Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - Denver Broncos PIVOTING Away From Tight End In Round 1 | Is Colston Loveland OFF the Table?

Episode Date: March 21, 2025

Will Sean Payton and the Denver Broncos pivot away from tight end in the first round of the NFL Draft? Does this take Colston Loveland off the table after the team signed Evan Engram in NFL Free Agency? Could the Broncos pair up Bo Nix with his former teammate Terrance Ferguson or LSU's Mason Taylor? Plus, why the Broncos should add at wide receiver and cornerback in the 2025 NFL Draft. 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 NFL draft is just five weeks away. The Denver Broncos have flexibility, but we'll tell you why we don't think they're going to take a tight end in round number one in this year's draft 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. Broncos country, what's happening? Welcome into another episode of Lockdown Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast. part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day for all your Broncos news, content coverage analysis, and more lockdown Broncos is the place to be. So thank you so much to all you every dayers 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, it's easy to become one. All you got to do is hit that subscribe or that follow button. And you're going to get daily Broncos news content coverage analysis and more delivered directly to your devices or even on YouTube or you can watch us here. I'm Cody Roark, Credential Broncos reporter here from Mile High Sports. You can check out my written work over there, milehighports.com, joined by Sarah Beninger. Every single day, you can check out his work over there.

Predomley Orange.com. He's the longtime site expert over there. And here's what you have to maybe take to the bank here on today's episode show. Everything that we're going to talk about, we'll wrap up with talking about why the Broncos should take a wide receiver and cornerback in this year's NFL draft, even in the later rounds. There will also discuss what tight-in targets the Broncos can look into, maybe in the Broncos. the mid to later rounds as well. And we're going to open up today's show up. I'm telling you that we don't think that the Broncos are going to consider

tight end in rounds number one or two of this year's NFL. Draft will break all that down and much more. So Sarah, let's really kind of kick it off right now. Look at, you know, with the Broncos, their attack on free agency and them obviously getting Evan Ingram. They have Adam Troutman on the roster. They've got Lucas Crowe, who they tendered. And you still have Nate Adkins.

You know, I think more time passes. We've all been on the train of like Tyler Warren, Colston Loveland, but at this point it doesn't seem like tight end is going to be a position of focus or real need for them, at least in round one of this year's NFL draft. And our good friend Mike Cliss even said that he felt the same exact way. Yeah, which I thought was interesting, Cody. And specifically on his podcast, Cliss's mic drop, which you should definitely all go listen to.

Always some great nuggets in there. And Mike is one of the most plugged into the team there is. but he specifically named dropped Colston Loveland as somebody that he doesn't think the Broncos would take at 20, which that's been kind of the, you know, standard mock draft pick for just about everybody out there all offseason long, hasn't it? Even after the Evan Ingram signing, I think a lot of us would agree like, hey, we'd still take Colston Loveland. Like Evan Ingram signed a two-year deal and he's 30 years old. So you might as well get ready to plan for the future. You can do the two tight-end sets like you and I talked about on our bleacher.

report stream this week, Cody, and get interesting with it. But Clist saying that he doesn't think it's a first round possibility was really fascinating to me. And I think honestly, like, is Colson Loveland or Tyler Warren even going to be there for the Broncos to consider anyway? That's a, and I know that at this time of year, nobody's going to be available wherever the Broncos pick, right? Everybody that we want, Cody, there's going to be more than, you know, 50 guys already

off the board by the time the Broncos end up picking. That's just kind of how the discourse goes. is it, but I think genuinely speaking that these two tight ends, the top two guys in this class probably will be off the board by the time the 20th pick rolls around, which I think, you know, it's slightly disappointing if you really wanted one, but at the same time with Evan Ingram in the fold, maybe that's like the Broncos, we know that they think four or five steps ahead of everybody else, not other NFL teams, but fans and media, like they probably already foresee that scenario happening where these two guys aren't even sitting there.

And these guys, like the Broncos and teams around the league, they have their own mock draft simulators, which is crazy. They're not using the ones that we use every single week, but they are using ones that they have created. And they run through every scenario possible. And I think about it too, right? What teams maybe ahead of Denver could take a tight end of, you know, like a Tyler Warren or Loveland? It's like you look at obviously Loveland's ties there to Harbaugh in Los Angeles. You worry about the charters, maybe adding a dynamic playmaking tight end like him. you know, they brought back Mike Williams.

