight in. You had a really good tight end in Julius Thomas with 12 touchdowns there. Wes Welker, you brought him in. He had 10 touchdowns. And then you had contributions from No Sean Moreno out of the backfield as a pass catcher. You had Bubba Caldwell. You had Jacob Tammy.

You even had Joel Driesen and guys like Virgil Green. Like you had options, right? And what do we see when Denver had options? They still found a way to feed plenty of people. And when other guys were getting different attention, okay, other guys are making plays. Denver doesn't have proven playmakers just yet. They have guys that they believe can be that. So bringing in another body, even if it's a veteran guy,

I don't think it hurts the Broncos development of these younger players. I think so much of that thinking is a little bit of a myth here. I think the idea of it, people are like, I just don't want it to take away from what Marvin Mims has been able to do or where Troy Franklin can go, or Devon Valey, but I also don't think it's going to take away from that. I think it's going to add to their opportunities and it's going to force them to make plays when called upon as times.

Like we saw that this year. Devon Valey made some big plays at times for the Broncos this season. Troy Franklin made a couple of big ones. Marvin Mims obviously in the second half the season exploded on a stretch of making plays. Cortland is always going to make plays here. But you need to find balance like, hey, if one guy's taken away, can the other guy do it? Denver doesn't have anything proven in that regard just yet, which I think makes the idea of getting a veteran receiver a little more likely here for Denver.

And hey, look, we only have a week and a half, two weeks until we start seeing some movement, some traction as to what the Broncos, George Payton, Sean Payton are going to do. And one thing Broncos country, we can guarantee. We're going to bring that to you here every single day leading up to free agency. The moment something crazy happens, you get a breaking news episode here from Sarah Bedinger and myself. We appreciate you so much Brockos country for rocking with us here today for tomorrow's episode of the show. Sarah and I were opening up our handy-dandy mailbag. and we're bringing out some of the best questions that Broncos country sent there with us.

We'll answer that and much more on tomorrow's brand new episode, Locked on Broncos.