Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - Denver Broncos PATH To Winning 12+ Games Begins With STRONG Run Game

Episode Date: June 9, 2025

The Denver Broncos path to winning 12 or more games this upcoming season starts and ends with a strong running game. The Broncos RB position will have more of an impact in determining 12 wins than the WR position. Plus, Broncos Country wants to know if J.K. Dobbins will sign with the team at some point, and which defensive position is most important going into training camp. 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 LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime. Skylight CalendarRight now, Skylight is offering our listeners $30 off their 15 inch Calendars by going to Skylightcal.com/NFL. 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. Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNFL at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. 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.

If the Denver Broncos are going to win more than 10 games in 2025, the running back and wide receiver production has to take it to the next level. We'll look at what that may be for the Broncos and how they can do that here on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos. You are Locked on Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. What's happened at Broncos country? Happy Monday.

Welcome into another episode. Lockdown Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day for all your Broncos news, content coverage. And now this is the place to be every single day all year long. A special shout out to all 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 day or subscribe or follow wherever you get your podcast or on YouTube,

so you never miss out on what's going on with your favorite team. Another big week here for the Broncos mandatory minicamp is coming up. We're going to go through a Broncos mailbag here today. But as always, I'm Cody Roark. The Broncos reporter for Mile High Sports, where you can check out my written work over there daily, milehighsports.com. And I'm Sarah Bedinger,

site expert predominantly orange, where you can catch my written work every day as well. We appreciate you so much. And here's what you're going to get on today's episode of the show. We're going to open up our handy dandy mailbag. You know, we just got a letter, and I wonder who it's from. A lot of members of Broncos country sent in some great questions here,

but we're going to take a look at if the Broncos are going to win more than 10 games this upcoming season, how much does there have to be an increase in production from the running back and the wide receiver position. That's a meltback question sent in from an avid listener. Plus, everybody wants to know about J.K. Dobbins. Will he sign with the Broncos? Will the Broncos sign him at some point?

We might have a little bit of a timeline for what that may look like if he does end up signing to the Mile High City. And then we're going to look at the most important defensive position group going into camp, obviously mandatory mini camp, training camp, and which younger players have a chance to emerge and get crucial snaps this upcoming season. We've got a lot to break down here today. So, Sarah, let's open up. our mailbag on today's episode of the show. Our first one is going to come in from our good friend, Dark Wolf Brocco.

And he goes on right here and he's asking a question, do you think that the running back room and the wide receivers as a whole take the next step in development to carry the offense to a 12-win season or better? And if so, Sarah, what does that look like? What is the next step of development? First off, let's start with running back and then we'll get into wide receiver. Yeah, I think they will take that step. think it's really going to be difficult for them not to because last year at the running back

spot was really bad. I mean, unfortunately, the last two seasons with Javante Williams just have not been very good. And then the Broncos kind of trying to just find a hot hand out there, whatever way they can find it, right? They've been trying everybody. And last year, especially, pretty much everybody that they had on the roster at running back going into training camp seemed to get some regular season carries and some run. And I think that that's really indicative of the problem at hand is that there was nobody that they felt they could really feature in the offense. And I think RJ Harvey is poised to change that. Cody, of course, you never know if J.K. Dobbins comes in. He can help raise the floor of that group as well. But the skill positions

as a whole, I do feel like they're ready to take this team to that next level, whether it's 12 wins or like you and I've talked about, and they left a little bit of meat on the bone last year as well. I mean, they won 10 games, but could have easily won 13 or 14 based on the way things went, especially in one score game. So it's really one of those position groups that you almost feel, how could it possibly be worse? Now, you don't want to say that because you got to knock on wood and be like, well, yeah,

I hope it doesn't get any worse than last year. But man, you can't help but feel like with just any sort of change at all will bring about a positive result for the Broncos at running back and receiver. Well, let's take a look at just how bad some of those numbers were. When you put it into perspective in terms of ranking, offensively, the Broncos, they ranked 23rd in the NFRAs. fell in overall rushing touchdowns last year as a team. They had 12 rushing touchdowns on the ground.

Bo Nix, he had four of those, right? So you're quarterback-based runs at that point. Now you're talking about a difference where you had eight rushing touchdowns amongst all of your other running backs, right? The Adrick Estimates, the Giovante Williams, the Jalil McLaughlins. That right there simply isn't good enough. We're not even Michael Burton, the fullback at this point. That is not good.

