Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - Denver Broncos Pass Rush BOOSTED By Dondrea Tillman | Set To Dominate Role In 2025

Episode Date: April 8, 2025

The Denver Broncos pass rush was boosted by the impact of Dondrea Tillman and his emergence last season. Could he be in line to dominate his role even further in 2025? Is Jonah Elliss and Tillman the solidified duo behind Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper for the Broncos defense? 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 Clicking this link: https://prf.hn/click/camref:1011l3Huc8/creativeref:1011l164602 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 AND FIFTY 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 have a gem on their hands with Dandre Tillman. After an impressive 2024 season, we'll tell you all he'll be in live for a bigger role this upcoming season 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 favorite Broncos news, content coverage analysis more. This is the place to be.

Thank you so much to the everydayers out there in Broncos country. Thanks for tuning in, making us your first listen. However, you choose to do so. And if you're not yet in every dare, it's super easy to become what all you have to do. Get that subscribe to that follow button and you'll never miss out on what's going on with your favorite team every single day all year long here. Locked on Broncos. I'm your host. As always Cody Rourke, credential Broncos reporter from Milehysports.com where you can check out my written work.

joined as always by Sarah Bendinger, the longtime site expert over there, predominantly orange.com, where you can check out his written work every single day. And on today's episode of the show, we've got a lot to talk about. We're breaking down Dandre Tillman and his impact here for the Broncos defense. We'll talk about how he was an underrated surprise last year,

how the Broncos can maximize him and the depth of that position in 2025. And more importantly, is the edge rusher position set ahead of the NFL drafters? They need to add to that. all that down on today's episode of the show. So, Sarah, I mean, let's kick it off by talking about Dandre Tillman. Now, initially when the Broncos had signed him and invited him to the training camp roster last season, we knew him from the UFL where he was a star player, really one of the bigger standouts defensively in that league that we were talking about, hey, this could be

a potential feeder league into the NFL. I think if you're looking at one guy to be a shining example of that, Dandre Tillman was probably the most notable name. Yeah, absolutely and at a critical position as well, coming off the edge, providing depth in the pass rush department and also playing a heck of a lot of special teams, Cody. That's why I think Dondre Tillman really made the 53 man roster in the first place or got called up to the 53 man roster and was able to contribute at a significant level throughout the course of the season because, yes, he can play off the edge and he can rush the passer. but can you contribute as a back-end roster player and play some special teams? He very much did that last year for the Denver Broncos playing 61% of the special teams. And when you look at a per snap basis, that's what we kind of have to look at with the Broncos in their defensive line and the edge group, right? Because these guys, they didn't all play 75, 80% of the snaps, right?

I mean, they rotated these guys in and out. They utilized them at different times, situations. They felt like they could put basically any grouping of these edge and delinement on the field at the same time. And Dandre Tillman, they didn't miss a beat when he was out there. A lot of times you feel like, shoot, well, the backups are coming in. They're going to suffer in this way or that way. That wasn't the case with Tillman because he was providing pass rush.

He was providing pressures. He was getting to the quarterback. He was making plays. He did a lot for this Denver defense last season without even playing. a third of the snaps. Yeah, and I did a film review over on Tillman at Mile High Sports on their YouTube page. You can check it out there if you want to look at a little bit more of the visual stuff of what Dandre did.

I mean, Sarah, you mentioned it there with the pressures. You mentioned it with the sacks. I mean, you talk about the limited role that he played last season defensively from a snap basis, 29% of the Broncos defensive snaps. That's what Tillman played last year. And in those 29% of snaps, that volume there over the course of 12 games, he had five sacks on opposing QBs. And really, I think the NFL, Broncos country,

they loved what they saw from him during the preseason. And obviously, if you attended training camp practices, everyone was paying attention to Dandre Tilman. Hey, this guy, he's a standout player. Can he carry that over in the preseason? Well, he did that. But then really, the introduction came in the regular season here for the Broncos. It was really that week three game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

against Baker Mayfield and that offense, which at the time was the highest scoring offense in the NFL through three weeks. The week before that, They beat the Detroit lines. The week after the Broncos beat them, they beat the Philadelphia Eagles. So, I mean, Sarah, like, everyone wants to diminish the Broncos 10 and 7 record saying they beat nobody. That Tampa Baywin was probably one of the more impressive ones on the entire season there. But, I mean, Dondray Tillman, you know, gets a cleanup sack on one where Jayquan Macmillan is blitzing from the nickel position.

