Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - Denver Broncos NAIL NFL Free Agency | Big Moves Done?

Episode Date: March 18, 2025

The Denver Broncos nailed NFL Free Agency with big splash moves — adding Dre Greenlaw, Talanoa Hufanga, and Evan Engram to the mix. Did the Broncos get drastically better on paper than they were in 2024? Did the Broncos defense do enough in free agency? Is the Broncos offense comfortable with their young running back room? Cody Roark is a credentialed beat reporter for Mile High Sports and covers the Broncos daily in person. Sayre Bedinger is the site expert for Predominantly Orange. Both bring Broncos Country the most in-depth and objective coverage of the Denver Broncos. WANT MORE DAILY DENVER BRONCOS CONTENT?For all of the latest Denver Broncos news today -- Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOBroncos?sid=YouTube Locked On NFL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft & More🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNFL Follow on Twitter: @CodyRoarkNFL and @SayreBedingerFollow the show on Twitter: @LockedOnBroncos Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNBA for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime. Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNFL at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. FanDuelRight now, new customers can get TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in BONUS BETS when your first FIVE DOLLAR BET WINS! Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of the NBA. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Denver Broncos had an impressive week one in NFL free agency, but did they do enough to move the needle for themselves going into the NFL draft? We'll debate and discuss that and much more. You're on today's episode, Locked on Broncos. You are Locked on Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast, part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. Broncos country, what's happening? Welcome into another episode, Lockdown Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast,

part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, where you know what is your team every day for all your Broncos news, content coverage, analysis, and more. Make sure you make Lockdown Broncos your daily go-to by becoming an every day are out there. And thank you so much to everyone in Broncos country for making us your first listen. However, you choose to do so to ensure you never miss out on anything that's going on with your favorite team, make sure you hit that subscriber,

that follow button, wherever you get your podcast. So you never miss out on anything going on with the Denver Broncos. I'm Cody Rourke. Broncos reporter from all high sports. Join, as always by Sarah Bedinger, site expert of their prominently orange.com. And look, the first week of NFL free-in-tie, it was the frenzy, it was the madness that was.

Now that that is gone, all sites have really kind of been shifted to some tier two, tier three level moves on top of that preparation for the NFL draft. Did the Broncos do enough on offense and defense to address some major needs? We'll debate and discuss that here on today's show. We'll talk about what moves are next tier for the Broncos

leading up to the NFL draft, we'll analyze and share whether or not the offensive side of the ball got addressed if they did enough in free agency. And also we'll kick things off today by talking about. Did the Broncos do enough to bolster their defense? And I think that's an easy question to answer here, Sarah. Obviously, the moves that they made Talanoa, Hufanga, Dre Greenlaw, the Broncos, man, they got better on the defensive side of the ball. They turned something that was already a strength of theirs into a bigger strength, which I'm excited. I can't wait for OTAs to be here because the two additions they had there with Hufanga and Greenlaw, to me, Sarah, I've broken it down all week long.

It's game changing, but let's put the Broncos defense into perspective and whole with these two guys factored into the equation. Well, it was a top three defense last year in terms of points allowed, and it might end up being better this year. It could be top two and might not be two, right? The Broncos could have the number one defense in the entire NFL in 2025, which is very exciting to potentially think about. Definitely feel like they got faster at the linebacker position, maybe even subsisting

substantially better overall at that position just by the addition of Drey Greenlaw, Cody and Tala Noah Hufanga brings a different level of playmaking, I think, to the secondary. That's why he's being compensated as such, you know, the three-year, $45 million deal worth $20 million in guarantees. And it seems like the guarantees on these contracts a bit low. And you put it into perspective just for a, for example here. Talano Hufanga gets 20 million guaranteed. DJ Jones, who is a 30-year-old defensive tackle, he got 26 million in guarantees.

So availability played into the overall contract language and structure for these guys. And I think that's to the Broncos benefit because you're getting these guys and they still have a lot to prove. Like they're going to want more guaranteed money down the line. And so you get the short-term deals. You get the upgrades. You get young guys. I don't know how many, how many teams, Cody, off the top of your head, got an all pro who's in his mid-20s in free agency this year. The Broncos got Telano, Hufanga, first team all pro in 2022.