Like, in my opinion, that next step for that running back room here as a unit, As a team, you need to have at least 20 rushing touchdowns, I believe, at least in that 20 to 25 range in there. And then it's balanced, right? Because offensively, Denver had 30 total passing touchdowns offensively, 29 by Bow Nix, one by Cortland Sutton, and they were seventh overall in the NFL and passing touchdowns. And that's just where I think the running back position,

as Sean Payton said, we did an episode where we heard from Sean where he said, we love our offensive line. And, you know, this is an all-line group that permeates throughout our entire building. But the one thing about it is, is we felt like we left some meat on the bone on some rushes last year. That's not an indictment on the offensive line. That's an indictment on the running back room. So obviously, there is widespread competition for this position right now. And that's going to be under the microscope heavily this week with mandatory mini camp Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. And obviously, after that, training camp is up next. So that's

going to be what we're going to be talking about primarily most days is training camp position battles, running back, running back, running back. What did it look like? Who stood out? that's where it's going to be key. Now, for a wide receiver, I mean, Sarah, in order for them to take the next step, I don't necessarily, I don't believe that they're going to have to have just one guy, like two guys come out and get double digit touchdowns. That would be great. Could you imagine a year where let's say Cortland gets 10 receiving touchdowns? Marvin Mims has like 10. And then your next guy,

let's say like Troy Franklin or Devon Vail, have like seven or eight. That's more balanced than what we've seen from Denver and last handful of years. In order for wide receiver to take that next step forward in that development, I don't think it's necessarily about production. I think it's about defined roles and understanding like, hey, we're going to create opportunities, mismatches against the defense that's going to open up more one-on-ones. That's why I think Evan Ingram,

that's why I think Troy Franklin, Marvin Mims, Pat Bryan, these guys are going to have established roles here. That's going to help Cortland Sutton obviously evolve a little bit. To me, I think if the Broncos are going to win more than 10 games, if they're going to win that 12 game range there, it has to be, in my opinion, the more pressure is on the running back position right now than I think the receivers. Yeah, it is because that passing game is going to be able to be opened up by the running game and the success that they have.

I mean, the Broncos were among the worst in the NFL last year at three and outs. And the big part of that is that you're not getting ahead of the sticks with the running game. And that was a big reason why the team didn't commit to the running game. And of course, when your running game is flowing well, gives you more chances and more plays throughout the course of a game. We got more plays. You can throw more passes or you can run the ball. I mean, it comes down to just that simple math. of really last year, your offense is getting off the field too quickly because they are going

three and out or they're going, you know, four plays and out or whatever it may be and just not having that sustained success. So yes, the running game being better is going to give you much more opportunities to feature those players in the passing game. But at receiver, those guys got to be more consistent in stepping up. They can't keep dropping passes. That's, that was a, I mean, a big reason other than the running game, kind of a big reason why they went three and out so often last years because you're dropping passes. You're not bailing out your quarterback. He's putting the ball on a spot and you're not making a play for him. You know, there's so many different things that I think, okay, yeah, you can point to this, you can point to that. But the tough part is that you can't really

point to one particular player. And if you want to, I guess that guy's out of the building with Javante Williams being gone. So at wide receiver, those guys just have to be, like you said, their roles are more defined. And now that your role is more defined, can you step up when your number is called. You're not necessarily going to get, you know, everybody's not getting 120 targets. Everybody's not getting that high volume to say, hey, you got some margin for error out here. I think there's a lower margin for error. But certainly these playmakers, they have an opportunity this season to take this team, not just the offense, to a new level, right? And that's a 10th scoring offense in the league last year. And that was with a lot of struggles, a lot of growing

A lot of young players. So now you've got a chance to take that step forward. And what does that look like? Well, like you said, you could be kind of every week and just wondering, hey, who's going to have the big game this week instead of who's going to step up? Can anybody step up this week? Yeah, that's the mystery. And look, that's something that's Sean Payton is working to solve here.

Let's go to another mailback question here. Camp Marco, what are the chances of Nate Adkins beating out Michael Burton for the fullback position? What would it mean for expanded playbook options with Adkins? it seems like Peyton could go crazy with the receiving threat from the fullback position. I mean, right now we haven't seen a guy like Nate Atkins working in a fullback necessarily because guess what? The fullback's job is physicality.