He cleans it up there. The Bronco has made Baker Mayfield's life miserable. But then there was one where they were in the red zone. I think they were around the 10-yard line, somewhere along those lines. and then Dandre Tillman comes up. I think it was on second and 10, to be honest with you, comes up the big sack that knocks Baker-Mayfield and the bucks back 10 yards there.

Everyone's like, wow, okay, hey, we want to see a little bit more of this Dandre Tillman guy. And of course, throughout the entire season, he had moments where he had a big pressure or he had a big run stop or he had a big sack, you know, he had a sack against Joe Burrell and the Cincinnati Bengals. He did a fantastic job stunting inside. He had one sack on Justin Herbert against the Los Angeles Charters

where really he disrupted a screenplay that was meant for the running back. And obviously you want to see that film breakdown. Mile High Sports YouTube has that. But you talk about the impact that Dondre Tillman had in this role. It was impressive to see, Sarah. And on top of that, 12 pressures, you know, so I think when you look at the Broncos defense by design,

and you look at the statistical output, despite the limited amount of snaps in totality, you're making the most, like you are efficient in those small percentage snaps. And that's not just Dondre Tilman. Dondre is a big part of that. But, man, Sarah, think about it. And looking at it on paper last year, you have a rookie pass rusher and you have really an undrafted rookie free agent, Dandre Tillman, that the Broncos are saying, hey, we're okay with these guys being our number two and number four.

I mean, our number three, number four pass rushers, our second unit group behind Jonathan Cooper and Nick Benito. Like, that's a trust fall exercise right there. And those guys prove that you could trust them. And it just goes to show that you can't ever leave any stones unturned when it comes to trying to upgrade the roster. And of course, the UFL season is back underway again this year. And so the Broncos and every other team, they're going to be scouting those guys and seeing player development. How is it going?

Guys in the names that they recognize, guys that they've scouted in the past and said, hey, this guy has to improve this, that, and the other, you know, you keep those guys in your back pocket and you never know what can happen. And Dandre Toman is a perfect example of that. And I mean, shoot, Cody, if you even doubled his snaps from last season, You're talking about 58% in the snaps, 10 sacks, 24 pressures. Those types of numbers would be incredible. And you can't extrapolate for every guy.

But I feel like when you're looking at the progression, the natural progression of a player, you see somebody here who is ready to play a bigger role, maybe 40% of the defensive snaps this coming season because he's a big guy. Remember the big point of discussion last year was, I think, you know, at 270 plus pounds, we're all wondering, is he going to play defensive end? Is he going to slide inside and passing downs for the Broncos? Or is he actually going to play off the edge? Because there's such a huge variance between somebody like Nick Bonito,

who's very much built like a Von Miller type, you know, 6-2, 6.3, 240, something like that. And then Dandre Tillman, who's kind of like a stout type of edge player, like almost like James Harrison-esque in that way where he's just big, thick. There's so much variance in the way the Broncos can. attack defensive lines with these guys because they have such a good pass rush plan. They're physical. They're active. They like to win in different ways.

Like Tillman got his hands up in the passing lanes as well. So it's not just their one-trick ponies out there doing, you know, this guy's our speed rusher. This guy's our power guy. This guy's, no, Dondrey Tillman provides more variance for that defensive front, which is so exciting because he's still not done growing as a player. No, what was it? I think he was born 1998, so he was born four years after me.