They got Ladd McCawkey, who the Broncos didn't have an answer for. And obviously, they added Najee Harris, which I feel like for them at the running back position, that opens things up a little bit. I think that's an evident upgrade over what J.K. Dobbins did. And J.K. Dobbins was terrific for them. So maybe you're monitoring your division rivals there and you're seeing what they're going to do. And it's like, okay, how can you counter that, right? They're going to go and get that guy.

I also think you don't want to let the Cincinnati Bengals, who obviously are going to have probably the most electrifying offense in the NFL this season. you don't want them to add a tight end like that. Of course they got Mike Giseki who burnt the Broncos last season, but it's like you add one of those guys to the mix. It's like, dang, that offense is a little scary on paper. But really the Broncos have to focus on what is going to be the best move for us right now. And to your point there with Evan Ingram, you've got him as your past catching guy. He obviously is going to be used as a blocker in situations. Adam Troutman is mainly your inline blocking guy that you're going

to probably bring in when you go with extra personnel there, 12 or 13. You can do different things. And you can put guys in different worlds. It doesn't necessarily have to be a tight end. But that's why you brought in Evan Ingram to be the Joker. He's going to be that movable chess piece around here for Sean Payton. And then you got Lucas Crowe who's still developing. And look, I don't think we're going to bank on Lucas Crowe having a big role here on the offense. But you look at the scenarios all drawn out. What does Denver need the most here when it comes to the NFL draft? And it's like, you don't necessarily need to draft based on need. But what do you need as a team? A running back to me, this is where I think the Broncos go.

I think they go either running back. I think they go defensive line or I want to be shocked if they add it, you know, maybe even a corner in round one. I don't think that would be popular. I think that would be something that sets Broncos country ablaze. To me personally, I think it's going to be running back in round one. And I think that they're going to go away from the traditional line of thinking that, hey, who cares what people say about you never want to draft running backs in round one?

I think with this year's class, all the builds, the archetypes that you got with certain guys, I'm excited about it. Is Amari and Hantham going to be there? If he's not there at 20, I do think that the Bronwyn. Marco trade up for a running back. I think that's very much in the cards here from my own personal speculation. Where do you think that they might go here in round one if they don't go tight end in the first round? I think running back is as safe a bet as any at this point, Cody.

And I would even, I'll throw Trayvion Henderson's name into the mix at 20th overall. Your mock draft, by the way. Yeah, yeah. I think the people were kind of on board with that, Cody. If we can have a haul like that during the NFL draft, that'd be pretty sweet. but, you know, I like Trayvion Henderson. I recently saw a post, I think it was next-gen stats or somebody was talking about, you know, his athletic metrics, speed, explosiveness, quickness, all these sorts of things.

And the three names that were thrown out for him were like Sequan Barclay, Adrian Peterson, and then some like Jamir Gibbs or something like that. Wasn't it, DeMarco Murray? Maybe one of that, one of those. But at the same time, I mean, like, just they're just throwing out all these huge names of great running backs. they're comparing him to this guy, you know, at least even athletically. And we know Trayvion is one of the best past protecting backs in the class as well. And so I know in the mock draft machines, you can get him in the second round, always almost at 51 overall.

I don't think that's, I think you're going to have to take him at 20 or close to 20 in a trade down scenario if you do want to get him. So I like that idea. I also, Cody, I'm coming around to, you could convince me on most. positions in the first round. In that same mock draft episode, I talked about Jadai Barron, who's past game coordinator, secondary coach at Texas. That's Van's Joseph's cousin over there. And so there's going to be a really clear connection for those two guys. And even if he goes really high, what if Will Johnson from Michigan falls to your pick? Are you going to pass on him? The thing that I that I think about the first round in this draft class is the Broncos are pretty ideally suited.