We're not in a point where there's physicality involved yet. I could see it. I think when you look at versatile weapon, especially like Michael Burton had an impact in the receiving game, but it was like catching a pass in the flat and then getting yards after the catch-up field or getting a touchdown, which he did a couple of times. Nate Adkins has that work from playing in line. or offset. So I think it matches up from a, you know, paper standpoint,

from a role standpoint. We could see it happen. Will we? I don't know. That's one that we're probably going to have to wait till training camp to have a little bit more of a clear understanding on. Right, because is Nate Adkins, we don't see a ton of him playing that traditional fullback role.

I mean, like you said, he moves around the formation and he does the things that he does as a, what he did at South Carolina, really just kind of playing all over the place, play little special teams. Michael Burton gives Sean Payton. gives Sean Payton that truly traditional, like, you know, 90s style fullback to where that guy's just out there to crack some face masks and occasionally get you one yard on a fullback dive. That's what Michael Burton does and he plays a ton of special teams. So can Nate Adkins take that role over?

I think he has the skill set for it. I mean, it certainly just has to be proven at this point. And if we start seeing him play more traditional fullback in the preseason at training camp, I mean, you might have an idea there that Michael Burton, may not be long for the roster. We'll see. And look, there's a lot of things that have to happen between now and then and extensive competitions throughout training camps and joint practices with the Cardinals, with the 49ers.

There's a lot that's going to unfold into how this team builds this roster. But we're excited. We'll keep you covered here every step of the way Broncos country. We're not done yet with our mailbag episodes. Broncos Country wants to know after J.K. Dobbins left the building without a deal and the Broncos still have him on the radar. Will he eventually sign with the Broncos? We'll tell you why we think that will be the case.

We'll also give you a timeline as to when that may have. happen. We'll go through all that and much more here on today's episode, Lockdown Brockos. Broncos Country. Today's episode, the show is brought to our friends over there at Monarch money. If you ever check your bank account and wonder where did all my money go? That's every single one of us. And I'm guarantee you've probably had a similar experience between dining out, online shopping and entertainment. It's easy to lose track. And that's where Monarch money comes in because Monarch Money is your own personal CFO giving you full visibility and control over your finances. Monarch Money, it isn't just a budgeting app. It's a completely

financial overview and command center where you can track all of your accounts, your investments and spending in one place. So you stop just managing your money and you start building wealth. It's that all in one convenience that really sets Monarch money apart. Cody, you mentioned it, that complete command center. So instead of juggling multiple apps, which I've been known to do in the past, you can use Monarch money to check your finances, track your spending, and even plan long-term goals all in just one app.

So take control of your finances with Monarch money. use the code locked on NFL at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. That's monarchmoney.com code locked on NFL for half off your first year. Cody and I both think the Denver Broncos are going to sign J.K. Dobbins at some points. You may even get a bonus episode of the show at some point whenever that happens. Maybe this week. Maybe this week. You never know. But we're going to tell you why we think that's going to happen.

and just break down sort of some of the whole situation there. What may be going on, why there may be a little bit of a delay. And thanks again so much for making us part of your day, Broncos Country. Cody, let's talk about that because J.K. Dobbins is obviously a very popular topic among Broncos country right now. It's one of those things that it's almost like, man, you almost wish you wouldn't even have known that he came to town because nobody will be thinking about it. And now that he's come to Denver, he's taking the picture from the airplane.

He's gone out to dinner with the team. He had a visit to the team facility. I think now most fans are kind of like, all right, now I kind of want this guy on the team now because you feel like all of a sudden you'd be missing out on something as opposed to the team didn't really have interest before. They're going with the young guys.

I still think that Dobbins is going to sign. I just don't know what are his other options right now. We haven't heard about any other visits and interest for him, which I think is interesting based on some of the numbers that you and I dug into last week. terms of after the contact, broken tackles. I think he's still going to sign. What do you think?

And why do you think maybe it's taking a bit here? Yeah. And look, this is a question I was sending out from a good friend, DeAndre Weatherspoon, asking us, will Denver eventually sign J.K. Dobbins? I'm in agreeance with you. I think that they will. I think right now, and this is my own personal opinion and speculation, I look at it from understanding how some NFL teams work and building their rosters.

