Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - Denver Broncos RB Battle HEATS UP Behind RJ Harvey, J.K. Dobbins

Starting point is 00:00:00 The running back battle behind J.K. Dabba's and R.J. Harvey is heating up for the Denver Broncos as we take a look at several position battles that are falling under the microscope this week. You'll get that and more 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. What's happening in Broncos country? Welcome into another episode, Locked on Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast, part of the Lockdown podcast network where you It's your team every day. Thank you so much.

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Starting point is 00:00:50 Every single day all year long. I'm Cody Rourke. Broncos reporter from Mile High Sports. Join is always by Sarah Bedinger, site expert over there at predominantly orange.com. And here's what we're going to break down on today's episode of the shows. The team returns back to practice for a training camp. the running back battle between the Broncos running backs behind J.K. Dobbins and R.J. Harvey. Harvey.

Starting point is 00:01:09 It is heating up and that's going to fall under the microscope with joint practice set with the Cardinals this week. We'll also go through the cornerback battle at the nickel between Jada Baron and J. Kwan, Macmillan and what we're seeing from there and how some of these younger players are also looking at that position. And then we'll go through some of the other key depth chart battles, including the inside linebacker spot there and an undrafted rookie, making a case for the 53. You'll get all that on today's show. So, Sarah, we love training camp. We love the preseason. We love these position battles because at the end of the day, as much as we want to vent about the offense and the defense looking rusty in their first preseason game, the starters.

Starting point is 00:01:45 This is really about the younger guys, the depth guys, the second string, third string guys that are hopefully you never have to have their name called in the regular season because it means there's an injury. But it's about your depth there. And some of that depth involves some very, very promising competitions, specifically. the hot hand is the running back battle right now, but behind J.K. Dobbins and RJ Harvey. And it starts with that note in particular right there, that J.K. Dobbins and RJ Harvey do appear to be the top backs on this team pretty

Starting point is 00:02:16 clearly. We saw the Broncos first unit on offense out there with the majority of the reps going to R.J. Harvey and then J.K. Dobbins playing third downs primarily. So Broncos obviously wanted to get a good look at R.J. Harvey in a game situation. And we got exactly. that. He got a lot of snaps out there. Really good stuff from him as well. But of course, you want to have depth that running back, but also you can weaponize your depth, right? You can

Starting point is 00:02:40 utilize these guys as pieces of your offensive puzzle as opposed to just saying, well, you know, if, if J.K. Dobbins goes down or if R.J. Harvey goes down, you know, knock on wood, we'll have these guys available. I think the Broncos have players that they could actually use as weapons throughout the course of a season, even if it is on a small number of snaps, relatively speaking, And so we obviously start off the conversation with Jalil McLaughlin and Tyler Badegh, who were the next two guys up. Cody, I'm interested because I know you just dropped your film review as well and what you saw from these two backs because these guys are in a tight competition. We've mentioned, Sean Payton kind of threw out Tyler Bade's name recently and kind of felt like maybe there was some steam building there. What do you think as far as this third running back spot right now?

Starting point is 00:03:28 because after what we saw on Saturday, I'm kind of leaning that Tyler Badegh was arguably the better back overall for the Denver Broncos. Yeah, but they looked really good. And look, this is a tough thing. When you go back and watch the All-22, I came away from that with my initial impressions with the starting offensive line and even the second team offensive line. I felt like there was much to be desired.

Starting point is 00:03:50 It seemed like there were several missed assignments in terms of communications, you know, pass protection, the run blocking department. So for Badey to go in and make the plays that he did, I felt like it was impressive because you saw one cut. You saw flow from the defense to one side and you saw him be patient instead of panicking. And he would rip off a big game, you know, a chunk play to the outside, getting skinny and keeping his feet churning. I was very impressed with what I saw from Tyler Badee. Julele McLaughlin had a highlight worthy play that got brought back as well. And, you know, these guys, I think there was a concerted effort from every quarterback to get all of these running backs involved in the past.

Starting point is 00:04:27 in game as well. And I mean, I don't know where it's leaning right now because even Sean going back to what you just referenced with, but they at joint practices, he answered the question saying he's very much in the mix for one or two spots. So, you know, I've been on the train all offseason. I've been consistent with it of saying I think that the Broncos have their three guys at the back at running back locked in with Dobbins, Harvey and McLaughlin. But with Sean's comments, it certainly seems like it's opening things up to say, hey, like maybe Jal's spot. maybe there is competition there because he's a change of pace guy, but they showcased a change of pace. Blake Watson showcased a little bit of a change of pace here. And I agree with you on what you said as well.