I can't think of many teams out there that got all pros in their mid-20s in free agency this year. Yeah, no, look, Denver went out and they made a, you know, a strength that there is even stronger, which is exciting to see. And you obviously improved what Sean Payton said when he sat there with Kay Adams at Radio Row. and specifically, you know, they're talking about we need a joker, right? Okay, well, they're going again. We'll talk about that a little bit later. But then, you know, he highlights, he says, you know, we really got to improve the, the middle of the field.

He said, inside linebacker safety. And I was like, okay, so Sean, that actually was not coach speak. Like, now that we know the moves that the Broncos have made, they went out and they got what they perceived to be their top three biggest needs here. And, you know, I think there was a lot of question about wide receiver. And obviously Denver was in a little bit on Cooper Cup until the price point, kind of pulled them out of it a little bit later on last week. But for me, it's like, all right, hey, Sean Payton actually, like anything he says to Kay Adams, now we can trust is like,

hey, yeah, there's, there's some, there's some credence behind it there. To me, it's, I think that Denver is strong there. Look, they've even mentioned that they want to continue to invest in the trenches. So part of me looks at, okay, hey, the next thing that's coming up here, the NFL draft, you're going to have invites to players who are playing in the UFL spring season as well. And look, that's how you found a guy like Dandre Tillman, who came on and really emerge as a nice young role player here for the Broncos defense. But really, I look at the rest of the defense, and it's like, okay, the Broncos at this point, Sarah.

They have not made any kind of cuts or restructures to players' contracts just yet. Some potential guys who are listed as possible cap casualties are still on the roster. So that means that, hey, if that was going to happen, it would have happened by now. But now the Broncos, they get better. They elevate the floor with some of those rooms right there. And it leaves a lot of excitement, I think, for what's to come here. I look at the secondary right now. Sarah, I don't think that they can or add, you know, they can go in and add anybody that's going to make that unit better.

I think that unit's good enough as is. You did addition to whofonga, you make it strong. And now you add a linebacker, everyone's going to be bowling down and watching, hey, how does this competition play out between Drew Sanders, Alex Singleton, and Justin Sternard, where that seems to be the indication of where the competition is going to be? Does Lavelle Bailey factor into that? That's, you know, that room looks stronger than it did just a week ago, which is exciting, I think, for all of us. here talking about it. And then the D-line, you already know it's a strength of yours. And, you know, you got to take care of some guys in terms of extensions.

You got outside linebackers that are playing really well for you. Denver's defense, in my opinion, I don't think that they need to add anything more to that right now. I think if you're going to add to any position group on defense, you do it inside the NFL draft, which is the next opportunity to bolster your roster, bring guys in that you can develop into eventual playmakers for you. I thought that George Payton, Sean Payton, they did enough for the Broncos. defense and free agency. Yeah, and I still wouldn't be opposed to or upset by a Von Miller edition for a one-year

deal, bring him in as the fifth guy off the edge. I know that there's been some discrepancy over that, you know, which when is there not when it comes to being online and throwing opinions out there? I personally would love to see that. And I think that it's, you know, I do think it's kind of realistic, Cody. I don't, I don't necessarily think George Payton wanted to trade Von Miller. He said when he, when he inherited the Bronco situation, He's like, this is a sleeping giant.

I have a feeling Vaughn was part of that, you know. And so you never know, bring him back for one last ride. I don't want to overhype that too much. But like you mentioned, you've done a lot to upgrade this defense already. Now you kind of shift focus to the NFL draft. I talked in yesterday's episode about do you go DB in round one now? Are you that, are you in that kind of a luxurious position? Like if the right guy's there, D-Line, I think, is a consistent option that everybody seems to

sort of be on board with at this point. And so you get another D-Lyman in the draft and bring in Von Miller. I mean, can you imagine adding those two guys like a first-round D-Lyman and then bring back Vaughn to come and play 250 or 300 snaps for you? I think that would just set this unit off to get a couple more guys to add to that pass rush. But at this point, like, do they really need that?

