Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - Denver Broncos' Jaleel McLaughlin is WILDCARD In RB Competition

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Denver Broncos running back room is set with J.K. Dobbins and RJ Harvey's the premier guys, but it's the competition behind those two that's going to be spicy this summer. 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? Cody Roark here. Today's bonus episode of the show is brought to you by our friends over there at Fandul. The biggest stage of world soccer is here. Let there be goals on Fandual. Visit Fandu.com to get started now. break down the competition for the Broncos running back position. Now, as I mentioned, the starting

Starting point is 00:00:41 jobs between J.K. Dobbins and R.J. Harvey, the top two roles, that's already solidified. But it's the competition behind those guys that is going to be exciting to watch here this summer. Jalulm McLaughlin, a little bit of a wild card after packing on some muscle mass this offseason. We'll talk about him. Tyler Biday looking springy during OTAs. But more importantly, why this competition behind JK and RJ is going to be important to watch here this summer. So let's dive into it here. J.K. Dobbins, returning as the starter here for the Broncos this upcoming season. Sean Payton, after OTAs this week, told us that J.K. has been so important to what they want to do offensively.

Starting point is 00:01:18 They view him as kind of that fire starter that can get things going for them in the run game. And the Broncos do believe, talking to several players, they do believe, and Cortland Sutton himself even equity. Our run game is going to be good this year. Let's hope that is the case. and it all starts with J.K. Dobbins. Behind him, it's R.J. Harvey in the Joker role where he's kind of be that do-it-all guy, probably not going to be a guy that's ever going to get 1,000 yards rushing if he plays in this role, but he is very much a 1,000-yard all-purpose back type of candidate because of his skill set

Starting point is 00:01:47 as a pass catcher out of the backfield. And for him, he's even more comfortable in this system going into things here this upcoming season. It's one thing he noted recently at the home run derby they put on obviously at Coors Field for charity, there. He was there. So I'm excited to see these two guys here. But really, everything behind them is what's going to be exciting to watch here. New edition, Jonah Coleman, the rookie running back out of Washington that Denver drafted this year is going to be a focal point here. It's generated a lot of buzz since being drafted. And obviously, he was the one guy we were looking at at rookie minicamp, at OTAs. We were looking at him and how he's meshing and getting involved with J.K.,

Starting point is 00:02:25 with RJ and the Broncos rotating a lot of backs into get reps. They do this with every position. But for Jonah, I'm very curious to see how they continue to use him. Maybe short yardage situations will be something to watch. I know that in our OTA practice that we observed this past week. He was a benefit in the screen game for the Broncos. And I think they like his ability to run through contact. Now, obviously, in OTA practice, we don't really get to see that. That's hard to simulate because the pads aren't on.

Starting point is 00:02:51 But you can simulate catching the football, fiftiness, decision making. Can he avoid guys and can he get up field? Those are the things that we can measure here when comes to this, specifically out of the past catching department there for Jonah Coleman. And then you factor in obviously, Jullin McLaughlin, Tyler Bade, these guys are going to be wildcards. Cody Schrader, another name in this mix here. The Broncos running back room. I came away from OTAs just looking at that group because we get to see them up close and personal

Starting point is 00:03:18 during individual period. They come up and they're working probably eight to 10 feet away from us with Coach Luayani. So we get to see everything that they do. And I just think that collectively, when you look at like the body types of this room, the Broncos, they don't have a small back. That's the one thing. They may have guys who are a little short in stature, but they're big. There are some physical presence about them. Even with Tyler Bade, there's some good size there that the Broncos believe they're going to have a combination of some good speed, but also the physicality to run in between the tackles.

Starting point is 00:03:51 And very much so, this is going to be determined in training camp. Right now in OTAs, it's really hard to evaluate. And so I'm not going to come out here like everybody else. Like you see a lot of social media channels just trying to create, you know, a lot of hype. Hype is good, right? But let's let's be realistic here about OTAs. There are no pads. It's helmets, jersey, and shorts.

Starting point is 00:04:11 It is really hard to measure things like the physicality that is going to be necessary from the offensive line to the defensive line and how it interacts with the run game. Like all these things are important. So when we see guys, what are we looking at? Can they catch the football? Do they hold on to the football between the quarterback center exchange? can they get up field quickly before somebody touches them, right? What's run throughs right now. So the run game will be harder to evaluate right now,

Starting point is 00:04:36 but once we get into training camp and the pads actually come on, then we're going to be able to see who's standing out. Once we get to the preseason, when you're playing against actual opponents, it's going to be easier to tell. But really for JK and RJ, their roles are solidified in this offense. And I think theoretically speaking, when we talk about maybe even Jonah Coleman,

Starting point is 00:04:55 I think Jonah is an evident roster lock as well, three guys at running back right now that are a lock. And the biggest question we have is, will the Broncos carry four guys on the 53? That could very well be the case. And maybe how other position depths, you know, across offense and defense kind of turn out here this summer, might determine whether or not there is a role for, you know, one of these other backs, even if they're not going to get touches on the game day roster, Denver carries four, can they play a valuable role on special teams?