So, I mean, he's still a young puppy. He's still developing. And this is a guy who, you know, just watching my, and I had a chance a couple of times to tell him last year, really at the end of the season said, you know, hey, it was really fun watching you grow and development. He says, I'm just, I'm very excited just for the opportunity to be able to be in the position I'm in. Like, he's a very humble dude, works so hard.

Guys in that locker room, they loved Andre Tillman, you know, guys that I've spoken to. So I think the Broncos have a nice little gem on their hands here with him. Certainly last year was a surprise. And I think this year it's, okay, what can he do even further? You know, there's ways that we're obviously going to look into how the Broncos can maximize Tillman and the depth they have at that position here. But I also think we should probably hint on the fact that, you know, for a guy like Tillman, he has an opportunity here to do a little bit more, not just as, you know, an outside lineback. I mean, Sarah, the one thing I would say I noticed when watching the film of him last year, he is deceptively quick for a guy of his size. And it really, you know, we talk about first step for outside lineback.

I'm talking about more so his second step in a sense, you know, because a lot of the times where the Broncos used him and got home on quarterbacks in terms of sacks, they were on different stunt looks where, hey, you've got, you've got Zach Allen who's really the focus that the offensive line is paying attention to. He's commanding a double team.

And then it's leading to Dondre coming inside, having a one-on-one where he is beating the offensive lineman, the offensive guard there, either with the speed move or with a power move. He's got a hybrid package in terms of his pass rush arsenal. I'm excited to see how that can maximize here in 2025. And Broncos country, we're not done yet on today's episode of the show. We're going to dive deeper into how the Broncos can maximize and why Dondre Tillman will be in line for more snaps here in 2025 here on today's episode,

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Minimum purchase required, new customers only, terms and conditions apply. See site for complete details. Well, the Denver Broncos have a plethora of past rush depth, maybe led by Dondray Tillman, a breakout undrafted rookie who came from the UFL last year. But how can they maximize what he brings to the table? Can they get him more snaps this year? Because quite honestly, you've got some high-priced guys out there. Nick Benito going to get a big contract soon.

Jonathan Cooper already got his contract extension. And then you also have Jonah Ellis factoring into the mix. So a lot of guys out there that need to get work. do you get Dondre Tillman the most work possible? We're going to talk about that on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos and Broncos country. Thanks so much for making us your first listen of the day every single day. We appreciate you all so much for tuning in.

And if you haven't done so already, you know your boys, Cody and Sarah will have you covered every single day. So hit subscribe wherever you listen or on YouTube. Cody, let's talk about how to maximize Donry Tillman because I was watching the clips that you posted that you were referencing earlier. And it's just, it's exciting to have a guy like that. on the team that's, you know, the expectations from the fan base are relatively low because I think he's kind of playing with house money a little bit out there.

It's like, hey, you go out there, you're getting a, you're getting a shot, you're a UFO guy, your undrafted guy. You don't, it's like, is that Elvis Dumerville still? Who's wearing number 92 anymore? So he's kind of playing with house money out there. But now that there's proof of concept that he can be an impact player. Fans are going to now expect like, hey, when, when Tillman's out there, he's going to have to be making plays, how can the Broncos really maximize what he does best?

Well, yeah, and look, you want to take advantage of him while he's an exclusive rights free agent. He signed his tender over the weekend and know you've had a guy like that on your roster for the last couple of years in the secondary and J-Quann Macmillan, right? And you've seen what you've been able to do. It's like, all right, hey, this guy with his journey as an undrafted guy comes through. You have some cost control when it comes to how you can pay him and manage him financially. Well, now you're getting, you know, a couple of guys that were really the undrafted rookie free agent path that have produced that have become a little bit of a household name. Can Dandre Tillman become more of a household name here in his second season in the NFL?

