Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - Denver Broncos MUST Address Biggest Remaining Needs These 3 Ways

Episode Date: March 24, 2026

The Denver Broncos still have present and future question marks at the running back position, linebacker, and tight end. There are three clear ways they need to look into addressing each of them.   S...ayre Bedinger takes a look at whether free agency, the draft, or both are the best ways for the Broncos to address their top 3 remaining needs in the 2026 offseason.   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://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/locked-on-broncos/   Locked On NFL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft, & More 🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/leagues/nfl/   Follow on Twitter: @CodyRoarkNFL and @SayreBedinger Follow the show on Twitter: @LockedOnBroncos   Everydayer Club   If you never miss an episode, it’s time to make it official. Join the Locked On Everydayer Club and get ad-free audio, access to our members-only Discord, and more — all built for our most loyal fans. Click here to join -- https://lockedonbroncos.supercast.com/   Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! TurboTax This year you’re getting a major upgrade — Intuit TurboTax now has in-person locations nationwide. Visit http://TurboTax.com/local to book your appointment today. Indeed Listeners of this show get a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to help give your job the premium placement it deserves at http://Indeed.com/podcast.   Gametime Today's episode is brought to you by Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase. Terms and conditions apply.   Robinhood You’re no longer just a spectator. Play by play. You decide. Trade Every Play with Robinhood. Now available across the U.S. Download the Robinhood app now to begin. Futures and cleared swaps trading involves significant risk and is not appropriate for everyone. Event contracts are offered by Robinhood Derivatives, LLC., a registered futures commission merchant and swap firm.   FanDuel Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. During the tournament FanDuel is offering $300 back in Bonus Bets every day for ten days. Visit https://FANDUEL.COM to get started — Play Your Game.   5-Hour ENERGY Have your cake & drink it too. Birthday cake-flavor is back, no fork needed. Vanilla-y cakey flavor, caffeinated kick, and no sugar. It's party time. Order Now at 5-hourENERGY.com or Amazon.   Home Chef For a limited time, Home Chef is offering my listeners 50% off your first box, free shipping, and free dessert for life. Go to http://HomeChef.com/LOCKEDON.   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.

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Starting point is 00:00:00 There is still plenty of work to be done in building the Denver Broncos roster in 26 and we're going to tell you the best way to do it. You are locked on Broncos. Your daily Denver Broncos podcast, part of the Locked on podcast network, your team every day. Whether they go the veteran route or the NFL draft route, the Denver Broncos still have needs at the tight end position, the linebacker position and the running back position. They need depth at these positions. They need potential future starters at these positions.
Starting point is 00:00:37 How are they going to address it? George Payton, Sean Payton. They know they've still got work yet to be done. And we're going to talk about the best ways to do just that on today's episode, Locked on Broncos. My name is Sarah Beninger. I'm the co-host here of Locked on Broncos as well as the site expert at predominantly orange.com.
Starting point is 00:00:54 And we appreciate you so much. If you're an everyday listener of the show, thanks so much for making us part of your day, however you choose to do so right here on the Lockdown Podcast Network, the number one sports podcast network. And guess what, Broncos country? We're putting on our general manager hat today yet again. That's what the offseason is good for, right?
Starting point is 00:01:12 You get an opportunity to play the role of general manager to react to what the Broncos actually do and kind of talk through some of the options. As we know, like this is probably what's going on at the team facility every single day is they're having discussions. How do we want to go about approaching this position group? What's the best value at this position group? and how do we want to attack the future? Because you always have a future depth chart in mind looking at future contracts,
Starting point is 00:01:39 expiring contracts, all sorts of that stuff. So let's start today at the running back position where it kind of occurred to me after it was posted online by Najee Harris that, you know, he's fully recovered almost from that Achilles injury that he suffered last season with the Chargers and just a crazy, crazy year for Najee Harris with the Chargers. I mean, you talk about getting snake bitten by the injury. I mean, this guy had the roughest year of his professional life, essentially. I mean, he never missed a game with the Pittsburgh Steelers and then goes to the Chargers,
Starting point is 00:02:11 has a fireworks accident on the 4th of July, then ruptures as Achilles. So never even got to see him really play for the Los Angeles Chargers last season. And the Broncos just so happened to have a number of his old pals from the Alabama Crimson Tide teams. Pat Sertan the second was a first round pick back in 2021. Jalen Waddle. was a first round pick back in 2021. And guess who else was a first round pick back in 2021?
