Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - Denver Broncos, Sean Payton Biggest Offseason Needs For 2025

Starting point is 00:00:00 The offseason is officially here for the Denver Broncos. And Broncos Country wants to know what the top three offseason needs for this team, what they will be. We'll break that down and much more and answer your mailbag questions on today's brand new episode of 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 of Locked on Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast,

Starting point is 00:00:35 of the Lockedon Podcast Network where you know it is your team every day. Thank you so much to all the everydayers out there in Broncos country. Thanks for tuning in and making us your first listen every single day, including the off season. Because for the true fan, there's never an off season. We still got you covered five days a week all year long for all your Broncos news, content coverage analysis and more. You get that here on the Lockdown podcast network.

Starting point is 00:00:59 I'm Cody Roark, Broncos reporter for Mile High Sports. Join, as always, by Sarah Bedinger, site expert of their predominantly orange. dot com and broncos country we opened up the mailbag to you the avid listeners of the show thank you so much to everyone who sent your questions in we chose three of the best ones and obviously there's more we'll we'll get to all throughout the entire off season here but really we'll wrap up today's show by talking about which broncos player not named bow nicks can take the next step in their development that will help the team here in 2025 we'll highlight whether or not the NFL free agency or the NFL draft will be the area for the Broncos to focus on adding offensive weapons.

Starting point is 00:01:36 We're going to kick things off for the great question from someone of Broncos country who asked us, what are the Broncos top three needs in and off season? You'll get that on today's episode of the show, which is brought to you by our friends over there at game time. Download the game time at credit account. Use code lockdown NFL for $20 off your first purchase. Sarah, open up your handy dandy mailbag. Who is the first question from and where do we go from here, my friend? Well, the first question is from Nick Theon on Twitter who asks us, Cody,

Starting point is 00:02:03 is moving forward the top three needs we have to address this offseason. What are they? And then some follow-up questions that we're going to kind of break down as we get along in the episode. Like, do you spend money on the playmakers? Do you draft them? Who could you trade for? I think we got to start with the first part of Nick's question, though, which is what would be the top three needs that this Denver Broncos team has to address in the 2025 offseason?

Starting point is 00:02:28 And I just want to start off by saying that I am very thankful that quarterback is not on the list. I mean, I think we can all rejoice in Broncos country that we're not talking about needing a quarterback at this point in time. But we can have the much more fun discussion about how do we surround this quarterback that we have, this franchise quarterback that the Denver Broncos discovered in Bow Nix in 2024, which is why I think that the needs really start with offensive weapons. And I mean, Cody, I kind of toyed with this. I kind of thought through this. And you can let me know your thoughts as well.

Starting point is 00:03:04 I know that running back and tight end are going to be near the top of the list for the Denver Broncos because they don't have anybody at tight end that can really be a playmaker in the passing game at this point. And they don't have anybody at running back that I think you can definitively say, yep, that guy is a running back one at the NFL level, especially now that Javante Williams, the guy they drafted in the second round back in 2021. is a free agent. I'm interested to know your thoughts if those are the top two needs on this team and where you would maybe fit wide receiver into the mix. Yeah, look, I think this is a great question from Nick. And obviously, I think it's a question everybody in Broncos country currently has. Okay, how do you, how do you get better? How do you improve in the offseason? Look, I think team needs can vary. And for me, yes, I think having a running back, you know, a legitimate running back is probably going to be a very big priority here for Denver.

Starting point is 00:03:58 But what is it that Bo Nix needs the most? You and I have been saying it, a run game there. But part of me is like, and this is another episode for another day. Should the Broncos look at maybe changing their run blocking scheme a little bit, right? Because I couldn't help go back and watch that Bill's game. And the thing that stood out to me that Buffalo did really well. And I think it may be suited their personnel, especially with the physicality of their offensive line. They pull their tackles.