Sarah, would you sign right now? would you sign a free agent running back or free agent any position that may require, you know, some standard money, not like if you're signing a, who is the tight end that they just signed, Caden pre-scorn or something like that, a guy who's probably not going to even sniff the active roster, that's a little bit of a different move. Whereas if you're saying, yeah, like J.K. Dobbins, there's going to be some guaranteed money conversations to be had with that, what that, what's that going to look like? But would you sign a guy if you do not have your first round draft pick signed yet

and your second round draft pick signed. I simply wouldn't yet. I would prioritize those guys because that's going to have a little bit more of a long-term picture as to, okay, here's what Capit's going to look like as a rookie, year two, year three, year four, and obviously for a first round pick like Jaude Baron, okay, you got your fifth round option. What is that going to look like? What was it when Pat's was coming up?

Wasn't it like $19 million or something like that where if he played on it, the last year was rookie deal, that's how much money he was going to earn if they picked up his fifth year. And now obviously they signed him to an extension. and that's a very, very team friendly, low cap hit, even though he's got a lot of well-deserved money there. So to me, I wouldn't do that. I would not sign a guy until I take care of my first round pick and obviously the running back. Because right now, those guys are participating, coming into it as it stands right now,

mandatory minicamp. They're under an injury protection agreement, which they sign back at rookie minicamp, which means if they get injured, they are protected in a sense. But you don't want to have that just lingering over. You want to get that deal done. and the financials are always tricky with that because then after you do that, okay, yeah, we can sign a guy like J.K. Dobbins. Dobbins is interested in playing for the Broncos.

The Broncos are interested in him. I think that's the conversation that's being had right now is we got to take care of our rookies. Then they take care of him. And then that opens up the contract extension talks for guys like Cortland Sutton. It allows them to get to where they need to be. I think by the time training camp starts. I'm curious for your thoughts on this. How do you feel about that?

Because I got the vibe that J.K. he wants to be a Bronco. He wants to play the Chargers twice a year. He posted the highlight tape showing that like, hey, there were a lot of people that overlooked him this offseason and free agency. He's got a little chip on his shoulder. And I think the Bronco is Sean Painter,

the perfect, it's like a perfect relationship to kind of pair to be able to unleash that a little bit. Yeah, it is. I think that aspect of it throws a nice wrinkle into it that makes, you know, your rivalry with the Chargers a little more interesting. And like we talked about,

I just, I don't understand why you would get rid of Dobbins and bring in Najee Harris. I don't understand that aspect of it, but maybe that's an episode for the Chargers guys, who are great, by the way. Awesome guys, always love talking to them throughout the season. But I'd be interested to know their perspective on that because Dobbins, I feel like, is pretty well liked by the Charger fan base. I think they kind of wanted him back after the season that he had to see, hey, can you run it back? Can you do that? In terms of the financial aspect of things, I do believe, Cody, that we're getting into the territory where

Jada Baron and R.J. Harvey count against your top 51. not in the off season, you've got a 90-man roster. Not everybody counts against the top 51, right? Obviously, you can't have that. If you were to count every contract that's on the salary cap right now, every team would be over the cap, basically, right? Not every team, but you get what I'm saying. The top 51 is what you count in the off season,

and then you change it to 53 at the regular season. So the rookie contracts typically are so low in their cap hit year one that they don't even count against your top 51. That's why anytime anybody tells you, hey, it's going to be 20 million to sign this rookie class or it's going to be 15 million to sign this rookie class. That's not exactly true, right? It doesn't count that much against the cap right away. But Jada Barron's deal, it should count just over $3 million against the cap. And then R.J. Harvey, excuse me, I think it's going to be somewhere in the two. you know, 2.5, I can't remember exactly what it is, but it's going to count against the top 51.

So like you said, that's a factor when you talk about the overall cap space. We want to do the extensions. We want to get the rookies in place. But we also, maybe they're, maybe they'll throw some void years onto a deal for J.K. Dobbins. That's kind of an interesting thought as well that more teams are doing now. So I think that's all factoring in as a, hey, okay, we're, we're all interested here. Let's pause and get this all figured out.