I don't know that they need it. But, man, look at how the Eagles won the Super Bowl. And it didn't blitz a single down against Patrick Mahomes. Maybe the Broncos feel like, hey, we play him twice this year. We could figure out a way to do that ourselves. I mean, I think everyone knows Sean Payton was paying attention to what happens. Like, you know, he watches the big game. And of course, the Broncos were saying they were playing in it.

But, you know, that's what the NFL is today. You're looking at what other teams are doing. And specifically, you're looking at what other teams are doing to your division rival. They're going to see two times a year. And it's like, okay, what can we draw from them that maybe we can use or that we can do going into the next season? Now, look, every year changes. Every season has a different recipe, to it. The Chiefs look different and a lot of different, you know, many facets for them.

They've added some pieces. They've lost some pieces. Same for Denver. But what can you draw from how other teams have created like this formula, specifically when it pertains to Patrick Mahomes and maybe even trying to counter Steve Spagnoll in that aggressive defense? I mean, the Saints have lost, I mean, not the Saints to, you know, the Chiefs have lost some players to the Saints. Obviously, Justin Reed heading over there. We all know the former ties with Tyrone Matthew, he used to be a Chief and he became a saint. That was the word play I was trying to go with there. I look at where Denver's at. Anything that they add, in my opinion, Sarah, to the defense now is just a luxury at this point.

And I'm very curious to see how the Broncos take this measured approach, really, because after the first week of free agency, it's slow. Everyone's like, are they going to make any more moves? The reality is you're probably not going to see a lot of big moves, but can you make a couple of moves that are going to get people to talk a little bit? Like, oh, okay, hey, you look at what they did in that first week of free agency. A lot of people on the national scale were saying, hey, the Broncos, big winners on paper when it comes to NFL free. agency. You carry that thing over here. That to me, I think, is going to be very exciting here to see how Denver continues to build this 90-man roster the rest of the way. Now, the preparation shifts to the NFL draft and their focus and their meetings there, official visits. We already know that stuff is

all on the plans here for a lot of prospects. But what does it mean for the Broncos? That's going to be a fun thing to kind of watch play out over here the next four and a half weeks here locked on Broncos. But we're not done with free agency conversation just yet. Broncos country up next. We're going to ask the question whether or not the Broncos did enough on the offensive side of the ball in NFL Free Agency. The big splash with Evan Ingram was good, but was it good enough for the grand scheme of things for Bo Nix and the offense going into 2025? We'll discuss that much more here on today's episode, Locked on Broncos. For today's episode, the show, so brought to you our friends over there at Fandu. And as you all know, what Fandu is America's number one

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The Denver Broncos have their Joker in Evan Engram, but did they do enough on the offensive side of the ball in NFL free agency or is there work yet to be done? We're going to talk about that on today's episode. on Broncos. But hey, Broncos country, thanks so much for tuning in today and every single day. If you're not already an everyday listener, you're going to want to go ahead and become one because your boys, Cody and Sarah, we got you covered every single day. Hit subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts as well as on YouTube. And let's talk about it and let us know your thoughts. Like, what if the Broncos done offensively in NFL free agency so far? They've added probably their biggest need offensively at the Joker position or Sean Peyton

called it a must have when he was doing that interview with Kay Adams that you referenced earlier, Cody, that top must have for the entire team getting the Joker position filled. Evan Ingram is going to be doing it to the tune of two years, $23 million. Do you feel like that move in combination with a couple of other minor moves this team has made is enough offensively and free agency? I know the draft is upcoming, but do you feel like there's still, is something unfinished? is it unsettled at this point? Yeah, you know, for me personally,

I wish that they would have added a veteran wide receiver. And obviously, that's still very much in the works as you and I are sitting down talking about it here on today's show. But I do think that them going out there, like it's to the point when we go back to that Sean Payton interview with Kay Adams, he didn't mention running back at all. That was never brought up as a position. They didn't bring up backup quarterback.

They said that they're very, very happy with their offensive line and they feel like they have a good group that's intact there, which means that Luke Waddenberg, Alex Forsyth, probably in the mix to compete for that center job here once again. Or they just really like Luke Wattenberg there. And maybe he's going to climb for yet another season of his career. But the offensive line is intact here. Sean Payton said, you know, we like our wide receivers more so than people think that we do.