Starting point is 00:02:38 Well, that was Najee Harris. And it just so happens. I think the Broncos could be the ideal landing spot for him. So as we look at the running back position, let's kind of break down where the Broncos are at, what they're looking at ahead, and why Najee Harris could really fit for this team. I think when you look at what the Broncos have done this off season,
Starting point is 00:02:56 bringing back, you know, J.K. Dobbins at the top of the depth chart, obviously a two-year contract worth up to 20 million. 8 million guaranteed this year, sort of a prove-it deal for J.K. Dobbins and would likely get to stick around in Denver, if all goes well. He's the presumptive number one back in the Mile High City, followed by RJ Harvey, a second year player, second round pick in last year's draft, who the team is obviously very high on. They believe in his abilities as a past catcher. And we'll see if his role expands to the two-minute drill and all third-down activities, as opposed to this past season where a lot of that role went to Tyler Bade, who is brought back
Starting point is 00:03:32 as well as an exclusive rights free agent. And the Broncos also re-signed Jaliel McLaughlin who hit free agency. They decide to run it back with 17, a whopping 17 of their own in-house free agents out of 21, which is pretty unprecedented, no matter how long you've been following the NFL. But certainly you look at somebody like Najee Harris and you can make sense of why it could work out for him really well in Denver because he kind of needs a rehabilitation year, essentially, to prove to the rest of the league that, number one, he's healthy. but number two, that he can still be the type of back that we once saw in Pittsburgh.
Starting point is 00:04:06 Now, he was a really high volume player with the Pittsburgh Steelers. And with the Denver Broncos, he would be accepting a minimum role. But that actually, honestly, might be really good for his health. And the situation is obvious. You get a chance to go up against the chargers. You get to play against the Steelers this year as well in Denver. And the Broncos could kind of stick it to their division rivals by showing them two years in a row, like, hey, kind of made a mistake, letting me.
Starting point is 00:04:31 these guys go. I know with J.K. Dobbins, you can point to the injury bug and, hey, the Chargers got more games out of J.K. Dobbins than the Denver Broncos did. But I mean, J.K. Dobbins ran extremely well for the Broncos was top five in most major categories when it comes to the running back position. So the way that I see this is Najee Harris gets a chance to, and I know this might seem like a hot take, but I think that the Broncos might be willing to let somebody come in and push for RJ Harvey's role. Now, I'm not saying that R.J. Harvey is going to get complete. demoted, but what we saw last season is, it's interesting to say the least, right? When the Broncos needed RJ Harvey to step up in a full-time role, I mean, he was less than
Starting point is 00:05:13 ineffective as a starting running back for this team. And yes, he made some big plays in the passing game. And yes, I think it's fair to expect that going forward. But let's just say, hypothetically speaking, that, you know, J.K. Dobbins, God forbid, goes down with another injury. do the Broncos trust the same guys that they had on the roster last year to carry the load? Or do they trust that group of those same guys, meaning obviously R.J. Harvey, J. Lille McLaughlin and Tyler Biday, do they trust those guys plus a rookie to come in and potential?
Starting point is 00:05:47 And when we're talking about a rookie, I mean, the chances of the Broncos taking a running back with that second round pick have probably plummeted at least a little bit, given the fact that now you don't have a first round pick and you don't have a third round pick to, to supplement, taking that running back there with your top pick. So I just don't know if this coaching staff is going to trust that stable of backs. And if it works out with Najee Harris to come into Denver potentially, he probably won't cost you very much. Might not even cancel out the PJ lock contract on the compensatory pick formula. He might be willing.