Starting point is 00:05:08 You're not trying to maybe get these guys onto your 53. So like, okay, if there's an injury, we have these two guys. It's I think that there's very much this by committee approach that Sean has in mind. But I think it's matchup contingent as to we like this skill set on this particular play if we get this front. So it's more so if you carry four on the 53. You might have four weapons that you're going to be using in the run game. That should hopefully take some pressure off of obviously Bo Nix to go out there and throw a lot like he did last year. But the O line, you know, both units are going to have to clean up some things in terms of their blocking there.

Starting point is 00:05:41 Granted, it's the first game of the preseason. But I would agree with you. I'd say Tyler Badee, he made a strong claim. And I would even say it goes Bade and Watson. I would put those two guys as like a 1A, 1B as to where their stock has elevated after week one of the preseason in this running back competition. Which would put Audric Estime firmly on the hot seat. I know he was asked after the game about being benched against Buffalo and said they had no comment on that whole situation. So of course, we know that the drama at running back right now is it's steaming up in a big way.

Starting point is 00:06:15 I mean, it's heating up here in the preseason. And the Broncos have a number of different guys with very different levels of, you know, excellence in certain areas, right? Audric Estime, man, the dude is big and powerful, right? Tyler Badegh, kind of just has great vision and burst. And then Jaliel McLaughin, like you said, change of pace. Blake Watson, he was a former wide receiver. And so he brings that element to the table not only with good hands, but also in the open field after the catch.

Starting point is 00:06:43 I mean, that was his job previously was to be a receiver and go make plays like that. And so I'm fascinated by how this is going to turn out because we're also now seeing around the league, injuries are starting to pile up, even for like the 49ers. They just signed another running back. They had an injury during that game against the Broncos, and they've already done joint practices. So guess who's probably going to be first in line if the Broncos cut one of these guys? I mean, the 49ers just got a firsthand scout, you know, of all these players.

Starting point is 00:07:11 The dolphins are signing running backs. Like the Broncos have a nice problem on their hands right now in that they have probably too many running backs and they can realistically keep. but now it's it's it's it would be one thing if you had an undrafted guy from you know directional michigan school who was you know just a big body back who's clear practice squad body that you're like oh yeah we'll be able to cut him and get him through waivers you don't have that type of guy on this roster and i know that oftentimes we can romanticize the guys that are on denver's roster because every team probably has their own blake watson right every

Starting point is 00:07:45 team probably has their own audric estimate. But at the same time, you really get the impression based on how many teams are adding backs already that if the Broncos cut somebody who puts something good out there in the preseason, they're going to lose that guy or multiple guys. And so you have to get it right. And I think at this point, you have to plan on keeping four. Well, and I think the challenge that Sean and the Broncos certainly have here is trying to figure out what that true look kind of feels like here.

Starting point is 00:08:13 because look, you want to factor in, obviously, your training camp practices. Don has said repeatedly that it's going to be the whole body work. That means practice. That means the preseason games. But we're also going to see a little bit of a change up as well. Sean did make the illusion after the game on Saturday that they are going to change things up and different backs are going to get different looks with some of the other units. So will we see a change this week where it's J.K. Dobbins against the Cardinals,

Starting point is 00:08:37 getting the primary touches early on with that first team offense. RJ coming in is maybe that third down back, kind of the role that Dobbins. played against San Francisco and then is going to be Jalil getting the first touches or Tyler Badegh or is going to be Blake Watson and Biday getting those first touches and Jalal getting touches with those other guys. I still feel like I want to see Audric getting touches with one of these upper echelon units on the offensive line versus him just being relegated to the third string unit, though the Broncos, they're mixing and matching quite a bit.

Starting point is 00:09:06 I mean, Alex Paucheske's playing second team right tackle, but he's playing third team right guard at that point. So they're moving guys around a little bit. Nick Garzulo is getting a lot of work with the guard aspect with that second team unit as well. I just want to figure out what the order and what the rotation is because I feel like you have to grade these guys if the coaching staff is how is this guy looking with the guys who are the starters, right? And when you have all these running backs, if you have four guys competing for two spots and you're not getting those guys looks with the ones, it really is hard to have the clear evaluation. But it also might be the advantage the Broncos have to say, well, we're going to put this guy with this unit.