And that obviously factors into Cortland Sutton, who you have. And then he said, you know, our biggest must have was the Joker. Well, they go out there and they get Evan Ingram. And it's like, okay, we saw the Broncos offense last year. And our biggest gripe for it was, hey, the run game is too inconsistent. and okay you're not getting enough from the tight end position. But when you look at what they did this past week here with adding Evan Ingram, they got better.

They're better right now than they were last year on paper because of that move right there because now you have a true tight end who you can move in line. You can move him offset near the offensive tackle, bring him back underneath formations. You can line them up in the backfield if you want to. You can put them in the slide. You can put them on the outside. You can do a little bit of everything with the guy like Evan Ingram. And it makes you better.

And I imagine we're going to see him move around a lot, but we're going to see that impact from that inline standpoint here from Sean Payton because you need to be able to attack that middle of the field. And when I went back and I did my film review on Ingram when he was with Jacksonville, whether he played inline or whether he even played in the slot, he attacked the middle of the field very productively for that Jaguar's offense. So for me, yeah, I think they did enough in free agency to address the offense and to make it better.

There's still some things you would like to see them at, right? Obviously, a veteran wide receiver. There's still some names available on the market. But also, I find it interesting that they really didn't go out there and look at any of these veteran running backs. I mean, we even saw Jordan Mason traded from the San Francisco 49ers to the Vikings. And I remember you and I were looking at our Slack chat that we have. And we're thinking like, hey, like Denver, if they were interested, they should have done that. Like that would have been a nice move to make there.

But they didn't do it. They have not touched the running back position. And they mentioned the Combine specifically. They liked their young guys that they have. Tyler Bade, you've got. Adrake's the major, Lil McLaughlin, Blake Watson. There's four young guys there, and it doesn't seem like at this point, they're interested in adding a veteran.

So I find that to be very interesting. I want your thoughts on this, though. Like, do you feel like they should have added a veteran running back or a receiver? Where are you at with whether or not they did enough on the offensive side of the ball here in free agency? Well, I'm glad the Broncos didn't go after any free agent running backs up to this point. Cody, I feel like look at the situation that the Dallas Cowboys are now in. They've got Miles Sanders, Javante William. and then they've got the backs that were previously on their roster.

It's not that they can't draft somebody, but they've deliberately decided that they're going to give carries to those two guys. Now, is that necessarily a bad thing? We don't know how it's going to shake out. So I can't say that it's for sure going to be a bad thing. But to me, I'd much rather have two backs from this draft class

than Miles Sanders and Javante Williams from Free Agency and say, hey, we're going to find out what happens with those two backs. I mean, it doesn't have to be, like I suggested, Trayvion Henderson and Quinchon Judkins to pair those two guys up at the NFL level, although that would be so cool, even just to get one of those guys in Denver. But to me, if you're saying, hey, we're bringing Miles Sanders in, like he's going to touch the ball. He's going to get carries, and he's going to eat up snaps. And so I just don't feel like it's the right move for the Broncos when you have Jaliel McLaughlin, who he should be able to play a decent role for you again. you have Adrick Estime, who at one point last year, we were calling for him to potentially be running back one because maybe it was just because he was the devil you don't know, you know, sort of thing. But at the same time, he has those traits to be able to produce like that. Now, I'm not saying skip the draft and go with the guys that you've got either. But I think that the draft is the right way to go because you have those young guys already on the team. If you didn't have Jalil, if you didn't have Estime, sure, go after Najee Harris or whatever and try it out and see.

but you already have those guys. And so see what those guys can bring to the table. Bring some new young guys into the mix. I'm glad they stayed away from running back in free agency, but I'm with you on wide receiver. Let's get another veteran receiver in the mix. Well, let's talk about some of the other moves that they made that look. Obviously, these weren't like the flashy, big splash in your face.