Starting point is 00:06:21 I mean, this is all hypothetical, of course. There's no insider information here. But he might be willing to come in and play on a reduced contract. in order to prove his health so that he can get a bigger deal beyond this season. And you just never know what can happen. And you never know how agents and players are perceiving certain situations, right? Because from Harris's perspective, he might be looking at Denver's situation and thinking to himself, I can go beat that second year running back.
Starting point is 00:06:49 I could even Wally Pip somebody like J.K. Dobbins, if the situation presents itself. because Najee Harris is a very productive back over the course of his career. So given the ties that bind, right, we know that Pat Sartan had been consulting with George Peyton basically back to last season, according to a report from Albert Breer, which was a really great read over at SI.com. You want to go check out Albert Breer's work over there, especially his background that he did some digging on the Jalen Waddle trade. But Pat Sertan definitely had a hand in that and providing some background information.
Starting point is 00:07:24 you know, Nick Saban guys are really well liked by Sean Payton. I think that's documented at this point, both on the coaching staff and on the player personnel side. So I just really find that it's an interesting potential fit with Najee Harris, you know, posting a video of him running on the treadmill at full speed and indicating that he's back to health with just about a month until the 26 NFL draft. So I find him to be a really intriguing option for the Denver Broncos to add some veteran depth to the position. Raise the floor at the position. Give yourself some competition
Starting point is 00:07:58 going into the offseason because it's going to make it tough. I mean, you know, you're one injury away, whether it's to RJ Harvey or J.K. Dobbins, you're one injury away from having to sign somebody anyway. So if the price is right, right now, get Najee Harrison, reunite some of those old Alabama crimson. You've already brought in a couple of them, right? You got Sertan, you got Waddle. Bring in Najee Harris and continue that sort of trend there. If you're the Denver Broncos, I like that idea, I think especially if you can get it for under $5 million. If you can get him for one year, under $5 million, the Broncos have the cap space for that, just over $20 million in cap space right now.
Starting point is 00:08:34 They could bring him in, give him some incentives, give him an opportunity to prove himself, get healthy, and come and play with some of his old Alabama teammates in the new look, Sean Peyton slash Davis Webb offense in Denver. I think that would be a really exciting possibility. I mean, and that doesn't prevent the Broncos from drafting somebody, They could still draft a running back, which we're going to look at a scenario for that in our Tuesday bonus mock draft edition, Lockdown Broncos. So make sure you're subscribed. So you can check that out as well because we have a fun running back pick, a really popular player amongst Broncos country as well that we're going to talk about in that show.
Starting point is 00:09:09 But coming up on today's show, we're going to be talking about the linebacker position. The Broncos have to upgrade their linebacker depth. And as opposed to the running back position where it's kind of wide open between free agency and the draft, I think there's really only one way. the Broncos can go at the linebacker position, and we're going to talk about it on today's episode, Locked on Broncos. Today's episode of Lockdown Broncos is brought to you by TurboTax. It's tax time, but for a lot of us,
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Starting point is 00:10:31 It's all eyes on the 2026 NFL draft, which is loaded at the linebacker position here this offseason. Broncos country, we're going to talk about the linebacker spot, why the teams should just say, you know what, we'll pass on all the remaining free agents, unless it's somebody for special teams, of course. But we're going to talk about why the draft is such a loaded class and why this is the spot that the Broncos really need to hone in on when it comes to maybe even their 60 second overall pick, their top pick in this year's class.
Starting point is 00:10:58 But once again, I want to say thank you to all you every dayers out there. If you're already an everyday listener of the show, I want to invite you to join the Everydayer All Access Club. Really, really good stuff happening over there. You get an ad-free episode of the show every single day. It's an easy way to support the show by becoming part of the club. You can get the link in the show notes, and you can check out lockdownbroncos.