Starting point is 00:05:24 Or is that third running back going to have to play special teams? I think that's going to be part of it. But if there are two guys that are going to be key special teams guys for you, we know RJ's not going to play special teams. We know JK's not going to play special teams. So the ideal scenario is, can those two guys, if they're going to take up a roster spot, do that? And how does that factor?

Starting point is 00:05:41 And Jonah Coleman's going to have to play some special teams. We know that. But who emerges behind Joliel McLaughlin, Tyler Bade, Cody Schrader in terms of getting maybe special teams opportunities that could have an impact on the regular season roster? That is a valid question. And also making sure you have enough guys as well in the event of an injury to bring forward. You know, guys like Jalilil, he'll be vested.

Starting point is 00:06:03 So if the Broncos, they might have to play this game where kind of similar what we've seen in years past, one of these guys are going to get released, but they'll be on the practice squad and they'll be elevated on game day. So I'm excited to see about that. But I talked about it earlier. The true wild card here in this whole competition, I think is going to be Jalil McLaughlin. And he added some muscle mass to his frame, which is a sign of him evolving in his game. and how that actually could help him make the roster here in 2026. You'll get that here on today's episode of the show.

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Starting point is 00:08:32 Get started with Square and build a setup that works the way that you do. Jilil McLaughlin packing on some muscle masses offseason is an evident sign that he wants to evolve in his game. And it could be the one thing that helps keep him on the Broncos roster after impressing initially Sean Payton in 2023 as an undrafted rookie free agent. Bronco's country, thanks for tuning in, making us your first listen, and the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day, plus the number one sports podcast network in the country.

Starting point is 00:08:59 That's all because of all of you in Broncos country. Jule McLaughlin will be a wild card in this potential running back competition and we will see this summer here for the Broncos between he, Tyler Badegh, and Cody Schrader, who's kind of an under-the-radar name here. But for Jililin McLaughlin, when we got our first look at him here at practice last week at OTAs, the one thing that I noticed, Jalil was bigger.

Starting point is 00:09:22 And look, he became a father. last year, but it wasn't, hey, I just packed on follow weight. It's no, I packed on muscle mass so that I can improve my durability and longevity here. I think that's the one thing, too, the one factor that could help him earn a roster spot here on the 53 with Denver specifically. This is a guy who works so hard. We all know his work ethic is top tier. It's bottom to none. And I think there is a misconception as some people have because we hear it all the time, sometimes in our comments. We hear it, you know, even on social media. Well, Sean likes it you a little because he's the first one in the building. I mean, that's

Starting point is 00:09:53 obviously something you love as a coach, but no, Jalil does everything the right way when he's on the field in practice. He holds on to the football. He doesn't have ball security issues. He has the willingness to block. And I think that's one area that people have ignored about Jalil's game the last two seasons. They're like, well, he's not great in past protection. I think that was true early on. And look, I even think in 2024 is a work in progress. But I think if you go back and you watch the film in 2024, 2025. Jalil when on the field, he embraces it. He's not, he's not afraid of contact. He's not afraid to get his nose dirty and pick up a big block. I think his technique has certainly improved in that area. Now him adding on evident muscle mass, if you guys saw my video report over

Starting point is 00:10:36 there at Mile High Sports, it's the one thing that stands out when you see a picture of the video that I got of Jalil, this guy is bigger. And look, he still got his, his flash. He still has speed there. But the physicality is going to be what keeps him, I think, in the NFL even longer. And for a guy to make it as an undrafted rookie to be right now in the NFL throughout his career, he's an average 4.8 yards per carry rusher. A lot of people are sleeping on Jolillo McLaughlin. But I also want to mention Tyler Badee, too. I think there's a lot of frustration about how he was used last year. And specifically, I've even been vocal about it, is the telltale sign that when Tyler is in, everybody knows that the Broncos are passing the football. He's either

Starting point is 00:11:15 and for pass protection or he's going to be a receiving option in the screen game there. And so it was a little bit of a tip of the hand of the defense saying, hey, number 28 is in. We know it's a pass. So now as a defense, you know exactly what you can do. You can look at what personnel the Broncos come out in, whether it's 11, whether it's 12, and you can look at who's on the field. And you can almost determine, okay, we know that probably on this down, it's probably going to go to this guy. That's going to be the primary target.