Starting point is 00:04:21 They pull their guards on place. Denver doesn't really pull. their offensive line in the run blocking game. A lot of it is just zone blocking and it's just, hey, double team and work your way up because, you know, the running back's going to see the holes, the cutback. I think that the run game has to evolve a little bit. Maybe if that's the case,

Starting point is 00:04:37 maybe the Broncos current running backs they have on the roster will thrive and succeed. Certainly, yes, having a really good running back and maybe a true RB1 will help. But, man, I have to go right here as terms of like get Bo Nix some help around him in terms of the passing game too. I think the run game issues, that's something I'll probably be addressed. But for me, it's like, all right, hey, tight-end wide receiver. I would put wide receiver as the top priority here,

Starting point is 00:05:00 considering you just need to add another legit guy next to Cortland Sutton. And that's not an indictment. That doesn't mean anything bad about Troy Franklin or Devon Velae or even Marvin Mims. And as a matter of fact, you and I've talked about on the show, I think it opens up opportunities for those guys to thrive even more, right? And obviously for Corland, Corlin is entering the last year of his deal here in 2025. So you kind of have to be a little forward thinking.

Starting point is 00:05:25 I know that Cortland would like to stay in Denver. I know that the team would like to have him here. It's just about trying to figure out what those numbers look like. But I think we clearly saw it that you need another playmaker at that position there. And I think all those other guys that I mentioned there, the Marvin Mims, the Franklin's, the Vailies, those guys will take off and produce even further if you have another guy that can help out with Cortland Sutton and open up opportunities for those guys. That's where I'm at.

Starting point is 00:05:51 Wide receiver, in my opinion, priority number one this offseason. Which I think kind of plays into the second part of that question about do you go after a guy in the draft or free agency? And I know you and I will discuss that in depth. But man, it's definitely got to be at the top of the priority list. And certainly the offense is going to be the focus this entire offseason, Cody. But I'm also interested in what is going to happen defensively for this team because of the breakdown that we saw late in the year. and because of how well that unit played when it was at its best. Like over the course of the year, the entire season, it's the top five defense.

Starting point is 00:06:28 And so to have a breakdown late in the year like that, that wasn't necessarily due to injuries, although you could maybe go back to early in the year and blame the Alex Singleton injury on some of the issues. I think it leads to the middle of that defense, really being the area this team needs to focus on in the offseason. Linebacker, maybe another safety there. And I could see this team, Cody, looking to upgrade both of those spots via free agency, first and foremost, because you're typically going to get the best bang for your buck in free agency at linebacker and safety. Guys just don't necessarily make that much comparative to other positions around the league where you've got offensive guards making $20 plus million a year. You've got obviously wide receivers and corners making ridiculous money and other positions like edge guys make ridiculous money. like linebackers and safeties, you can get arguably, you know, top 10 guys at their positions in the NFL in free agency if they make it there.

Starting point is 00:07:24 And I think the Broncos will look to do that. I think inside linebacker could be completely overhauled this offseason with, I mean, Justin Sirrnot, he's a free agent. And then obviously Cody Barton, he's a free agent. Alex Singleton, what do you do with him with one year left on his deal, I believe, coming off the ACL injury? And now he's entering, you know, he's into his 30s now. So I think those are questions that need to be answered. And that position right there, inside linebacker, that's a position where I could see the Broncos spending some big money.

Starting point is 00:07:54 Yeah, look, I could see inside linebacker. You know, DJ Jones, he's going to be a free agent. I think Denver's got to do whatever they can to bring DJ back into the mix, especially for what he does on those interior gaps as a run plug guy. I think he allows those other guys to find success. You already have Malcolm Roach still. So trying to keep that, you know, the unit that improved the most in terms of that, try to bring that back to the forefront here.

Starting point is 00:08:16 But can you add maybe another defensive line and a bigger guy? Because I think that's one thing that we all saw in Sunday's game against Buffalo was the Bill's offensive line was big. Man, they were big. And Denver's going to obviously have to go into the offseason. They're going to look to learn from that. They face some big offensive lines. And certainly next year, they're going to face some big offensive lines as well.

Starting point is 00:08:34 You talk about the Philadelphia Eagles. You talk about the Dallas Cowboys. Like there's going to be some size on the O line that they're going to face. And being in the trenches while Denver was improved. that definitely came back to bite them in the rear end against the Buffalo Bills who just ran for over 200 yards against them in that game. And look, part of that is not only just the defensive line, but it's also the inside linebacker play as well.