Starting point is 00:11:18 com for more information there. We appreciate you for considering doing that today, Broncos Country. Let's talk about the linebacker position. The Broncos, they brought back Justin Sternad, a three-year contract this offseason, really team-friendly deal. And Justin Sternad is a great player. I mean, over the last two years, I think even the Broncos were kind of surprised to find out what they had in Justin Sternad because he came in as an injury replacement multiple
Starting point is 00:11:45 times, right? I mean, the team had Cody Barton out there. They brought in a guy off the street, the free agent right before the start of the 2024 season. His name is even escaping me. somebody in the comments can point out his name. But the Broncos had multiple guys that they wanted to start ahead of Justin Sternad. Like it was almost solidified.
Starting point is 00:12:03 This guy is a special teamer. That's kind of what he's become in the NFL. And we're kind of just okay with that. And Justin's kind of just okay with that. But the Broncos gave him an opportunity to start as an injury replacement. He played great, but they still felt they needed to upgrade that position. So they went out and signed Dre Greenlaw and still brought back Justin Sernat as
Starting point is 00:12:22 depth in a special team's option once again. And then with Greenlaw missing so much time last season, and then Alex Singleton missing a couple of weeks as well, Dan Sternad stepped in and he was just ultra productive. So given the state of the market at the linebacker position, where some guys are getting paid upwards of $20 million per year, getting Justinad at the contract of Broncos got him, 18 million over three years or roughly that,
Starting point is 00:12:47 I mean, it's really a great team-friendly deal. So I don't mind that move at all, although the continuity has been a point of discussion all offseason, hasn't it Broncos country? Not everybody's liking the run it back mentality, but specifically so, I would say, with Alex Singleton, right? So you bring back the veteran Alex Singleton, who's getting older. He's obviously still a captain for this team, really trusted player by the entire organization. The Broncos have now signed him out of free agency away from the Philadelphia Eagles. They re-signed him multiple times now.
Starting point is 00:13:19 So I think that it's clear. Like this team loves Alex Singleton and what he brings to the table on the field, off the field, the way that he communicates the defense. It is more valuable to them than having somebody else out there that they could go in and say, hey, you know, like Dre Greenlaw, last off season, for instance, come in, you know, we'll try to speed up the learning curve of this defense. But it just didn't work out.
Starting point is 00:13:42 And Singleton proved himself to be sort of irreplaceable, at least to this coaching staff and to this front office. They brought him back on a brand new two-year contract as well. So the Broncos running it back at the top of their depth chart. But what that does is give us some clarity. By bringing those two guys back, they clearly said, we're not going to dip our toes into the top end of the free agency market. My personal wish list included Caden Ellis,
Starting point is 00:14:08 who went back for a reunion with the New Orleans Saints. But also a lot of Broncos fans out there wanted the big splash. Devin Lloyd, he ends up going to the Carolina Panthers. Aside from those two guys, there weren't a ton of players out there that you would look at and circle and say, okay, this guy can come in and compete for a starting job or this guy's still, I mean, Leo Chanel would have been interesting, but he's getting a starting gig with the Washington commander. So there's not a lot of linebackers in this free agent class that you would say, this guy will sign as a linebacker three and potentially upend one of Alex Singleton or Justin Sternad.
Starting point is 00:14:44 That just doesn't seem to really exist out there, amongst the cap casualties. And this year's linebacker class has a ton of players by stark contrast to the free agency class at linebacker. So we look at the top of the draft, Arvel Reese, he's not going to be there for the Broncos. Sonny Stiles, his teammate at Ohio State, he's not going to be there for the Denver Broncos. But I think everybody else in this class is very much in the fair game category. C.J. Allen out of Georgia, a lot of Broncos country loves Jacob Rodriguez, the line.
Starting point is 00:15:18 backer out of Texas Tech. I like Anthony Hill Jr. from Texas a lot. And we know the Broncos and Vance Joseph have ties to that staff. They spent their top pick last year on Jada Baron from the Texas program. So there's a ton of players in this class. Josiah Trotter is a name that I've really started to come around to, especially because you look at the situation the Broncos have. And what's presenting itself is an opportunity for a linebacker to come in, make an impact on special teams, serve as an injury replacement or rotational guy for this defense and be a starter as early as 2027. So the Broncos have to think with that in mind when it comes to the linebacker position, what are we looking at beyond this year? What are we looking at in case Singleton goes down?