Starting point is 00:09:44 And it might allow us to hide him a little bit easier, which I don't always think is fair to the player. Maybe that's a conversation that they are having. Maybe it's not. But you want to see what Badee can do with the first team offense, what Blake Watson could do with the first team offense. To me, that's exciting, even though you have RJ and you have JK. But what can these guys do with that unit? I wouldn't be surprised if the Broncos at one point said, hey, we're going to maybe switch it up. These guys are going to get some reps with the first team. team and then maybe JK and RJ get reps with the second team just because we already know those guys are going to be the top guys as is, but you want to see that look from two of the guys that maybe are higher up on the Broncos perceived depth chart there initially.

Starting point is 00:10:22 I don't know. It's chaos. It's wild. It's fun. That's why we tune into the preseason. It's why we tune in all throughout the entire offseason. The buildup to the 53 man roster. Broncos country want to know your thoughts here on the running back competition. Do you see it as being two spots open? And if so, who are the two leaders in the doghouse behind R.J. Harvey and J.K. Dobbins. Coming up next, Sarah and I, we're going to dive deep into the cornerback battle here for the Broncos between Jekwon, Macmillan, and Jada, Baron after week one of the preseason. And why it's under the microscope this week going to preseason game, number two. You're going to get that on today's episode of the show. This episode is presented by Yahoo Fantasy, and it's the best time of the year because NFL kickoff is almost here. And that means that fantasy football season is back in full swing.

Starting point is 00:11:04 And I know you're gearing up for it. And this year, Yahoo Fantasy is turning things up with a fantasy football experience like never before. This year, me and Sarah Bendezer of Lockdown Broncos, we're playing on Yahoo Fantasy, and you should too, whether you're a first-timer or you're a veteran that's making your millionth league, come join us. I've been making Yahoo Fantasy Football League since back in 2008. I mean, this is going to age me quite a bit. But you know what? It's been the best for a long time.

Starting point is 00:11:29 And the updates that they're rolling out this month, well, they're wild in the best way. And to celebrate 28 years of fantasy football greatness, Yahoo Fantasy is dropping 28 big new features over 28 days throughout August. To kick it off, they just dropped Yahoo Fantasy Guillotine Leagues, a killer new way to play fantasy football on Yahoo, where the lowest scoring team gets eliminated each week until there's just one team left standing. With the season around the corner, now's the time to get your league together and give this new mode a try. If you're more into the classics, you can still play in head-to-head private leagues or join a public. League. Stay tuned for more killer announcements and start playing Yahoo Fantasy Football now at Yahoo! Fantasy.com slash locked on NFL. One of the most solidified positions on the entire Denver Broncos roster might have just had a little bit of a crack in the door opened and not just at the

Starting point is 00:12:23 top of the depth chart, but at the bottom as well. We're going to talk about the cornerback position having some new intrigue here after preseason week one. But once again, Broncos Country, Thank you so much for making us your first listen of the day. Every single day, we appreciate you all. If you haven't done so already, hit subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts as well as on YouTube so you don't miss a single day of coverage here. Cody, let's talk about cornerback because frankly, this was one of those position groups that throughout the course of the off season you and I talked about. Like there's really no competition, right? I mean, not much, right?

Starting point is 00:12:56 We figure eventually Jaudei Barron going to take over as one of the top five guys there and, you know, the rest of the depth. is just so good for the Broncos that they're, I mean, they're set, right? They're six deep at a minimum. I think we have to start by talking, though, about the top of the depth chart and seeing that it's not just going to be Jayquan Macmillan getting phased out. He was out there with the starters and more than just seniority, I think, right? I think he's proven himself as a capable starter. Jadae Barron's going to have to take that job, but Jayquan had kind of a mixed bag of

Starting point is 00:13:28 results when he was out on the field. Yeah, and look, obviously that one explosive play to Wachke Hins the rookie speedy wide receiver from San Francisco. That was a slot fade. And the outside receiver ran a curl, which drew obviously the corner there, Riley Moss. And then you had obviously that slot fade where he had that vertical release. It was a great throw by Mack Jones, high to the outside.