Starting point is 00:08:56 And that's going to have to upgrade here for Denver. I'm very, very curious to see how they prioritize the off season and whether or not they look at free agency to beefing up those positions or the NFL draft. It just depends on obviously we know they're picking 20th right now. Who's available? What does that look like? Can you move up? Can you move back?

Starting point is 00:09:14 Like every option is going to be on the table. We're so far away from doing mock drafts. So Broncos country, I promise we're not going to do that to you here. We're going to start that probably after free agency. The first two waves of free agency happens, and we'll start getting into mock drafts a little bit. But for me, I know Sarah's going to be right in quite a bit. But we won't do any here on the show for a hot minute.

Starting point is 00:09:34 But I mean, yeah, I think that's going to have to be the priority here is how do you improve the inside linebacker position? because I looked at what the Buffalo Bills were able to do with Matt Milano. He played spy to Bo Nix, a good portion of that game. And man, you talk about rangy, athletic, sideline-to-sideline linebackers. That's a prototype in today's NFL, and you certainly need that. And there aren't Fred Warner's that grow on trees, unfortunately. Like Fred Warner is a hell of a player, and it's rare to find a player who can do things that he does,

Starting point is 00:10:05 so to speak, to be able to get from, hey, you're inside of the hash. You can get to the sideline just like that. you can drop back 20 yards into coverage and keep everything in front of you make range of athletic plays. Those linebackers are hard to find. I wonder if Denver's going to make that a priority for them this offseason. But I think that's a great question that comes in from Nick. And obviously, Broncos country, let us know what your top three needs are in terms of what this Broncos team needs to do in free agency or the NFL draft. Drop them in here on social media or unlocked on Broncos wherever you listen to podcasts.

Starting point is 00:10:34 We're going to get to our next question that comes in our Broncos mailbag. Should the Broncos add offensive weapons? an NFL free agency or the NFL draft or both. We'll share our thoughts on that much more here on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos. Today's Lockdown Broncos podcast is brought to you by our friends over there at TurboTax and it's almost tax season here, Broncos country. And this is a message from our sponsor, Intuit TurboTax.

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Starting point is 00:11:36 turbotax.com, only available with TurboTax, live full service. real-time updates only in iOS mobile app. See guaranteed details at turbotax.com slash guarantees. Should the Denver Broncos be upgrading their roster primarily through free agency or the NFL draft or are we going to see a beautiful marriage of both here in the 2025 offseason? Broncos country. It's a little bittersweet. Obviously, we'd love to be previewing a Broncos versus Chiefs matchup right now.

Starting point is 00:12:06 But you know what? It's the offseason and it's going to be a very exciting. one and we're thankful for every single one of you that makes this show so special. And shout out to all of you every dayers out there that make us your first listen of the day every single day. If you're not yet an everyday listener, go ahead. Hit subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts as well as on YouTube so you don't miss a single episode. And hit Cody and I up on Twitter or X, whatever you want to call it because you know what? You just might have a question featured in the show. Just like we have here from Tyson Monroe on Twitter, Cody.

Starting point is 00:12:37 great question asked by Tyson. And actually it was a it was kind of a frequent question that you and I got as we opened up this particular mailbag. Yeah. Are the Broncos better to chase offense of weapons in particular through free agency or the NFL draft? Now, I think the qualifier of the offensive weapons part is what kind of drew me to this, this particular question. Because you can always talk like, what's the strategy going to be? Do you go heavy in free agency in general or is it more like you want to build through the draft? I feel like this is a good kind of narrowing it in with the offensive weapons specifically.

Starting point is 00:13:14 So we can talk your brand in particular, my brand in particular, but what do we think the Broncos are going to do here? Is it going to be free agency or the draft or a beautiful combination of both for these offensive weapons that are going to come in? Yeah, this is a great question. I feel like it will be a combination of both, but I think one of the bigger things maybe we can highlight here is like what is Denver going to attack their biggest need with, right?