Starting point is 00:16:05 What are we looking at in case Sir Nad goes down? That's why I say draft two. Go out there and draft two guys. Upgrade your depth. Roll with Drew Sanders or whoever wins that fifth linebacker spot. and give yourself the biggest shot at future upside that you possibly can. Because that's ultimately what the Broncos need. That's ultimately what they lack right now at the linebacker position is that future clarity beyond this season. They do have Sternad and Singleton under contract for 2027. But honestly, it would be a little bit of an upset, maybe even shocking slightly, if both of those guys were back next off season.
Starting point is 00:16:45 because the plan has to be for the Broncos to go after a player or two in this year's draft class and really get some cost-effective young talent at the linebacker position. Find players who you feel like can really acclimate themselves well to your special teams unit. Find players who you feel could really acclimate themselves well to the Vance Joseph defense. Part of the reason that Dre Greenlaw is gone is not just because, well, injuries crept up on him again. Well, you know, he wasn't able to stay on the field. Well, he got suspended. Those things are true.
Starting point is 00:17:18 But at the same time, with Dre Greenlaw, what did we hear multiple times? Dre himself said that learning the Vance Joseph defense was similar to trying to learn Spanish, right? And Vance Joseph even said during the season on an interview with Peter Schrager, he talked about the fact that injuries weren't the reason why Greenlaw came back into the fold with a limited snap count. And it was more so just his ability to pick up the defense as quickly as possible. that was a problem for a veteran linebacker, a linebacker who's played at the highest of levels, a linebacker who was considered top 10, if not top five, by a lot of folks in the media world at his position group.
Starting point is 00:17:55 So the Broncos need to get young players in there and have them dive head first into the playbook, have them dive head first into the scheme and their responsibilities and not trying to learn two different things, right? I think that might have been a problem with Drew Sanders as well. Of course, availability has been. a problem with Drew Sanders. But think about the fact that if this defense is truly that complicated, Drew is being asked to come in after having one year on the job as an off ball linebacker
Starting point is 00:18:24 at Arkansas. And then he's being jerked around learning two different positions on top of it all. Maybe the Broncos kind of mishandled that situation. And maybe they go after a more traditional type of offball linebacker. There's a few players in this class who are former safeties who are lighter at the linebacker position. Kyle Lewis of Pittsburgh is one of those players. I'm not saying the Broncos should avoid a guy like that,
Starting point is 00:18:47 but maybe you take somebody who is a more traditional middle linebacker who can do all of the responsibilities that you're going to ask of him when it comes to blitzing, when it comes to dropping into coverage, when it comes to communicating the defense, when it comes to just kind of being a quarterback on that side of the ball, I think those things should be very important to the Denver Broncos when they identify prospects. but that is the route that they should go.
Starting point is 00:19:13 As we talk today about how do they keep building this roster? How do they keep attacking their biggest needs? Well, for the linebacker position specifically, I don't think there's any question about it. You go after the NFL draft. And that's the way the Broncos should be approaching it. I think this is a great draft to do that. Even with the darts that they have available,
Starting point is 00:19:32 shoot, go back to back linebackers, the top two picks. I mean, nobody should be mad about that or two out of your first three. The Broncos have such a good team right now. They have such a good roster, and we all know this. I mean, they went to the AFC championship game. You retained 17 of your 21 free agents. Now you've added Jalen Waddle to the mix. You've also replaced effectively PJ Locke with the Tyson Anderson pickup.
Starting point is 00:19:55 So you've addressed some of your major needs and you've filled some other areas, but have you addressed them from now on, right? Have you addressed them for 2026 and 27 and beyond? That's kind of the lens that I'm looking at the linebacker position through. right now because at this time a year from now, Justin Sernat and Alex Singleton both will be north of the age of 30. And the Broncos don't have anybody else behind them under contract. That is, you know, has played at all. I mean, Drew Sanders is in a contract year. So very interesting stuff at linebacker. I think the Broncos can hit it in the draft, find a sleeper in the later
Starting point is 00:20:32 rounds or go after some guys with their highest capital that they have. I would not mind seeing that investment. Broncos country. Let me know your thoughts about the linebacker position in in the comments if you're watching on YouTube, or you can always hit us up on Twitter. But we're going to talk about the tight end position coming up next because the tight end position, Evan Ingram, he's got one year left on his deal. Will he be with the Broncos beyond this year?