You know, we're telling fans like, hey, go grab like the biggest rock you can find, fill your bathtub up with water. And then when the Broncos make a move, throw it in there, make that splash just so you can hear it. There wasn't that when it comes to these next moves. here. Obviously, we're going to talk about the Broncos of resigning Jared Stidham to be the backup quarterback behind Bo Nix, which I was surprised about. I actually anticipate, hey, is it going to be Zach Wilson? And really, the report kind of came out to, hey, they weren't sure if Jared Stidham was

going to return, but Zach Wilson also wanted to go play. And now he ends up in Miami where there's a high chance that he could probably play for the dolphins here in 2025. And so for Jared Stidham, maybe just thinking, this is the better situation for me where I'm at right now in my career. Obviously, their stability here in Denver for him. He loves Davis Webb, loves Bow Knicks. Obviously, their wives are very close. That right there, I think, you know, was an important one to get your backup quarterback sign.

But now, you know, I think that Denver's going to roll with just two guys at the QB position, which then if that carries over into the regular season, now you don't allocate one of your 53 man roster spots to a third quarterback or an emergency quarterback designation because the Broncos haven't found themselves in that position. And there have been a number of teams that haven't found themselves in that position. since the 49ers did initially in the playoffs when Brock Bert, Purdy hurt his elbow there. So find that to be interesting.

But I think probably maybe the more impactful under the radar move, Matt Parrott resigning as the key backup offensive tackle here, which more than likely, I know they could still resign Quinn Bailey, but it seems like Matt Parrott is now that, you know, that reporting is eligible jumbo package offensive tackle based on the contract he got. And it kind of also feels like he's maybe the number one swing tackle, even though there was, you know,

the Alex Palcheschi and you've got Frank Crum developing as well. So Pert has done well, obviously, in Denver. After flaming out, I guess, if you want to call up that, I know he was only a third round pick, but just didn't work out for him with the New York Giants. And so you find a role, you do what you can in the NFL and you stick with it. I think we also got to mention Trent Sherfield in this list as well, Cody, because even though he's primarily going to play special teams,

you never know when injuries will arise and he'll get called upon. to play a bigger role on offense. He's a decent blocker. He's played before, and he doesn't have a high volume of targets and receptions over the course of his NFL career by any means, but it's got some size to him. He's got some physicality to him, and I think that serves him well offensively, even though it's more so of like, you know, in baseball, you've got guys who are really good at defense, and they just have, they're in the lineup because they have to be as hitters. You know, that's kind of what Trent Sherfield is like he's he's really great at special teams and you might throw him into the offensive lineup at times because you have to but not necessarily I don't think you're game

planning for him to get touches every single week which is partly why we have that wide receiver discussion well broncos country we want to hear from you in your opinion do you think the broncos did enough in free agency to scratch the itches or the needs on the offensive side of the ball do you wish that they would have done more there make sure you let us know wherever you're listening or watching lockdown broncos wherever you get your podcast here, but we're not done just yet. What moves might be next year for this Broncos team before the NFL draft and could a couple of contract extensions be brewing?

We'll discuss what that looks like and much more here on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos. The fourth quarter action of today's episode, Lockdown Broncos is here. And we want to ask the question is, are the Broncos done just yet here in NFL free agency? Usually in these next couple of weeks, sometimes you see teams around the league making those lower level one-year contract signings at this. point order. The Broncos have something bigger cooked up. We'll debate and discuss here on today's episode of the show here. Thank you so much to everyone in Broncos country for making us your first

listen. Thank you to all the every dares out there. We appreciate you so much. Make sure you stay involved here with the show as we continue on here. Maybe asking this question here, Sarah, like what moves will the Broncos make next? And could they make a handful of moves here this week? I mean, I think when we look at the defense, the offensive side of the ball, we've looked at it and said, okay, hey, they made some pretty big moves. Anything else would kind of be a little bit of, you know, icing on top of the cake here. What if we had to maybe address one position that probably needs to have some sort of guidance on it before the NFL draft, probably punter.

That's the biggest need. That's like the biggest needing remaining need at this point here for Denver. To me, I find it interesting because there are a handful of names that are available that are, you know, a little bit older, some veteran options, obviously a younger option of Ryan Stonehouse who apparently the Broncos aren't interested in. So punchers like the one position that they don't have an answer for as a we're sitting here today. Yeah, and Stonehouse on Sunday, I think he signed with the dolphins kind of under the radar move, Cody.