Starting point is 00:13:37 you attack free agency with your biggest need? Because I think we've all kind of seen that the Broncos philosophy has kind of been along the lines of not drafting based on need necessarily. Now, obviously, I think Bo Nicks, drafting, that was best player available to them. And I was also a need that they want. So, right, when you have those two qualifying factors, maybe it makes it easier here. But we've seen them historically, they go and they draft the best player available. You can take a look at that based on George Payton's last handful of drafts.

Starting point is 00:14:05 You go back to his first one. Pat Sertan, you go. go to his second when I saw your tweet you put out there. It goes Nick Bonito. You go to the next one there. Okay, hey, Marvin Mims is a big part of that. For me, and then obviously, Bo Nix. To be honest with you, Sarah, I think that's going to still be the approach here.

Starting point is 00:14:21 For me, I think when you look at the numbers, Denver is going to be in the top 10 of available salary cap space. We still don't know what the official number for the league is going to be just yet, but we know that they're anticipated to be in the top 10 of that. Yes, you're still going to be dealing with the $32 million of dead cap for Russell Wilson, but that's not going to prohibit them from going out and spending big, maybe on the biggest need that they possibly have and maybe adding a playmaker, right? And I've seen various names thrown out there.

Starting point is 00:14:45 Should the Broncos pursue T. Higgins, things like that. I think they absolutely should pursue him. Are they going to be able to entice him? I don't know. He might go to L.A. to play with Justin Herbert. That might be something there. Cincinnati, Joe Burrow has been on the record video-wise saying in a press conference that they need to find a way to keep everyone together with him and Jamar Chase.

Starting point is 00:15:03 I don't know how that's going to be possible, but certainly we'll see where things are at. So for me, yeah, I think you go out in NFL free agency. If it were up to me, spend big on one or two positions in free agency. And then you obviously have some extensions that are being coming up with Nick Benito, that you're going to have to address so on and so forth. That's my approach where I'd be. Where do you lean on this? Like if you had to choose where your bread and butter was going to be for offensive weapons.

Starting point is 00:15:28 Well, I think when you look at this free agent class and there's guys like T. Higgins, like you mentioned out there and, you know, certainly the Chris Godwins of the world. There's big names out there. Amari Cooper. I mean, there's players that are available that are going to draw interest from the fan base. It's going to be fascinating to see what the Broncos' overall strategy is because, like, my personal brand for free agency has always been to go after the younger type of guys that you can like actually,

Starting point is 00:15:56 okay, it's not like we drafted this guy, but we could get a rookie contract length out of this guy and free agency or maybe two contracts out of them. Similar to what we've seen with, I mean, the Zach Allen deal, the Brandon Jones deal and things of that nature. So like a T. Higgins would greatly excite me. And we can do another episode at some point about what, you know, I think personally the Broncos offer maybe the best possible situation for a guy like that. But I feel like, man, that's, that is an area that you just, you don't want to go into the

Starting point is 00:16:28 NFL draft feeling like you're backed into any certain quarter. corner at all. You don't want to necessarily go into the draft saying, okay, in rounds one through four, we have to get a running back, a wide receiver, a tight end, and a, you know, defensive lineman. You don't want to enter the draft with that mentality because although it's nice to be able to build through the draft, if you're constantly drafting for need, you're missing out on what you just said, Cody, which is to take the best player available.

Starting point is 00:16:57 And so I think you have to go to free agency for some of these spots. that, hey, let's go get the best players that we possibly can. Like when you sign Ben Powers, you sign Mike McGlenshy, you sign Zach Allen, you sign Brandon Jones. You're not necessarily going to be drafting those positions where you need starters right now, where you need upgrades immediately. Like, are you going to bank on a rookie coming in and being the wide receiver one for Bo Nix when you're picking barely in the top 20?