Starting point is 00:13:49 And you had Macmillan trailing underneath in coverage. My only critique for J. Mack on that play would have just been stick on the hip a little longer, bring your ball side hand through to just at least try to wrap up and secure the tackle. There was a little bit of an inch of separation there. it was a big play that obviously got the 49ers down into the red zone and certainly shrunk the field for the Broncos defense. And Denver is a defense that really hasn't been susceptible to giving up really big plays like that. And so, yeah, maybe it's in a vacuum here. Maybe it is in the preseason.

Starting point is 00:14:18 But for him to also come back after the Broncos starters were out, Jayquan and Jaude were both playing the outside corner position on that second team defense. And that's where Jay Mack had the interception. and he was working obviously against Watkins who beat him earlier. So really was short-term memory shaking it off and going out there and making a play, getting Bo Nix and the offense to the ball back with great field position. You know, Jade is also a guy who just, I thought he came up and he tackled well. I thought you could see his instincts as the game was playing out.

Starting point is 00:14:49 He adjusted well, I think, to the different route combinations and certainly the splits of the receivers, you know, whether it was condensed where you have multiple receivers in the same exact area. They're within three or four yards of each other. and now you have to react to the vertical routes, the underneath, the outside routes there, and how it impacts your responsibility, whether you're in Manor's own, I came away impressed with how Jaide operated.

Starting point is 00:15:10 And look, I think it's going to be fun seeing these guys play. And regardless of who wins the starting job, I think it's going to be JMAQ, but I think that when the Broncos go to dime, both of those guys are going to play inside the slot. They're going to get ample playing time. You can match up certain guys with that flexibility that you have there with PS2 with Riley,

Starting point is 00:15:28 and now these two guys, into the mix. That's big, but not only these two guys should we be talking about in J. Mac and Jad, but man, Chris Abrams drain having a tremendous offseason. This goes back to training camp, had a heck of a preseason game, which now I think opens up the question, how do the Broncos get this guy on the field without taking snaps away from somebody else? I mean, it's a great problem to have right now. It is. I mean, he got the seal of approval from Chris Harris Jr. on Twitter, Cody. I saw that. Chris Harris Jr. is like this guy got to play basically, right? And so when you get that stamp of approval from a Broncos legend like that, obviously

Starting point is 00:16:08 that's hugely meaningful. But look, Chris Abrams drain is a playmaker. And I think if anybody struggles at any point this year, obviously you have them in case of emergency, in case of injury, right? But if anybody starts struggling, the cries for this guy to get out there on the field are going to start getting loud because he has played well at every opportunity that he's been given dating back to last season. When he got on the field against Cleveland, help the Broncos seal that victory, and then obviously was one of just a couple of guys to pick off Justin Herbert in the regular season before he threw like eight interceptions in the playoffs against the Texans.

Starting point is 00:16:42 I think that Chris Abrams drain is the ultimate sleeper on this roster. We talked about with Jonah Ellis how nobody's really manifesting a year to breakout for him because it's not a necessity for the team. The same is kind of true for Chris Abrams drain. Nobody's really manifesting this big year from him because it's not a necessity for the Broncos at this point. But man, you've got a player on your roster that he's going to be scraping and clawing for snaps. We'll probably mostly see him on special teams at this point. And he's probably capable of starting for a, I don't want to say a huge number or anything,

Starting point is 00:17:17 Cody and be hyperbolic here. But man, he could probably start for quite a few teams around the NFL. And he's the fifth corner on your depth chart right now. that's crazy for the Broncos to have. So it's nice that he's only in year two of his rookie contract. You got time to sort things out. But shoot, when a guy's playing this well, how do you justify keeping him off the field?

Starting point is 00:17:39 It's hard. It's hard to find snaps for guys like that, too, especially if you know, you draft Barron in the first round. You know, the eyes and the expectations are, okay, well, he's going to probably be the first man up. And there's in the event of an injury because you spent such, you know, premium capital on him.

Starting point is 00:17:53 I really think that Barron is going to stay. inside primarily, even, you know, no matter what, I think that's where they want to keep him. Whereas Abrams drain, I think can be that guy if you have an injury or you get banged up or it's late in a game. You want to switch guys out so you can protect your starters. Abrams drain, I think, is the backup on the outside to not only just Riley Moss, but also, I think Pat Sertana, he's had a heck of an offseason. You want to continue to see that, especially with the joint training camp practice coming up this week against the Arizona Cardinals, maybe get some looks against Marvin Harrison Jr. a little bit.