to trade down. Like last year we kind of wanted to have our cake and eat it to. Trade down. Get Bo Nix. Nobody really thinks much of him. Pick up extra selections on day two and have your cake need it too, right? But this year, I think the Broncos are in a different position to where it's not like, okay, if we trade down, we're worried about the scenario of our guy not being there. If we trade down this year, it's more so along the lines of we're excited about the possibilities of who we can all add with these selections. And so I think with that, running back, you know, Sequin Barclay resetting the market. It's now a $20 million position a year again for guys and it will continue to be going forward. That's another, that may

vault into the first round conversation again, whereas before it was like you're wasting the rookie contract on a position that's going to be cheap and free agency. Now it's getting expensive again. So I think any position outside of quarterback and, you know, the special teams, you could convince me a viable option for the Broncos in round one. I think that there's a mixed bag. I mean, we're seeing a lot of mock drafts being put out on social media, tight ends, wide receivers, cornerbacks, even safeties in some of those situations here. To me, I'm all in on the running backer bus train here in round one.

And if they chose a defensive line, and I wouldn't be opposed to that, especially if they're getting a disruptor there. I think it's important to have that viability on the defensive line, even if this guy's not going to play a big role right away. Maybe he will. Like, who knows what can happen between now and the draft or even after the draft with extensions. you never know there could be a draft day trade of some sorts. Like there are so many different possibilities on the table. But the Broncos, they've got a lot of flexibility. We're excited about it.

In Broncos, we would like to know what were your thoughts be. If the Broncos passed on a tight end in round number one, what position would you hope that they choose? Make sure you let us know here on today's episode, locked on Broncos. We're not done yet, Broncos country. We still got a lot to break down on today's episode of the show. If the Broncos don't look at a tight end in round one,

we'll tell you why maybe rounds two or rounds three are perfect for adding a tight- and maybe even one of Bo Nix's former favorite targets. We'll break that down and much more on today's episode, Locked on Broncos. Today's episode Lockdown, Broncos is brought to you by friends over there at Upwork. And scaling your business requires the right expertise at the right time. With Upwork, you can find specialized freelancers in marketing, developing, design, and more and experts who are ready to help take your business to the next level. Upwork gives businesses flexibility by connecting them with top freelance talent across multiple industries

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maybe waiting until day two is the ideal scenario here for the Broncos after the Evan Ingram signing. But Broncos country, thanks so much for tuning in today. And every single day, for all you, everyday viewers, Cody, so many people in the comment section on YouTube, so many people who tweet at us. We get to interact with these great people every day, and we want more people to join that growing community. So if you haven't already done so, hit subscribe. It'll take you a couple of seconds, and your boys, Cody and Sarah will have you covered

every single day for an episode of Locked on Broncos, whatever goes on with your favorite team this offseason, including the possibility of drafting a tight end with a premium selection. And when I say premium selection, I'm talking about one of the top three, maybe even four picks in this year's drafts, Cody, that the Broncos have. Of course, the Broncos do have all of their first four picks in the draft for the first time since, what, 2021. The Russell Wilson trade, the Sean Payton trade. They depleted the draft capital a little bit, but the Broncos are back in terms of having a full arsenal almost of draft selections. We talked about in the previous segment why tight end in the first round may not be the most sensible option or may not even be

realistic based on who could be available. But let's talk about why on day two, this could be the sweet spot for them to add somebody to pair up with newly signed Evan Ingram. Yeah, I think you got to look at both the short and long-term picture here of the offense, the window in which you have, Bo Nix obviously on his rookie deal. And I think you're always trying to find a way to upgrade your playmaking

opportunities, right? So right now you got Evan Ingram. He signed obviously a two-year deal here with the Broncos. You know Evan Ingram is going to get a lot of high usage from Sean Payton here. But then really after this season, Adam Troutman will be a free agent after this year. He's entering the final year of his deal on the team. You got Nate Atkins, who may be moving to that fullback position. And then, of course, you tendered Lucas Crowe here in the offseason.

So that gives you some cost control over him. But really, the Broncos could be in a position where they're evaluating everything saying, hey, we're not getting enough from this position or, okay, the development of maybe one of these players isn't heading to where it needs to be. Or in like the case of Adam Troutman, who I think is very solid. I think he's probably going to be the more consistent guy that you have. Not necessarily going to be the most elite level past catching option for you, but how many times do we see him come up clutch? I mean, he had a one-handed touchdown grab last year.