I think it's possible and here's how they can do it, Sarah. Look, we've talked about Jonathan Cooper, Nick Benito. Those are your solidified guys. I wouldn't be surprised that the Broncos come up with certain packages where maybe you have Nick Benito and Dondre Tillman in on one series, right? Or Jonathan Cooper, Dundre Tillman, right? Not just saying like, hey, you're going to start, but you know, what does this do? what kind of package is it?

Is it a heavy package? Do you go to a penny front, maybe out of the extra defensive lineman, and where maybe Dondre can slide in as an extra defensive lineman in that situation while you still have Benito and Cooper on the outside? I think anything is on the table here. I think obviously an uptick and defensive snap percentage will definitely be key here for the Broncos.

And with Jonah Ellis coming off of the shoulder injury, obviously he had shoulder surgery this offseason. How does that impact him? I think he's going to be ready to go for the team's voluntary offseason program. which begins here in a couple weeks for the Broncos. I think he'll be ready to roll for training camp here from what I have been told there. We'll continue to monitor that. But Dondrey Tillman now has a chance to kind of do a little bit more, right?

If there's a pitch count here for Jonah Ellis, all right, we'll let Dondray Tillman, you know, get a lion's share of those books. But I think one thing we have to follow here, Sarah, that certainly could play out. Remember, you know, as much as you and I have talked about John Franklin Myers and how he should be paid, this is a guy who wants to be paid. And he's made it very known publicly that he's made it very known publicly that he's. wants to be paid and it kind of seems like there's been some frustration that he hasn't had a contract extension yet. And he's got every right to feel that way, 100%.

But I was thinking about this as well when watching the Dandre Tillman tape. We talked about his ability because of his size. Could he slide into some D-end at, you know, at some point? If the Bronco is run into any kind of snag here with a guy like JFM with, you know, a contract situation, could Tillman maybe rotate and play there a little bit more and help out? I certainly think that's a possibility to look at here. Well, I think when you're talking about a guy who has this kind of pass rush talent, strength at the point of attack, I feel like anything is on the table, right?

And because he's kind of done some of these things before we saw on his tape at the UFL level, he's kind of sliding all around the defensive front. And they utilize him in that way. So it's not like it would be learning something new for him. It would be doing something different than he's done really as a Denver Bronco, but it's nothing new. And I think that's the exciting aspect of it is that you can get creative. creative with getting him on the field more. And I can't help but wonder also, Cody, if, you know, there's the stuff with John Franklin Myers right now, at what point does the contract negotiation

discussion become an issue with Nick Benito as well? And do the Broncos look at, hey, we've got Jonathan Cooper under contract. We've got Jonah Ellis. He's got three years left on his rookie deal. We've got team control on, on Dondre Tillman. As of right now, he just signed his exclusive rights, free agent tender, which means next year, he'll be. be a restricted free agent, which is very reasonable for the team to re-sign him. So it's one of those things to where I, I mean, you can't help but wonder, right? You just can't help but wonder, do you explore trade ideas? Do you start thinking about that kind of stuff?

You want to keep your own, you want to draft and develop and resign and keep your guys in-house. But at the same time, you've got players who can play. And if you've got guys who can step in and play starting roles for you that are cost-effective, That's kind of the way things go in the NFL. It's not just the Denver Broncos. And you want to be able to keep everybody. Absolutely.

But nobody can keep everybody. So I think it opens up a whole can of worms of this discussion where, you know, there's anything and everything should be on the table with this guy's development last year. Well, I have seen some takes on social media. Some fans have responded like, oh, you know, I'd be comfortable trading away Nick Benito, if this means that Tillman gets to start. Like the Broncos would be okay. I don't know if I would ever go to those links.

I don't agree. I think that would be an awful idea for the Broncos to do. Look, obviously, contract negotiations take some time and it can, it could be a process that plays out. But I feel like if you have a stable environment in which the Broncos do, you know, a good locker room, I feel like those issues don't really come to the forefront. I don't think it's going to be an issue here for the Broncos.