Starting point is 00:11:39 And it allows the defense to go through and sit back in their coverage and to take away the best option. and then allow somebody else to try to beat them. But when there is no variance of when number 28 is on the field, your hand in the football off to him, that's where the problem is. Now, Badee, here's the thing about him, folks. Badee's always kind of had a bulkier size, but he's fast. He's springy. He's very good, in my opinion, yards after contact.

Starting point is 00:12:03 He's deceptively shifty in terms of being able to run through tackles and avoid defenders. We've seen it in the preseason. And even with Davis Webb, I even think we got a telltale sign of it last year against Arizona with the balance that Davis Webb had as a play caller with using these running backs. And that's something that Sarah and I talked about in our episode of Lockdown Broncos that came out earlier today. You always get bonus episodes here as well. So if you miss that conversation, make sure you go check out today's full-length episode of the show wherever you get your podcast.

Starting point is 00:12:30 But I want to highlight too with Bade is Davis-Web coming over now as the play caller. Is that going to help Badee maybe get more touches in the run game? I think he can have an impact there. And I I think the biggest frustration, as we have said, is that it hasn't been used that way. He's hardly gotten touches as a ball carrier inside of the Broncos offense, even though he's had a very important role in the two-minute and past protection situations. That's what's gotten him onto the field. Plus, he does play special teams. It's a key special teams guy for them.

Starting point is 00:13:00 And that's going to have to be where this running back competition is ultimately decided behind JK and RJ and Jonah is who's going to thrive on special teams. Tyler Bade is going to have the upper hand as a core four guy. but Jullin McLaughlin is going to probably embrace that role a little bit more of this upcoming season. Cody Schrader, a special team's ace as well is going to get involved in that category as well. That's really where this competition is going to be decided. And I think the Broncos top three, as I said, and I'll reiterate it. JK.RJ Jonah, those guys, in my opinion, roster locks will be on the 53.

Starting point is 00:13:31 Denver, if they carry four, what does that look like? Or do the Broncos like the flexibility they have with Tyler Badee and Jalil will be invested guys that they will release them? and they'll automatically sign them back to the practice squad where they have that flexibility to elevate them three times throughout the regular season onto the game day roster. And naturally, when you look at what happens on the field, injuries are going to pop up at some point for Denver at specific spots. We've seen it. It's the fluctuation game. You just hope that you don't lose guys for season long. But with that, you get flexibility to bring those guys up on the 53.

Starting point is 00:14:03 So you might have an opportunity, even when a certain player comes back to move and shift around certain pieces on your roster, that's the gymnastics part of it. And that's where I think the Broncos run game, they're going to rely on a lot. It is going to be a by committee approach. And Sean Payton has reiterated himself over the last couple of years. He doesn't believe in the Belcal approach that in today's NFL because of how many games guys play and the amount of contact that that position absorbs,

Starting point is 00:14:28 it's hard to have a Belcal type of guy. You have to have multiple backs. But I think if the Broncos offense is going to evolve, it's not going to hurt to have JK, RJ, potentially Jonah, get involved as guys who contribute on game day in terms of getting actual touches running the football collectively with three different backs. And of course, if you got a hot hand, you got to ride that hot hand a little bit. I think that was a critique that we had with Denver's offense last year, but you can use all three of these guys. Sean says you can have two, you can feed two. It's generally hard to feed three.

Starting point is 00:14:57 Try feeding three and see what happens here. I like the Broncos competition that they're going to have here. I think when you're attending training camp practices this summer Broncos country, you need to keep it on how these backs are doing here going forward. The Broncos, they've invested their insurance at this position, but they have a quality room right now in terms of the traits and what guys can do when we get to the pads. That's where the evaluation is going to matter most. But this is a spicy competition that you should all be paying attention to Broncos country. And with that said, that'll wrap up today's bonus episode of the show.

Starting point is 00:15:26 Appreciate you. As always, if you're a brand new viewer, listener, hey, hit that subscribe with that follow button so you never miss out on what's going on with your Broncos team. I'm boots on the ground coverage every single day as a beat reporter in Dove Valley. So anytime there's a practice, the media is allowed to be at. I'm there every time that there's a game. I'm there. So boots on the ground coverage are your favorite team. You get that here every day.

Starting point is 00:15:45 Lockdown, Barracos. We'll see you next time.

Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - Denver Broncos' Jaleel McLaughlin is WILDCARD In RB Competition

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