Starting point is 00:20:55 The Broncos need another pass-catching threat at the tight-end position. And I think they should go to both free agency and the draft to fix that issue. We're going to break that down coming up on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos. Today's episode of Lockdown Broncos is brought to by Robin Hood. What if sports were traded like markets? Now you can put your sports IQ to work in real time with Robin Hood prediction markets. It's not you against the house. It's you participating in a live market.
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Starting point is 00:22:02 a registered futures commission merchant and swap firm. The Denver Broncos have an opportunity to upgrade the tight end position this offseason, and they can do it both through free agency and the NFL draft. I'm going to tell you exactly how they do that on today's episode, locked on Broncos. Once again, Broncos Country, appreciate every single one of you so much for rocking with us all throughout the offseason. As we kind of put on our general manager hat to sort of build this Denver Broncos team out
Starting point is 00:22:32 and sort of fill the gaps a little bit, right? I think that's one of the things that you're looking to do with a roster that already had 71 guys on it before they made a single external edition, right? So you're at 73 players after adding Jalen Waddle and Tyson Anderson. You don't necessarily have a ton of available spots. You want to go after seven guys in the NFL draft if you keep all your picks. That puts you at 80 players plus undrafted free agents. I mean, the Broncos would have to make some roster moves to add any more external
Starting point is 00:23:02 free agents. I mean, they've really done a lot of the heavy lifting by bringing back their own guys. But I think there are still some big name free agents out there that make a lot of sense. At the tight end position, the guy that makes so much sense to me that I would love to see the Broncos ad is David Najoku. Now, here's where the discussion needs to get into sort of the nitty gritty about the contract situation, the compensatory formula. It's important to note that the Cleveland Browns actually made David Najoku a post-June 1 cap casualty.
Starting point is 00:23:37 So what that means is that they don't get any of the cap savings on their books until after June 1st. But for a team like the Broncos, signing Najoku also doesn't count against the compensatory formula for 2027 because he was cut by the Cleveland Brown. So it's not one of those situations where you're thinking, okay, do we sign Najoku and potentially risk canceling out that John Franklin Myers pick? That could be a fourth rounder in the 27 NFL draft. No, no, no. The Broncos can preserve that pick, even if they do sign somebody like David Najoku, who has played at a Pro Bowl level throughout the course of his career and is a very good blocker slash receiver, better probably receiver than blocker, but does all of the stuff that you look for at the tight end position? He got to visit this offseason already from the Baltimore Ravens,
Starting point is 00:24:29 but I still think Najoku would be a wise addition for a Broncos tight end group that at times last year, I mean, Broncos country, we remember it. They had Mercedes-Louis out there playing in big games for this team. And that's with all due respect to Mercedes-Lewis, who is one of the best blocking tight ends of his time and has played forever in the NFL. So I say that with all due respect. But let's upgrade the talent in that room and get somebody in there who can contribute in the Red Zone, who can make big plays with a big catch radius.
Starting point is 00:25:00 I mean, Adam Troutman is more so of the type that if you get him, the ball in space or if you put it in his vicinity and he's got some sticky hands he can make some plays after the catch but he's sort of a buildup type of guy he's not necessarily going to be the type of guy that is a mismatch as a route runner or is somebody that you can use as a hey let's design a play for him in the red zone that's more so where nojoku fits into the mix and i think with evan ingram as well the broncos want to use those 12 personnel sets the two tight end sets right. They want to use the 13 personnel, the three tight end sets. They want to use the jumbo packages. They want to rotate guys in and out. You've got to have depth in order to be able to do that.