He, you know, he exploded on national tight end day. If he's not the primary target, I think Adam Troutman can be an absolute weapon for you in some way, not saying he's going to be breaking over, you know, 100 yards, but I think there could be games where you see Adam Trotman maybe come up with 75, 85 yards on maybe seven or eight catches there. He is one of those guys where if every other option of your offense is taken away, including Cortland Sutton and teams are focusing on him, Evan Ingram, Marvin, Mims, Troy Franklin, hey, you know what, third and three and you need a first down,

Adam Troutman's a great little dump off option right there, a security blanket for your quarterback in those situations. I think last year, in the last couple of years, we've seen him kind of pigeonholed into being that tight end number one here for the Broncos. And primarily because he was their best blocking tight end, they would just put 13 person on there and they would have he and Nate Atkins just block if you're going against a guy like Max Crosby or a T.J. Watt, something along those lines, an elite level pass rusher.

And it's like, all right, we don't have the dynamic of that passing game because we have to use this guy there. Having Evan Ingram helps. Troutman after this year is obviously going to be a free agent. So for me, it's like, why not look in this year's NFL draft to find a guy who can maybe be a move weapon for you? And once again, this is where I am going to use my Oregon Ducks fandom, my friend. and even just say like putting the fandom aside,

you watch what Terrence Ferguson did at the Senior Bowl in one-on-ones. This is a guy that I feel like could be a great fit inside of Sean Payton system. And of course, if Bo Nix has any intel or inside, he's going to share with Sean like saying, hey, let's bring this guy in. Terrence Ferguson, he's a workaholic, he's a dog, bring him into the mix. He doesn't need to be a primary, but he could step into a bigger role next season or two years from now. I think you have to upgrade the tight-in position from what It has been, and it starts here in the NFL draft, which is why I think, hey, you're round

two, round three pick. I'm all in on the tight end position there. If it is a guy like Terrence Ferguson or even you look at LSU's Mason Taylor, you could look at that as an option as well. I know the Bresum talks about Harold Fanon. I think that there's just such a mixed bag on him because of where he played, obviously at the college level. You know, people were looking at that like, oh, okay, like was the competition?

I think this time of year, sir, we really have to dive into the film to say, it doesn't matter the competition you go against. Ask Quinn Miners, Wisconsin Whitewater. It's about can this guy come in and does his traits translate well into what your offense needs? That's what the Broncos have to identify here at Tide-in. I think day two, day three is the perfect opportunity to get a guy who can do that. A hundred percent is. And like you mentioned with Terrence Ferguson, I mean, that's a guy who would be, it would be a homecoming for him, not just a return to playing with Boe Nix, but he's a Colorado native as well. So how cool would it be for him to get to play for the Denver Broncos. And I think that these guys can be assets right away, too. It's not like they're just

going to sit on the bench and rot all season long. Like they're going to play and they're going to play a role in the offense. I love the idea of Ferguson, Cody. In fact, I would be a little annoyed if the Broncos don't find a way to get him. He was number one or number two at the combine and every just, just about every metric, you know, when you look at the tight end position this year. And so athletically speaking, he's there. He's got the chemistry with the quarterback. The Broncos have obviously felt like Oregon guys are a good fit for their system in recent years. So I'd be all over that. And with Mason Taylor, you know, George Peyton's ties to his father go back all the way to their days in Miami where George was the director of pro personnel and Jason Taylor

was winning defensive player of the year. Now, how cool would it be for them to come full circle in that way for George to be able to draft Jason's son after he's already had the opportunity to draft Patrick Sertan's son, who is now the defensive player of the year, the ties that bind in the NFL and the coincidence that it's almost too crazy to be coincidence. But you'd love to see something like that because Mason Taylor's only 20 years old. And he'll be 21 this year later. But that's a perfect guy to, yeah, just to say, come in,

let's learn the offense, let's get you up to speed, let's get you some targets each week, and let's get you involved in the offense. And down the road, you might be able to take over for, Evan Ingram as the Joker. He has those types of traits. And this tight end class is just littered with guys that have big time traits. You can always look at an Iowa guy too, Cody. You talk about, you know, bias for our favorite college teams, Luke Lachey out of Iowa, not probably going to go round two or three, but another guy that just because of how terrible the quarterback position was at Iowa, you're probably going to get a guy on day three who can give you way more in the passing game than

you see on tape because you just don't get the targets and who also is going to be ready made for the NFL as a blocker. So I think those types of situations are worth monitoring in this draft. The depth at tight end is something I would take advantage of for sure. I mean, Iowa is always tied in to you. I think that's one reliable pipeline. You can always pull a tight end out of and say, you know what? We might get something very valuable out of that guy.