I think you and I mentioned it when we were talking about last week, contract extension talks really taking place after the draft for the Broncos. That's going to be their focus there. What does that look like for Nick Benito? You know, maybe it's, maybe it's as simple as maybe, you know, some people think it will be. Maybe the Broncos will get something done with Nick Benito relatively quickly, whereas you and I were thinking, hey, this could maybe drag out into the regular season. It could drag out into next off season where there could be the potential franchise tag conversation while they work on a deal in good faith.

You know, you want to be able to see what you have from your younger guys. In the event, something like that happens, in the event that there was ever a holdout, I don't think that's ever going to be the case. but you know instances like dandre tillman jonah ellis those guys what they've demonstrated early on is a big sign here for like hey we're comfortable there but what does dandre tillman look like in a starting role i mean sarah we only have ufel tape to go off of in that kind of instance we don't have that here with him in the nfl and obviously you know with his size is that something that would kind of wear down over time whereas you look at jonathan cooper nick benito these guys are a combination of physical you know speed rusher ultra-ax athletic guys, whereas Tillman is more of that power rush, that brute guy who's got deceptive athleticism to his pass rush arsenal. To me, you know, I like the guys that you have, but if the Broncos lose or like, you know, due to an injury, you know, a guy like Jonathan Cooper or Nick Bedito, I don't know how I'd

feel about the Broncos pass rush overall because the volume of snaps for these guys will increase in terms of not coming off the field. How does that impact your rotation? Obviously, you'd have to maybe sign a guy from the practice squad to your active roster in that situation. What would these guys be able to do with a more expansive role? I think that's a question and we don't necessarily have the answer to, though we've seen the flashes here.

So I think ultimately the Broncos, they're in a good position here with their pass rush depth with Jonathan Cooper, Nick Benito, Dandre Tillman, and also Jonah Ellis, as well as those two guys are really preparing for their second year in the National Football League. But we also have to ask the question here, though, Broncos country, is the position set at Eddrusher for Denver going into 2025. I'll tell you why I'm comfortable with who they have and why they have that. We'll see where Sarah's at here on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos. Today's episode of Lockdown Broncos is brought to you by our friends over there at Fandu.

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And don't miss out. Head over to Fandual.com and claim your $250 in bonus bets today. The fourth quarter action of today's episode, Lockdown Broncos, is here. And we're going to dive deeper into the Broncos edge rusher position heading into the 2025 NFL draft. Is this a position that Broncos need to add to here in the draft? Or are they comfortable with what they have? Plus, is there a practice squad jam maybe already on their hands? We'll debate and discuss that here on today's episode of the show real quick. I want to say thanks once again to the everydayers in Broncos country.

Thanks for tuning in and making us your first listen. This show is not what it is without the avid support of all of you in Broncos country. So we appreciate you for taking time out of your day to interact with us. However, you choose to do so here. Sarah, continuing on with this discussion, we've really highlighted Dondre Tillman, really kind of asking the question here right now. When it comes to Nick Benito, Jonathan Cooper, Jonah Ellis, Dondre Tillman, in your opinion, do you think the Broncos pass rush is set for next season?

I think relatively so, yes, I do. I think that they could go if they had a game on Sunday this week. I think they'd be set good to go, right? You and I have talked about the possibility of adding another player, whether it's through the draft or free agency where you can find veterans, like I feel like Von Miller would be amenable to coming back on a reduced role. And I would still be very much in favor of that. Like that wasn't a prisoner of the moment kind of thing.

I just think with the way, I think he played 279 snaps last year for the Buffalo Bills, had five or six sacks in that time frame. And it just feels right to bring him back to close out his careers. But he's not the only option, right? There's plenty of other veterans out there that could make sense. on a short-term deal to provide some depth for you. You've already got guys who play special teams, though, Cody, right?