Starting point is 00:25:42 And David Njoku gives you that depth. And if you sign him to a two year deal, let's say, you could have him available next year if Evan Ingram walks in free agency. But I don't think it's just Nogoku that could come into this position, right? I think you could look to this draft as well. I think you should look to this draft as well. Every time I go through, a mock draft exercise. I feel like I find another tight end that really intrigues me for the Broncos. I mean, we know without a first round pick and even with their first round pick, they probably weren't getting Kenyon Sadiq from Oregon, right? So he's kind of been on the dream list at one point, but sort of out of the minds of everybody in Broncos country knowing that he's likely not going to
Starting point is 00:26:23 be there when they come on the board. And the same now could potentially be said of the tight end out of Vanderbilt, Eli Stowers, right? I mean, ultra-athletic, 45 and a half inch vertical at the combine, showed off outstanding speed, former quarterback turned tight end, who has all those traits that you look for as a mismatch player at the position.
Starting point is 00:26:44 Is he going to be there at pick number 62 overall? I mean, that's probably a bit of a reach to think that. So I don't like the mentality of, well, nobody's going to be there for the Broncos, but I think you do have to think in terms of if those are the top two tight ends in the class, it's probably pretty unlikely that 61 picks are going to go by, and teams are just going to pass on those top two guys.
Starting point is 00:27:08 Now, I think everybody else behind them is probably fair game. And even if the Broncos wanted to trade up, maybe they could get Stowers, you know, maybe they could get him. But Max Clare out of Ohio State is an option. Justin Jolie from NC State, a very fun option. And we've talked about a number of others, like Sam Ruch from Stanford. We've talked about Eli Raritan from Notre Dame.
Starting point is 00:27:29 We've talked about plenty of other guys that could fit in sort of that sleeper pick area. Marlon Klein from Michigan, a former import from Germany who he can play. He can catch the ball. He can block. He can play in line. But here's what I think I've been kind of, you know, maybe thinking in the wrong direction a little bit when it comes to the tight end position for the Denver Broncos is the fact that, look, yes, you've got all these different options who can play in line. but do you focus solely on those guys or do you start looking at some of those players who could potentially play Evan Ingram's spot, you know, that move tight end, the guy who can split out
Starting point is 00:28:09 into the slot, not necessarily just the guys who can block because that's kind of what you brought Adam Troutman back for, isn't it? I mean, the Broncos have tight ends who can block. Nate Adkins, he can block, although he's kind of more of a hybrid player himself. So I think this is one of the best cases that you could make once again for going after multiple tight ends in this class because it is a very deep class and because you need players with a variety of skill sets, right? You need somebody who can be that sort of, you know, I know Broncos country doesn't like this term right now, but that Joker type at the position who can be a threat at all levels of the field. And there's prospects like that in this class,
Starting point is 00:28:50 but they don't necessarily fit in the mold of this is a traditional inline Y tight end type of player. And even when you start looking at those inline guys, a lot of them lack the length that is ideal to play in line at the NFL level. So very interesting stuff, although I do think this tight end class is so deep that the Broncos really could get a starting caliber player as early as 2027. They could get that player in round four. Think, think Troy Franklin at the, you know, beginning of the fourth round when it came to the 2024 draft. He was expected to go second, third round when it came to that draft class. And then he ended up getting, you know, lasting to day three.
Starting point is 00:29:29 And the Broncos had to have him. They had a second round grade on him. So think that type of player or that type of prospect in the way that he's thought about internally there potentially on day three for the Broncos. But of course, tight end also an option at 62 overall. As Gary Kubiak would say, Broncos country, for Bixen to find out. The Broncos have plenty of options to still upgrade this roster here this offseason. We'll see how they end up doing it.
Starting point is 00:29:55 Will they go after any more outside free agents? Will they preserve their cap space and continue to look toward the NFL draft? We got one month, Broncos Country, one month to the NFL draft. We'll see how this team continues to address its biggest needs now and going forward. But Broncos Country, we appreciate you so much for tuning in today. Cody and I are going to have a brand new episode of the show for you tomorrow. So make sure you're tuned in for that. And we'll catch you on the next one.

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