I remember Lechay as well. I mentioned him because wasn't he at the shrine bowl, like the shrine game, the East West one? I said, hey, like this guy actually, he moves well. He's a big body target. You don't need a guy who's got blazing speed. Like, if you can have a big body target who could be a possession guy, can go up and catch the football for you, I love that.

Like, I go back and I remember watching Sam Laporta's pre-draft interview, like they showed at the combine there with the, you know, I don't know if it was specifically with the Detroit lines, but he was being interviewed by a team. They said, you know, where would you grade your ability to be a pass catcher? And he's like, you know, eight. And he said, you know, I feel like I can even be better at it. You know, I'm not afraid to go up and do it.

I love those types of questions and I hope we get some insight into that from some of these prospects and these players. But we're going to find out what traits Sean Payton, George Payton are truly looking at. And obviously when the draft rolls around just about five weeks time, we're going to have a clear picture as to what the Broncos are thinking about as they're looking to build this team, a better team around Bo Nix. Broncos country, make sure you let us know your thoughts on what target. If the Broncos look at tight-in, would you prefer on day two or day three, drop it down here on today's episode of the show.

We're not done yet. Broncos country. We still got a lot of NFL draft talk to break down right here. We've highlighted tight in here. But what positions should the Broncos target in the first round or in general? Well, we'll take a look at wide receiver, cornerback, and some other positions here on today's episode, Locked on Broncos. The NCAA tournament is here, and so is the bracket breakdown. Locked on podcast network and Amazon Fire TV channels are teaming up to deliver NCAA tournament coverage like never before. Watch studio shows featuring former players and Locked On's local experts as they guide you through every upset, buzzer beater, and bracket matchup.

Stream it all for free on Amazon Fire TV channel. Search Bracket Breakdown to see it all for free. It's your team every day. There are a handful of positions that Deverebronco should look at in this year's NFL drafts will tell you why wide receiver, cornerback, maybe even safety are positions that they should look at as well as they look to build this team going forward here, 2025 and beyond. I just want to say thanks once again, everyone in Broncos country, all the everydayers. Thanks for making us your first listen. However, you choose to do so, you know, when you need Broncos conversation, content more every day, you can turn on your favorite podcast provider or YouTube and know that Sarah and myself, we're going to bring it to you every step of the way here.

Sarah, let's go through and talk about this as well. Like what positions could the Broncos or should they add in the NFL draft? We know that running back is obviously one of importance, tight-in, possibly defensive line here. I don't feel like a lot of people are talking about wide receiver enough, right? You know, we were going back and having those conversations about Cooper Cup when he was available. There was some interest in him. We brought up names like veteran options like Keenan Allen and Mike Cliss. Our obviously good friend said he had expected they were going to add a wide receiver.

Note that is yet to happen here at this point. But we know that Sean Payton. He likes that wide receiver room as he is. We know Cortland Sutton are working on an extension with him. They love Marvin Mims, Troy Franklin, Devon, Valey. and they got a young guy in A.T. Perry, who is very under the radar that we're going to maybe get a more expansive look at here in training camp in the preseason, which should be exciting. But the Broncos add a wide receiver in the NFL draft. I think that they should.

They should add a body for sure. And there are a handful of options. It doesn't have to be round one, right? I'm talking round two, three, four, or even round five, you find a way to be able to get more capital. We know Denver can trade up, trade back. They've done that before here. I still think that they should have a wide receiver in this year's draft. I 100% agree with that.