Starting point is 00:18:25 I'm excited for this week. I think it'll be a nice little test to see how this team bounces back. But I love the cornerback. I mean, for me, I'm a defensive back guy. So for me, watching this room is a luxury. For me, I'm really excited about it. And you have some younger guys as well that are also making plays as we saw in the preseason game.

Starting point is 00:18:44 He saw Joshua Pickett getting an interception. Obviously for him and his preseason debut, kind of getting a little bit of bounce back because he got burnt by Watkins. and one-on-ones during the 49ers joint practice, being in a good position, getting both feet in bounds. He's also a guy, I think, is making some hay on special teams a little bit as well. But with how deep this cornerback room is, I think it's hard for an undrafted guy to make the 53 this year,

Starting point is 00:19:07 specifically at this position. So I think he'll be a prime practice squad guy to target here for Sean Peyton and the Broncos. How are you feeling about him? Really liked what we saw from him. Also, really liked what we saw from Jaden Robinson, Cody. I think I saw number 33 flash on the screen. screen and it wasn't because somebody was getting tackled behind the line of scrimmage.

Starting point is 00:19:26 It was because he was making plays in coverage. And I think that with a guy like Jaden Robinson, $70,000 in guaranteed money from the team, really modest undrafted free agent pickup out of Oregon State, nothing that we even really talked about in the offseason program. And then he come up and make a huge play on Robbie Chosen on fourth and four to shut the 49ers down and get a turn over on downs for the Broncos. And then he made a great play on the ball against Isaiah Hodgens. who's played some really good football for the Buffalo Bills in the past,

Starting point is 00:19:56 I was really impressed by him. When the third defense comes out for the preseason Cody, and there's really guys that are only practice squad type candidates, you almost check out a little bit. So when somebody starts popping off, you see them repeatedly hitting your screen and you're like, dang, like, who's 33? You know, like even us who covers the team?

Starting point is 00:20:16 We cover all 91 guys on the roster. I'm like, who's 33? This guy's, he was really. really stepping up. So I liked what we saw from Jaden Robinson. I'm really looking forward to seeing if he can repeat that against the Cardinals this week. Well, and it's nice too, and some of these third string defensive guys can get rips against dudes who've played in the NFL who've made impact plays. I mean, Robbie, Robby Chosen, is that? Yeah, Robbie Chosen, Robbie Anderson. He made a play a few years ago against PS2 and that Dolphins blowout game that

Starting point is 00:20:44 the Broncos unfortunately would love to, you know, forget ever happened. So you're going against guys that have been proven to contribute in the NFL level versus like, you know, this is an undrafted guy versus an undrafted guy. It's a good measure to be able to see how you do against some veteran guys that are trying to, you know, at this late stage of their career, find a spot on the roster. So I'm with you. I'm loving the cornerback battle right now in Broncos country. There's some other position battles that we have our eyes on as well, including

Starting point is 00:21:10 inside linebacker with Dre Greenlaw and Alex Singleton said to return this week, what we'll see from Lavel Bailey and how did Justin Sturnaud do in Saturday's game against the 49ers. We'll highlight that and more here on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos. Today's episode, Lockdown Broncos is brought to my friends over there at Fandul, America's number one sportsbook in August 26 is officially FanDuel Futures Day, a brand new holiday for football fans who live for bold predictions and preseason hunches. For just 24 hours, Fandu is giving you the deals on NFL season predictions. So whether you're calling your MVP, you're eyeing a long shot division winner, or ready to crown your Super Bowl champion for

Starting point is 00:21:48 week one even kicks off. This is your moment. Broncos country. This is your moment, all right, to put your money where your mouth is, literally, if you've got Bo Nix being a competitor for the MVP, I mean, make your pick. Or if you're trying to say, let's take the odds right now. I'm buying the Super Bowl hype, right? You can do that right now, or you can even parlay your division winner dark horses around the league as well. Visit the Fanduel app today and start planning your futures bets now because futures day is one day and one day only. Fan duel play your game. Some of the other hot topic position battles at Broncos training camp and this off season are heating up as well as we take a look at the inside linebacker position real quick.

Starting point is 00:22:30 I want to say thanks once again to everyone in Broncos country. Thanks for tuning in and making us your first listen. However, you choose to do so. Stay locked in all throughout the entire week with training camp coverage plus preseason reaction and more all year long. We got you covered. This is the place to be fair. Let's talk about linebacker here. Obviously, we're excited this week because Sean Payton kind of alluded to it.