I would have guesstimate at this point that the moment you get Jada Baron R.J. Harvey signed, I don't think long after that, like if J.K. Dobbins is still unsigned, doesn't go and visit any other team, and no other team out there signs him. I think there's a good chance that you'll see the Broncos and him come to terms on a contract, which leads us now into another question sent in on my light. Blurper on our YouTube page sent in a question. Why do media members insist discussing the RB1 narrative,

although it is beyond meaningless. Thanks. I understand where you're coming from here, especially when we look at Sean Payton's offense. Sean Payton is a by-committee approach coach. Now, the idea of like, you know me, I think title and guys RB1, RB2, RB3, wide receiver one, I think that's more of a fantasy football kind of terminology. Whereas I look at a guy like J.K. Dobbins,

and when I see how he might fit in Sean's system, I think that there's a really good chance he could be the primary guy who touches the ball the most, in terms on a snap to snap basis, whereas you can work different guys in. RJ Harvey, I know is going to have a heavy workload here for this offense this upcoming season, but I think that a guy like J.K. Dobbins, John would bring him in to be the primary guy. And then you sprinkle in a guy like RJ Harvard,

maybe have that Darren Sprouls-like impact as a rookie and not put too much on his plate necessarily, although I think that a guy like RJ Harvey Harvey would welcome, you know, an extensive workload. Yeah, it's all about that question of who's going to be featured at the running back position, right? I mean, the last two years, it was Giovante Williams. And it's not about who's the starter on the depth chart because like you said, Cody, you're going to rotate those guys in no matter what. I mean, shoot, McLaughlin had starts last year. I mean, estimate how to start last year. It doesn't matter who starts the game. That's not what the question is about. The RB1 question is really a matter of, okay, who's going to be the featured back? And that is important. Like, who's,

because whoever is the featured running back in the Sean Payton offense, it's going to be determining a lot of the success of the overall unit because you're filtering so much through that guy. And you might have two guys that can carry a relatively equal workload. And I'm sure that would be kind of the ideal world, even for the Broncos, where you would have like a Dobbins and RJ Harvey and then you may be sprinkling somebody else there. But I think that's the question when you talk about RB1 is it's not about, well, we're so preoccupied. and worried about who's the starter? Like who's going to be out there running out of the tunnel? We don't care who runs out of the tunnel. Except for that quarterback and offensive line.

Everybody else, they're going to rotate, right? That's what matters. So running back one is you can shift it and reframe it for the blurper. You can say, hey, it's all about who's that featured back. Who's going to lead this team in touches? Who's going to be the back that leads this team in targets, carries? That's what we're asking in that question. Well, I think the one thing we don't know is how Bo Nixon using his legs

on the ground is going to play a dynamic in that, right? Overall touches last year, 2024. Javante Williams had 139 attempts. By that definition, he was the primary ball carrier for them. Jolulu McLaughlin, 113, 13 rushing attempts. So, you know, a good 20 or so behind Javante at that point. The next close one, Bo Nix, 92 total rushing attempt. And that's not factoring him, him scrambling and escaping pressure.

We're not even, doesn't even factor in like, we don't know what the number of design runs were for him. And then, Audrick Estimate had 70, overall rushing attempts after that. So if a healthy Bo Nix, knowing that, you know, hey, he doesn't have transverse process fractures in his back, does that rushing attempt number go up for Bonix in terms of we're going to give him more design runs?

And obviously, you're going to factor. And he still has the ability to scramble out when he's filling pressure. I mean, that's a big part of the run game here. And then what does it look like for, you know, the guys in this running back room right now? And then I look at Tyler Badegh, 11 rushing attempts last season. Blake Watson, only four in just two games played last. year. So yeah, I mean, I think realistically speaking, you're going to find two guys at that position at running back. There's going to be two. I don't know if it's going to be, I don't think it's going to be three.

Who are the two guys that are going to get the most touches there? If J.K. Dobbins signs, in my opinion, it's going to be J.K. Dobbins on R.J. Harvey. and then the other guys are going to have to be fighting for scraps, whatever may be. But I think it's a great question. We'll see how it all plays out there. But Broncos Country, our Melbag episode is not done just yet. We have a lot to break down, including Broncos Country wanting to know which defensive position. group is the most important going into mandatory minicamp and training camp and which one has the most room for an underdog to come up and challenge for real snaps this upcoming season.

We'll tell you why that's in the secondary here for the Broncos here on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos. Mandatory minicamp is this week and there are going to be a lot of storylines we have our eyes on as the Broncos will go through three days of practice this week. And then they'll be off for about four, four and a half weeks before coming back for the start of training camp where the 2025 Broncos is in Sean Payton. They're looking to do more than just win 10 games like they did this up the past season. They want to host a playoff game. They want to advance further to the playoffs.