And I think that it's one of those positions that I could see first round or, you know, like you said, all the way to day three. Like there's no real, I don't think they should take one here. I think they should, you know, wait until later. I think it's fair game for any round of this year's draft. Generally speaking, the first round of the 2025 draft seems like folks are considering McMillan from Arizona and Golden from Texas. as two first round guys. And the interesting thing that I keep on seeing, Cody, from people who speak with NFL teams like Daniel Jeremiah and folks like that,

they don't seem to think that Luther Buren or a Mecca, Buka, or guys like that are locks to go in the first round. And I find that very, very interesting. And it's just, that's what they're saying. That's not what I'm necessarily saying. I liked what I've seen from those guys. But it does speak to the lack of blue chips. talent, I think, in this year's draft, that wide receiver and where I feel like somebody

like Golden or even McMillan could potentially be a nice value for you at 20. Now, I feel like to me, McMillan is a bit redundant with what the Broncos have, especially if they're looking to extend Cortland Sutton. But Golden offers some nice variance as a slot guy with big time speed, strong hands, toughness. Again, the Texas connection, which could be an important factor to consider. So I like the idea of adding a wide receiver, even as high as the first round. But I think this class gets more interesting, the deeper down the board you go. I put a tweet out about three weeks ago where I said, Cortland Sutton and Tori Horton would be fun to watch, essentially. You know, Tori Horton, obviously, a local CSU product.

And honestly, just you watch him play the dude as a dog, probably going to be available, you know, at a certain juncture in which the Broncos are going to be available to pick in some of the mid to later rounds at this point. I wouldn't be opposed to them adding him into the mix here. I do find the burden conversation very interesting. Look, I went to Mizzou. I graduated, got my master's degree from there. And, you know, it's been fun talking with guys like Tyler Badegh, who he and I had the same professors.

And also talking with Chris Abrams drain last year, I talked to him about bird. He's like, man, he said, that guy, he has some of the smoothest releases off the line of scrimmage. He's very good at being able to run routes. And he's just a guy that you throw the ball in his vicinity. He's going to find a way to fight for it. And to me, it's like, all right, hey, like the Broncos, they invested in Mizzu. They obviously went with Chris Abrams drain. They've seen, you know, that type of prospect and talent.

Obviously, if they're watching the defensive side of the ball, Missouri, they're watching the offensive side of the ball as well. I'm very curious to see what drops some of these guys maybe out of the round one conversation. Like, what is it? You know, because that's the thing. Like people are saying, oh, I don't really necessarily have him as a round one guy anymore. Well, what's dropping him? Like, nobody is giving a reason for it.

And I do think analysts like Daniel Jeremiah, I think a lot of these. I think a lot of these guys can say some of the stuff out there. And I do think it impacts a little bit of maybe how teams perceive them. Because teams, as you mentioned, like Sean Payton says, hey, we got to be very careful who we pay attention to on the NFL train or the NFL bus because it's always moving and you got to know when to get off. I do think at times this is a problem with a lot of teams around the league. They stay on that train.

And then you end up seeing them passing on a player. And the Broncos had felt victim to this a handful of times. You can look at previous drafts where they took one player. and then the next player taken out the board could have been an absolute weapon for them, right? Not to say it would have worked, but you look at that and it's like, what were they listening to? Like, why that player, why that position over this guy at this position? So I look at that and I would say, okay, I trust Sean and George not to really jump onto that train. If they're going to find out any information, they're going to have that.

They do their due diligence in the scouting process. So I'd be, you know, I have trust in them and their ability to do that. Wide receiver certainly won. I want to get your thoughts here on cornerback. I think that Denver should add a cornerback because I don't. I think this is a position you need depth. I've seen people throughout the idea that the Broncos need to go out there and add another veteran corner. I disagree.

I don't think they need to add a veteran corner necessarily. You know, you got Passertan. He's a vet. He's unc now in that defensive backroom here for a lot of these guys. And you got Riley Moss, who's obviously going to take another step forward this year. I firmly believe it. You know, he wasn't the same after the knee injury. He's going to be fine.

You got Jayquan MacMacon. You got a young guy and Chris Abrams drain. The Broncos, the youth movement has paid off for them in the secondary. Would a veteran hurt? No, not necessarily, but bringing another veteran just might lead to another Levi-Wallis situation. Then you're asking yourself, why didn't we just trust our gut and go with the rookie who could play well? And obviously we saw that with Chris Abrams drain. Corner, I think that's a position they should definitely add to.