I mean, we talked about it with Tillman, but Jonah Ellis also plays special teams. And Jonathan Cooper, good at it, too, when he's asked to play special teams. So there's guys that can do that stuff. I think you never say no in the NFL draft either when it comes to, hey, this guy's sitting on the board here, and he's, you know, six foot five, you know, 255 pounds and runs a four or five in the four-yard dash. Like, you think about those kind of guys.

right and you you consider bringing them in so i think that there's always something on the table when it comes to pass rushers but for the broncos we know they like to find those diamonds in the rough too so i wouldn't be surprised if it's a a guy who maybe was super productive at the college level didn't test very well in the pre-draft process who comes in as a priority undrafted player or maybe a veteran who's got some experience well and the broncos i kind of teased it at the start of this segment here talking about the Broncos could have a little bit of a practice squad gem on their hands as is. And I'm referencing KJ.

Coyd, he's on the Broncos roster. He signed a futures contract after the offseason. He was one of those guys. He signed on the Broncos practice squad in December. And this was something that honestly, I don't ever remember seeing or like even noticing at practice. I didn't notice him, you know, at this point. But at the end of the year, you know, you walk it through the hallways and you're seeing like

scout team player of the week or seeing some of these things hung up on the walls about some of these players. I'm like, wait, who's KJ Coy? Like, I was like, wait, who is that guy? Then at the end of the season, you know, you had a chance to see, you know, he got the news that he was going to be signing a futures contract, right? This was at the end of the year where we got to go in the locker room kind of that final day really after the playoff game.

And he's talking to Jonathan Cooper just about like, you know, hey, thank you so much for like everything that you've taught me has helped me. And he's like, Jonathan Cooper is like, hey, I'm proud of you. You put in the work. You made all of us better. You made the offense better in this way. Like, so they have a guy in their hands. that could maybe be a little bit of a practice squad jam.

Maybe you got to watch here if you're going into training camp Broncos country. And obviously KJ. Coyd, you know, he played three years of college football in the ACC at Louisville. And then his final year, he went to Miami in 2023, where this really, where he had a feature role in 13 games. He had 44 tackles. He had seven tackles for a loss behind the line of scrimmage. And he had two sacks, obviously on the year, one pass defense.

But this is a guy who's six foot two, 215, 220 pounds. you know, athletic, has some good height to him, could be one of those guys that maybe fits the mold or maybe what a Jonathan Cooper does, you know, maybe could be a rotational guy for Cooper, or if you have an injury to a guy like a Jonah Ellis or a Dondre Tillman, or if you have to move Dondre Tillman to a defensive end, this is a guy. I think we're going to keep our eyes on in training camp and obviously the preseason. But I agree with you, Sarah. I mean, if you find a guy, like Denver's not in the need right now to draft a player that's

going to come in three or four years from now and be a starter for you, right? I think the idea is if you're going to get a guy in the draft as an edge rusher, he's going to be a rotational guy. He's going to come in and compete. So that kind of tells me it's going to be taken off the table a little bit. This is more than likely be like a round five, round six type of pick. Not any of the earlier rounds that the Broncos may have here. Definitely wouldn't be, I think, a top 100 pick there for Denver.

But also, I mean, yeah, I'm not opposed as well to Vaughn Miller at this point still. You want to bring in a guy and obviously you set the clear cut expectation that, you know, I, Vaughn, you know, you're here in Denver. Obviously, you know, your story, your former number two overall pick, your Super Bowl MVP here for this team years ago here. But the future is now, in a sense. And so he would have to be okay with the rotational role here. But also, I think what we have seen from Jonah Ellis, from Dandre Tillman, you know,

it's like, do you really want to sacrifice what you're continuing to see with those guys to bring Vaughn back? Like, how would that role work out if you had five eddressers? Because typically, what we've seen. the Broncos game day roster when they do their inactive. Let's say you have five pass rushers at that position. One or two of those guys typically could be on the inactive list. So do you want to just waste up a roster spot just for the sake of it? I mean, I don't know how it would work, but that's why I think you have more flexibility