And everything begins this week with some of the storylines here. But we're going to continue with our mailbag episode here on today's episode of the show. Sarah, let's get right into it. Our good friend Rob Dickison sends in a question here and asks, what defensive position group do you think training camp is the most important for and has the most room for an underdog to come up and challenge for real snaps this year? I look at that question from Rob, I automatically think the cornerback room. I think the secondary is probably where this is going to be.

Where are you leaning at on it? I would say in terms of the most important in training camp, I think about the evaluation process and I think about linebacker. I think that's going to be an important training camp for the offball linebacker position to sort that position group out. Of course, we believe that Dre Greenlaw is going to be a starter there. It seems like Alex Singleton could be trending towards another starting, But shoot, I think that's where an underdog could really come up and challenge for snaps because I think that's your most unsettled position on that side of the ball right now.

You have solidified guys at corner and safety and off the edge and on the D line. Everywhere else seems to be relatively set. But at linebacker feels like that's an opportunity space right there where somebody could come up and say, I'm going to take this job because, you know, this guy's not practicing or this guy's not right. Who would that be in your opinion? Who is that underdog at linebacker? I think that if you look at the roster, man, it's got to be one of the undrafted guys, doesn't it? I mean, it's got to be somebody like, I don't know, maybe is it Lavel Bailey coming back after last year?

Is it J.B. Brown or Corrine Reed, Jordan Turner? It would be one of those guys. I think that would be a surprise player to come up from, you know, out of the dark. What about Drew Sanders? Do you think he would still fall into that category? I don't know. Would you be surprised if Drew Sanders? I guess at this point, maybe some people would be surprised if Drew ends up being a starter.

That's an interesting question. If he upends Alex Singleton, I would be surprised, right? But I also think that would be good news. I think not like Alex Singleton gets uprooted. I'm not, no, I think don't want that to happen to Alex. I like Alex. I think Alex is a terrific player. But like if Alex gets upended at all in the lineup and if it's by Drew Sanders, then okay,

the Broncos really saw something in Drew. I mean, that could be something we, you know, we keep an eye on at. For linebacker, though, even the question, I think, okay, let's look at it. Do you feel like this, if Alex Singleton is fully healthy, Drey Greenlaw's fully healthy? Is this as much of that position group that you're worried about if those guys are fully healthy? No, I guess not. I mean, I think that'd be the one area that I'd be, you know, more hesitant about than the others,

right? Because you have two guys with injury history. Drey Greenlaw has a pretty extensive recent injury history. Alex Singleton coming off an injury, and he's past the age of 30. So that's always an extra added layer of the concern. But I think to me, I just feel more solidified, right? And I guess you could argue, well, the safety position, I mean,

Brandon Jones was hurt last year. And, you know, Talenoa, Hufanga's always been hurt. But I don't know for some reason, why is that? Why is it that you feel? Is it just because literally right now Hufanga and Jones are practicing and Greenlaw and Singleton or not? Maybe that is the case. Maybe it's, I don't know if that's recency bias or if you want to call it that,

but I think when we get to training camp, we may have sort of a better feel for, all right, shoot, this position group kind of has me, like, has the sirens going off in my head a little bit, or at least the, you know, the lights kind of flickering on and off. You're blinking there as it's kind of a warning sign. That's kind of how I feel about linebacker. I don't know that I feel the same way about safety, though. Okay.

No, I think that's fair. And I think there are a lot of Broncos fans that probably feel the same exact way. I mean, it is one of those positions that doesn't bring you like when you, you don't sleep peacefully at night around this position right now because there's just so many unknowns. Hopefully those unknowns become known factors towards the, you know, the season and training camp. You see the development there.

I said secondary here. I mean, safety plays into that. But I'm also thinking cornerback is probably going to be the most important position in my opinion going into to camp. And obviously, when you talk about room for an underdog to come up, who would that underdog be right now in their room? Like to me, okay, there's J. Mack. there's PS2, there's Riley Moss, there's Jadae Barron.