And I wouldn't be surprised if they do. Yeah, I think that like we mentioned earlier with Jadai Barron from Texas, who played a lot of different positions for that defense, playing safety, playing nickel, playing the big dime linebacker role, playing outside corner. doing all those different things. And he's somebody that I could see the team viewing as an upgrade over Macmillan in the slot. As last year, you know, it wasn't Macmillan's best year. I think 2023, he was a little better. And last year got a little grabby at times, gave up some big plays at times, still

showed progression. I think you're willing to live with those things from young players, certainly. But now we're getting to the point to where another contract is getting close to being on the table for him. And do you want to lock in for a three-year deal? or a four-year deal with your guy that you've been developing? Or do you feel like, all right, at this point, now we've got two years of sample to see, like, hey, this is what we're getting from him.

And you feel like you can upgrade, just like the Broncos did with PJ Locke in free agency, right? I mean, a lot of times you want to stick with the guys that have been developing in your system and came up from nothing in your system. But a guy becomes available that you feel like can be an upgrade and you go for it. And so I wouldn't be mad about a baron at all. I mean, the thing that I get, I don't know, the thing that kind of doesn't sit well with me, Cody, is the idea of like, let's draft this guy or let's sign this guy and throw Riley Moss into the slot. I mean, that to me, you're creating two areas of uncertainty as opposed to just replacing one area that you feel like could be upgraded.

And so that I don't love that idea. And I also don't necessarily love the idea of a round one safety after signing Hufanga and keeping PJ Locke around. but I do think that there's validity to, man, this Eamon Worry guy from South Carolina is crazy, or Malachi, Starks from Georgia going to be a decade-long starter in the league. Like, those guys are good. Do they fit what the Broncos need right now, though? That's the question. That is a great question.

And also, like, the thing is, I think in today's NFL, like, if J-Quahman-McMillan goes down, you need another guy that could play inside the nickel and the slot and be effective there. Of course, Riley can do it. I'm not saying that Riley can't. I know, Riley can do it. But you're best suited with Riley on the outside there. You can move Riley around a little bit, but you need that depth. You got Chris Abrams drain, which also allows you to have that flexibility there.

But I think you need another guy that can cover inside the nickel. And I think that's definitely going to be on the table here for the Broncos. And look, I've even seen people say the Broncos should move Riley Moss to safety. I don't understand where this came from. Well, he's fast. He can do this. Let Riley play corner. Riley excels at corner.

And look, I think the idea like, well, you know, you could just move him to safety, you know, make your strength even better. There's no guarantee that I think it's silly. I think Riley would even think that the notion of him after to move to safety would be absolutely silly. So can we not suggest that Broncos country? I think Denver's in good hands there, especially with, you know, you got guys like J. L. Skinner, who they're very impressed with. They want to see a little bit more from him.

And he's going to get that chance here this upcoming season, Devin Key, who they like a lot. And then like I said, you still have PJ Locke. You got Brandon Jones. Now you got Talanoa whofonga. Safety is the least of my worries at this point here for the Broncos. Corners are the least of my worries. but like I said, that's one position. You can never have enough depth that going into the regular season.

So that's where I'm excited to see things kind of play out here for the Broncos. And of course, they have Reese Taylor, who's already on the roster. It was an undrafted guy who knows one of those fun stories we saw in the training camp in the preseason. He wanted to make the 53. The Broncos wanted him on the 53 last year, but they had other needs. And they were luckily enough to bring him back onto the practice squad. So I'm very curious to see how things go.

But Sarah, we got five weeks until the NFL draft in Broncos country. you know, in that meantime, and is that build up there. That means, hey, Mondays, they're going to be mock draft Mondays, and you have the chance to get involved. We're creating a rule for you here beginning this week. Sarah and I, we're going to open it up on Twitter at Cody Rock NFL, at Sarah Bedinger, at Lockdown Broncos. And our rule is you must send us your mock draft,

but the rule is you must trade up at least three spots for a player. What does that look like? Who are you going to get? The best one, we'll get broken down here on Monday's episode, of Lockdown Broncos. We'll see you then.