Starting point is 00:22:48 last week that Alex Singleton, Drake Greenlaw, we should expect to see these guys back in full speed this week. I'm curious to see if that actually comes to fruition here, beginning with Tuesday's practice this morning and the value of my question that I have is what does that mean for guys like Lavel Bailey, Justin Sternad, who got the starting reps in Saturday's game against the 49ers. What was your initial impression of those two? And how does that factor into the linebacker depth right now, especially with the other guys coming back as the starters.

Starting point is 00:23:19 I feel like they got off the hook on the Nick Bonito drive a little bit, Cody. Everybody on the defense didn't, they didn't really have to do a whole lot because Nick Bonito took care of that entire second possession for the 49ers. But I think aside from that one big play, the red zone, the tight red zone in that first drive for the 49ers, that was really a disappointment, right? To see just so easily they scored the ball. And you had the fourth down where they converted Mack Jones on the quarterback sneak. I don't think there was really much you can do about that.

Starting point is 00:23:49 And what can you really take away from when guys don't get a ton of snaps like this? And you have a drive that's taken over by a pass rusher, right? I mean, there's only so much that you can take from that. And so I feel like we still need to see more. That's kind of where I'm at after that first preseason game is I want to see more from these guys. I want to see the splash plays. I want to see them making TFLs.

Starting point is 00:24:11 I want to see them attacking the line of scrimmage. We just didn't get a ton of opportunity for that, especially because the 49ers quickly went from their second offense to their third offense. And so it's like, what do you really glean from this anyway? I still think we need to see more from those guys. But like you said, you're getting those two starters back in the fold this week. So has their opportunity already passed them by? I don't think so.

Starting point is 00:24:32 I mean, I honestly felt like Justin Sternard stood out quite a bit in the limited action we saw of him there, especially with the starters. He had a nice TFL stick. The Broncos obviously like him as a blitzer because they sent him a few times there. we didn't really get to see any of that splash from Lavel Bailey that we necessarily wanted to. But as you mentioned, you had the rotations kind of change up quickly. Those guys got a few reps going into, you know, when the starters came off. But then it was Karen A read time.

Starting point is 00:24:59 And obviously, he came away with an interception. You know, you saw Jordan Turner getting involved in the mix of that linebacker rotation there. So, yeah, you want to see more, I think, from Lavel and those reps. But I like what I saw from Sternade and the reps that we saw from him early on. And I think this is a group that really behind Singleton and Dre Greenlaw, you know, I think we had a lot of questions before Drew Sanders injury before camp even began. It does seem like now this is probably Alex Singleton's job alongside Dre Greenlaw. And then you're going to have Sternaud and Lavelle Bailey as those key backups and other guys that you can use because those two guys are also going to play a lot of special teams.

Starting point is 00:25:33 And so can Karen A Reed maybe throw his name into the mix to be a fifth linebacker on the active roster? I think he's made a strong case for himself here, not just saying because he, had a pick in the preseason, he has been a standout almost on a day-to-day basis in training camp. So Reed, I think his stock is elevating a little bit as a UDFA. He might be the one guy that actually makes it onto the active roster. Well, and we know money talks. He was one of the highest priced acquisitions the Broncos made after the draft in terms of total guaranteed money as well. So they are rooting for him internally. The scouting department, the coaches, somebody really liked him coming out of the draft, Cody, or multiple somebodies. And so they're

Starting point is 00:26:13 obviously going to be rooting for him to make the team as well or to at least practice squad and then maybe shuffle up at some point in the near future. I think also on the defensive line, we saw some really good stuff from a number of the guys on the second unit after the starters went out. You have Malcolm Roach, obviously, who is effectively a starter. I know you can only start three guys, but Malcolm Roach, he ain't in any sort of job jeopardy whatsoever. But Seveon Jones, In Yoma, Uwazerike, Jordan Jackson, a number of guys on that defensive line. And I thought that at various times, all three of those guys made plays that you're kind of like, all right, they got a little something there.