So he's even off the table. Who was the punter last year? I don't even know who the dolphins punter was last year. So I don't, I'm not 100% sure about that. I do think that maybe the punter situation for Denver this year is similar to the kicker situation in 2023, where they find somebody to be a body out there and the kicker or punter who's on, you know, who's going to be on the opening day. roster punting for you is not necessarily even on your roster until after roster cuts.

It could be one of those types of situations where they let other guys battle it out. Teams that carry two punters for whatever reason. Those guys battle it out. Maybe you do a late round pick swap. Maybe you watch the UFL and see who's the best punter at the UFL. Hey, Denver Broncos have an opening. Yeah, I mean, bring him back. That's what I think.

Just bring the guy back. He's got experience. So I would do it. But I also think fullback, Cody, is a. interesting one to monitor because Mike Burton is a free agent. So either will he come back or will we have a different reunion with Adam Prentice who actually played 25% of the snaps as compared to 16 for Mike Burton last year. So Prentice played 25% in New Orleans offensively. And then he played like 45% special teams for Darren Rizzy as well. And he's younger. So that might be an interesting potential

name to watch here in free agency. Those are two clear positions of need that they're not going to necessarily, you're not going to go out and buy a jersey right away, you know, Broncos country. But those are two areas I think you could see addressed in free agency here coming soon. I don't even want to Darren Ritzie's assistants. Obviously, you know, the former Sean Payton player to coach pipeline continues with Zach line, who, you know, used to play for Peyton, used to play for the Saints, was a fullback. He's a special team's assistant now under Rizzy.

And so, you know, there's value there. Does Nate Adkins move to the fullback position here now at the addition? here. Now with the addition of Evan Ingram, where you have Evan Ingram, Adam Troutman, and Lucas Crowell. I mean, that actually might be how you allocate keeping some of your core special teams players together while also maximizing the fact that, hey, we upgraded it at tight end. And now your three deep at that position is Troutman, a veteran, reliable blocker and could be a little security blanket option, a true weapon now in Evan Ingram. And then a guy who's still developing and Lucas Crowe, who the team is still very high on. That's why they tendered and brought him back. So for

me, it actually comes out looking a little rosy here for the Broncos. You know, when you look at offense and special teams in that regard here, I think primarily if we should be looking at anything, of course, I think the Broncos will make at least two or three smaller level moves here before the NFL draft happens here. But I think the one thing we should expect, if there's going to be any big splash, it's got to be on the contract extension side of things, right? Because Cortland Sutton, we already know our good friend Mike Cliss said the Broncos would like to get a contract extension done with him either before or after the NFL draft. And to me, I couldn't help but think when the Broncos said, hey, we're not going to pay Cooper Cup what he wants.

Like, why would we go pay a guy when we still have to take care of one of our veteran wide receivers as is in Cortland? To me, I was just reading the T-leas. I'm like, that's probably going to be the biggest priority that happens next. I think Cortland's extension will happen. Then I think Benito's will, whereas I think Zach Allen's contract extension might actually be an in-season extension. I want to know your thoughts on that way you're reading on the T-leaves. Yeah, I think that's really interesting, especially with some of, of the contracts that have been getting handed out recently around the NFL might make more sense

for the Broncos to kind of wait that one out and see what happens. So I mean, I agree with you, though, the extensions, I don't think there's going to be any shortage of those handed out in the near future here. It's just a matter of, okay, what is the market value for these guys? You know, because Nick Benito, he's not going to get paid the same as Miles Garrett. He's not going to get paid the same as what Micah Parsons will eventually get. He's just not quite on that. level. So does he hold out for, not hold out like a, you know, a holdout, hold out, but does he wait to sign an extension until he's got a chance to go prove himself and maybe earn a little bit more money? Whereas right now, I feel like he's kind of firmly entrenched in that tier, you know, of where

he's at below those guys. So that's, that's going to be fun to watch because I do feel like that Walmart money is still going to be flowing this offseason, Cody, even if it's not for out of house free agents. That's why a lot of folks said, watch out for extensions across the NFL because this isn't the greatest free agency class. So teams are going to look to lock up their guys when it's the new budget year. So the fact that Denver got three really good free agent acquisitions and a not so great free agency class that kind of makes the offseason on paper feel a little bit sweeter. So would you say from your answer here that you think Cortland's extension will happen, Zach Allen, maybe Nick Benito later on down the line? That's kind of my.