to practice squad type player like KJ Coyd. But like I said, you're one injury away from being in dire straits to saying, okay, hey, we may need to look at the bigger picture of this position. Knock on wood, hopefully that does not happen to any of the Broncos. players at this point. But I think really they're in a good position to be flexible with their edge rush position. And maybe they might prioritize it saying, hey, we're okay with having four outside linebackers, but maybe we're going to add to the defensive line, to a D-end position, to a D-Tackle. That might be where the Broncos decide to maybe say, hey, we're going to invest

here more so than the outside edge. Here's what's going to be really interesting to see is how the new kickoff, you know, the touchback rule coming out to the 35, how that affects your game day roster and even your 53 man roster because the extra defensive linemen aren't going to be as valuable anymore in terms of, you know, you don't necessarily want to bring six guys onto your 53 or seven guys onto your 53 on the defensive line because you're going to need to use those big 240, 250 pound guys playing in the kickoffs where they expect an uptick from what? I think it was like 30 something percent to 60 something or 70 something percent this coming season. Those guys are going to be absolutely essential out there, which I mean, Andrew Farmer is another

guy on the roster, Cody, who's got some athleticism to him, a 23 undrafted player who's kind of intriguing and signed back with the team as well this off season or last year, excuse me, but I think that those types of guys, like the edge players who can play special teams, they're going to be so, so valuable out there on kickoff as well. And that's an additional how many snaps every season, right? I mean, it'll add up over the course of time. And you need to have athletic big guys out there that can get off blocks, that can make tackles. So that's going to be fascinating to see. How does that adjust your rosters? And does it adjust how many guys you bring onto the game day active? Because last year, it was Drew Sanders, was the fifth guy. And the Broncos at the end of the

year, they did use him. They brought him in. And you and I were both saying, well, it's hard to see a path for Drew Sanders to get onto the field and get snaps. All of a sudden, he sacks, Justin Herbert, right? So it's really, really going to be interesting to see how different the strategy is here in 2025. And I think so much of that, we'll find out, obviously, maybe some vision-based ideas after the NFL draft happens. Part of me is wondering when it comes to edge rusher here, I don't think that they're going to get one in the NFL draft in any of the rounds that they have, though I think we may see them add one or two guys as undrafted rookie free agents. And look, they had quite a bit of guys last year, obviously throughout training camp.

Thomas In Coom was one of those guys that, you know, made the 53 men roster the year prior. It's escaping me at the top of my head who the, I think it was Jalen Allen, if I'm not mistaken. They had somebody that stood out in training camp on a day-to-day basis. I'm like, how could this guy didn't make the consideration to make the practice squad? Like, what's happening here? There's a different path they can take. But usually they'll add a couple of guys I think is undrafted guys and bring them in. I mean, look at that. Denver has found some success with that path with Dandre Tillman.

Is there another guy in the UFL that may be going to look at the bring in and say, hey, we like what we saw from this guy. This is what makes, I think, the buildup of the off season, the offseason program, which begins here in a couple weeks. I think it makes it a little more exciting because you're still in the process after the draft where you're trying to finalize that 90-man roster. You're going to have your draft class. But now it's like we're going to go through and add a ton of UDFAs to be able to see how do we fill this out.

maybe make a couple of signings, free agent signings as well. That's where I'm excited to see the roster and maybe the vision building process here play out. I think the Broncos scouting department has been exceptionally well in the last handful of years of identifying those guys. But how can Sean Payton, George Payton, and this coaching staff maximize those types of players here going into Sean Payton's third year in the NFL. What that said, Broncos country, we appreciate you so much for tuning in making lockdown Broncos your first listen. however you choose to do so on your favorite podcasting providers here. But we'll be back for another episode of the show tomorrow. Broncos country, we're going to continue to highlight this roster.

We're going to look at cornerback here for Damari Mathis. What does the outlook look like for Damari here in 2025? It's his back against the wall. Can he fight to make the 53-man roster here once again? We'll debate and discuss that on tomorrow's episode, Lockdown Broncos.