Starting point is 00:26:50 And they just, I mean, these guys just ate up the backup 49ers offensive line. They only had 200, like 203 yards total as an offense for the entire game. So that starts in the defensive front. And those guys played really well in this one. I think the competition there is still very much ongoing, no separation in my opinion. Yeah, and I'm curious as well is in Yoma's vision, is that, more so kind of like a backup D tackle or is he going to play some defensive end? I mean, he played a little bit of both in this game on Saturday against the 49ers,

Starting point is 00:27:21 whereas Savion Jones has a fumble recovery in his first NFL game action, which you love to see that. And that was forced by J.L. Skinner, who we'll talk about here in just a minute. But I like this D-line depth here, right? Because ideally you are keeping Zach Allen, DJ Jones, John Franklin Myers, Malcolm Roach. You're keeping four guys there. How many guys are you keeping in the back end rotation? Are you keeping seven defensive linemen?

Starting point is 00:27:43 If that's the case, that would mean Savian, Jordan Jackson, in Yoma O'Azareke. And obviously now with Matt Hinnigson being done for the year with the torn Achilles, I think you open up the door now for those seven guys to make the 53-man roster. Do you add another name or another body there at some point? I'm very curious to see how Jamar Kane and the Broncos approaches. But let's get to now J.L. Skinner, who forced the fumble that Savion Jones recovered here. The safety battle right now, I think it's kind of spelling itself out.

Starting point is 00:28:11 a little bit. You saw, see, Hufanga and Brandon Jones as the two starters. The next guy's up was, you know, Devin Key and PJ Locke, the duo of Lock and Key, if we're making a play on words here. And then it was really J.L. Skinner and some other guys rotating in there, whereas late we saw Delarian, Turner Yale and Sam Franklin, Jr. I'm curious how you perceive this room in particular, especially with Skinner, who I thought made a lot of plays on special teams,

Starting point is 00:28:38 had some impact plays on defense. Your thoughts on how this might play out. I honestly kind of feel like J.L. Skinner's spot is going to be hard for anyone to take on this roster because he looked like one of the best special teamers on the field yesterday, regardless of 49ers or Broncos. He was making plays, had a really nice hit on a kickoff coverage and then came up from the safety spot and had that forced fumble. And I love that. That's what that is exactly what everybody's been waiting to see since the Broncos turned in the card in 2023 to draft J.L. Skinner in the sixth round where everybody's like, oh my gosh, biggest steal of the class, right? Everybody's been waiting to see that type of hit from him because that's what he did at

Starting point is 00:29:18 Boise State. And unfortunately, injuries nearly cost him his entire rookie season, right? And then year two, it was kind of just that acclamation period while playing a little special teams. And now, Cody, I feel like he's going to emerge into that core special teams guy and somebody that you can weaponize defensively because he looked like a heat-seeking missile out there. I don't think he made any mistakes that I can recall. So I just really loved what we saw from him. And it's big because you and I mentioned that he was one guy that had not

Starting point is 00:29:51 stood out really at training camp practices. We haven't heard his name much. Well, now at joint practices and in the preseason game against the Niners, he found a way to stand out. I feel like if we had to predict it here today, right now, if I had to say what the 53 man roster was going to look like, what safety was going to look like, you're going with Hufanga, Jones, PJ, Devin Key, and J.L. Skinner. I think those are the five guys. Did they carry six? Maybe. But that's where I view as them maybe trying to, maybe there's a battle between Delirion, Turner, Yale right now and Sam Franklin, Jr. to say, hey, like, we know we can't bring you guys onto the 53, but you clear waivers. We bring you back to the practice squad.

Starting point is 00:30:28 Is there one guy between those two guys who are going to factor in there? And then Keedron Smith, who had a great preseason last year. I mean, we're not really seeing him get those opportunities he got last year. I think that's just a testament. to the strength of the depth of this position right now. And I mean, it's not necessarily a bad thing, but you know, you want to see this room kind of fortify itself. So I'm very curious to see how it all plays out here. Roster cuts are coming here in the next two and a half weeks.

Starting point is 00:30:53 You know, we're going to have you covered every step of the way here. But Broncos Country, that I'll wrap up today's episode of the show. Thank you so much for rocking with us, making us your first listen every single day for your second. Listen, Brockco's Country. Go check out our show over there. Locked-on bets here on the Locked-on podcast network to stay up to date with everything in the betting.

Starting point is 00:31:09 game. They got you covered over there. Sarah and I will be back with a bonus episode following Tuesday's practice in Dove Valley. The biggest story coming out of that, you'll get all that and more here on the show.

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