guess that's kind of been my thinking this whole time is that not I mean we definitively know from Mike Cliss you know that Cortland's is before after the draft and I don't know what Zach Allen's will be he hasn't it doesn't feel like he's really even said anything about it Cody I know that it's not like we've heard from him but that one is going to be worth monitoring because if he doesn't have one going into OTAs then we start to get into this discussion of is he going to show up You know, because I think that the Broncos are in that realm. Now you have team success.

Players have individual success. And then you get into that area to where, hey, these guys, they want to finish out their careers with the most money possible. That's your opportunity to do it. Yeah, I just have a hard time seeing just knowing Zach and like being around him. I just have a hard time seeing him sitting out. Like you can barely pull the guy off the field in the season like during a game. It's like he'll play. If you let him, he'll play 100% of the snaps.

And look, there were several games of the Broncos. Ronko's played 70 plus plays on defense. And Zach Allen, if it were up to him, he would have played every single down if necessary. And he still plays. Like, what is the one thing that Sean Payton knows, he says? He says, like, what you get on your first or your fourth rep in a game from a guy like Zach, you get it on your like 50th rep from him too. Like that's just that there's no drop off like the effort and the intensity remains the

same. I would be shocked though. But also we even factor in John Franklin Myers being another name that, you know, to keep an eye on for a potential extension. He wants one. like that's something we've seen on social media and it's kind of created I think a little bit of concern in the eyes of Broncos country about wait a minute like John Franklin Myers is on Twitter and he was on Instagram commenting on things like hey I want to be you know what do I have

to prove like essentially I just want to know that I'm valued and it's like I message JFM and I said hey like the bag's coming like you are valued you know I think for Denver it's just we got to take care of these other things first and we have to put everything together in order to be able to extend a guy like JFM because no offense to JFM like he deserves to be extended, but does he deserve to be extended first over guys like Zach Allen, Cortland Sutton, Nick Benito. I'm not sure. I think those guys take priority.

That doesn't mean that he's not one though, at least in my opinion. Yeah. And he was only around for last year in Denver as opposed to those other guys have been around for, you know, this is going to be there at least second or third year or longer with the team. And so not that there's necessarily a hierarchy there or anything like. like that, but I also feel like the Broncos could do some restructures. And I think one of these things will help snowball the other, too.

Like you extend Cortland Sutton, it frees up even more cap space. It kind of helps you just, you got to compartmentalize these things. So I would guess, Cody, that behind the scenes, all this stuff is going on. And it'll be one of those types of days where you and I are just, man, the Broncos handed out multiple extent. Remember how the Tim Patrick and Cortland Sutton once happened so close together? I think that this team, they just keep things so. tight lips that it feels like nothing's happening, but maybe that's our best sign that something is.

Well, you mean Sean Payton isn't out there telling people what he's going to plan to do and that the Broncos, they keep it close to their vest, the cards? Absolutely. There we go. I mean, like said, that's like one of the biggest things. Like people are like, yeah, Sean Peyton, like, Sean's going to do this. Like nobody knows what Sean Payton's going to do except Sean Payton and George Payton. Those guys aren't letting that stuff out, which I like that. That level of secrecy, I think, is needed here in Denver. look, it makes some local media not so happy because they don't get that scoop. I don't care about getting a scoop, man. I enjoy covering the team.

I have fun with it. And we enjoy sitting and reacting to it here on Lockdown Broncos. What I said Broncos country? That'll do it for today's episode of the show. Make sure you send in your mailbag questions to Sarah and myself on Twitter. We'll get to that this week. We'll answer the best ones. Plus we'll have you covered on any Broncos news that is going to take place.

And now as the NFL draft is approaching, what did the Broncos, need to focus on the most. We'll break that down and much more on tomorrow's episode of the show.