Those guys aren't underdogs. To me, I look at Chris Abrams Drain as being a little bit of an underdog, considering what we saw from him in the small sample size. Like this is a guy that can play right away, in my opinion. I think he can play meaningful snaps. I think he can play man-to-man coverage if you have an injury at that position. I think Denver's plans here a little bit more solidified to prepare, like, hey, if there's an injury, we feel more confident right now with these guys that we had

versus the guys that we had in totality last year. And look, there's still even a guy like Damari Mathis who's on the back end fighting for that roster spot as well. I mean, he could maybe fall into that underdog category. But I think Chris Abrams drain is probably going to be the guy that gets snaps first. If there's an injury to Riley Moss or PS2, they have flexibility. And look, with Jada Baron working inside and working outside, J. Mack can do the same thing. He's doing the same thing here at OTAs. He's going to do the same thing in mandatory minicamp.

How does that impact maybe a guy like Chris Abrams, Drain, who I think has had an impressive off season so far, he would be the underdog guy that I would categorize there for the Broncos here. So I think that's a great question sent in by our good friend, Rob. And then Sarah, this is an interesting one too. And this can be on offense. This can be on defense. It could be a special team's decision. Our next question comes in from fondue on YouTube.

We got some really good YouTube names from people out there. Who could be a surprise cut on the 53? Now, I look at this as like, all right, is this a guy who's maybe well-known or established? could this be a younger guy that maybe is just not what the team envisioned it be? Where are you leaning with this one? I've been thinking about it since I saw this question on the script, and I don't know. I mean, I've been interested to know what all the listeners think as well, because we talk about almost every cut possibility, right?

I mean, I think I'd be surprised if, like, Drew Sanders was cut, Cody, but I think it's possible. I'd be surprised if, you know, let's say somebody like Troy, Franklin. I know we've talked positively about him, but let's say somebody just has an unbelievable offseason and he's the odd man. I'd be surprised. I mean, there's a lot of guys that you would be like, oh, wow, you know, but like Adam Troutman is he's not getting cut. He's the best blocking tight end on the team. So I think about him and I think, well, you know, shoot, what if Nate Adkins and Lucas Krull and, you know, Caleb Loner with those guys all ball out during training camp? Are you cutting Troutman in the final year of his deal? I mean,

who would be honestly surprising to you? Because I look at the, roster right now and I just don't know that there's many for me that guy last year that fell under this category is a surprise cut on the 53 to me it was tim patrick that was that type of guy so like when I look at surprise cut I'm not necessarily worried about like a younger guy I'm more so worried about like the veteran players like to me a surprise cut would be PJ lock or Alex singleton in my opinion those guys would be surprise cuts because they do offer so much value to you Alex on defense And certainly, you know, if Alex is, if the Broncos want to split a workload at linebacker with Dreigh Greenlawn, maybe a Drew Sanders, Singleton or even a Sternod, if they wanted to not have a committee approach there, I don't think that's sustainable, though Denver did that at the beginning of the season. Singleton has value, at least on offense and on special teams, in my opinion.

PJ Locke, you know, we talked about what Sean Payton said about the playbook for safety. even if he's not starting your impact on special teams is going to guarantee you a roster spot PJ is one of the better special teams players that are on this Broncos team even though the last year we didn't see him play special teams because he was a starter so I think he's good depth if he were cut I know it's the last year of his deal I would be surprised that would be a surprise cut to me so I'm curious I mean this this could go a multitude of ways and look the fun part about it is it is like we have so much time to watch training camp we'll have a better idea I think by weeks two and weeks three, how guys are doing.

When we watch practice, we come back and we share, okay, whose stock is up, whose stock is falling. It'll make more sense as we look at that position and other players there. And we compare and evaluate that. We'll have a better idea. But Broncos country, make sure you send us your applies to this as well. Who do you think would be a surprise cut from the 53-man roster? Who would shock you if that were the case?

Make sure let us know here on lockdown Broncos. But what that said, Broncos country, one thing that we're looking forward to this week, mandatory minicamp. The Broncos, they're on the practice field tomorrow. I'll be there at practice for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. We'll come back. We'll react to that as well. But we're going to dive deep into some of the three biggest storylines that we're excited to see in mandatory minicamp tomorrow. And on top of that, the Broncos came into the top 10 twice on the locked on NFL scouting

podcast with the draft dudes. We're going to share our thoughts there. And we're going to tell you why we think the Broncos had a better off season than the Kansas city chiefs. You're going to get all of that and much more on tomorrow's episode, Lockdown Broncos.