Starting point is 00:17:24 Yeah, that's a big time risk. It's a big time risk. So to me, I like this question because it does put some. pressure on the front office to be aggressive. But like when you hear Sean Payton after the game, like in his post game presser, not the day after, not at the end of season press conference, he's talking after the game about the salary, the dead cap being off the table now. Like how, how present has that been on the mind of Sean Payton and general manager George Payton as we approach the end of the season and they start to, you know, concocting their, you know, all right,

Starting point is 00:17:58 what's the off season going to look like? They're dreaming big. I feel like it's going to be one of those aggressive free agencies. I want to ask you this too. Like if we shift our focus here to the NFL draft, because of the last handful of years, the lack of overall capital that the Broncos have possessed because of the Russell Wilson trade, knowing what we know now, seeing the roster and a lot of the guys that George Payton has drafted, how many of these guys have panned out and are playing or starting or contributing in a big time way, now that Denver's going to have

Starting point is 00:18:25 more capital this year than they've had, how confident do you feel now in terms of being able to say like, all right, hey, I believe that this coaching staff, the scouting personnel department, I believe that they're going to go out there and they're going to get players that may not play right away. You may get one guy that plays right away, right? Really depending on the mindset and what you're doing free agency. But ideally two to three years from now, these are guys that are going to be stepping in a role as maybe as, you know, the NFL is a constant revolving door. There may be guys transitioning their way out. This may be a, hey, we're drafting this guy because in two to three years, we're going to have a vacancy at this position. And there's going to be an

Starting point is 00:18:58 opening barring into a guy earning a contractor playing out of his mind we need to keep our eye to the future that's how i think great organizations always are you're very forward thinking well maybe you add one or two guys that can play right away yeah and sean peyton has talked about that in the past right of like every player that they have there's like the you know not it's not it's not like a vision board but it's like uh hey here's what we see this guy as far as like he could be a year one or this guy's a year two or this guy's a year three everybody's going to have a different vision and like would you i mean would you take back the nick benito pick just because he didn't play much in his rookie season would you take back the Marvin mims pick just because uh you could

Starting point is 00:19:39 have had x y or z i mean i think you could look at a number of these different selections that the broncos have made over the last handful of years even in some of their poor classes to where i mean shoot like every every pick has a chance to be something whether it's a reserve whether it's a special teams guy whether it's a future starter like the Jonathan Cooper pick is a great example. The Quinn Miners pick, a great example. Because remember the discussion after Quinn was drafted was, okay, so he's super athletic. He's got long arms.

Starting point is 00:20:10 Like, is he going to be this team's right tackle? Or is he going to play center? Like we saw him self-taught playing at the senior bowl. And then all of a sudden, because the Broncos were already set at that time at the right guard position. So the, I mean, at the present moment when he was drafted, there was no like, oh, man, Quinn Miner is obviously going to become an all-pro right guard, right? I forget who was the guard there at first initially his rookie year.

Starting point is 00:20:34 I'm trying to remember. Glasgow, wasn't it? Or is that a year behind? I'm pretty sure they just signed Glasgow. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, so it was. It was. So, you know, that's kind of where I'm at with this is thinking, like, man, you take the best guys,

Starting point is 00:20:49 the best talent that you possibly can, and you just believe that it's going to work out at some point down the line. Man, Glasgow's worked out really well for Detroit. Obviously, he spent time there, came to Denver, went back there, and obviously his career is going great, but the Broncos, they have an all pro now in Quinn Miners. And I'm very excited just to see the level of growth with this team. And I feel more confident about the direction of them, especially with Sean Payton and George Payton being so aligned, I think philosophically on how to build this roster. Now can they get it, you know, to kind of piece together. There's some things will obviously preview and highlight this week in post locker room from the week as players are now heading home for the offseason. Some staying here, you know, but, you know, much needed break for them.

Starting point is 00:21:27 unfortunately they wish that they were playing another week and potentially playing late into February. But unfortunately, that's not going to be the case of the Broncos season has come to an end. One Broncos listener out there asked us the question, which player besides Bo Nix needs to take the next step in their development for the Broncos to be even better in 2025? We'll ponder this question and answer much more here on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos. Today's Lockdown Broncos podcast is brought to you by friends over there at the Game Time app. And I love going to live events, whether it's sports, music, theater, and comedy.

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Starting point is 00:23:17 We'll be doing this. So be sure to send in your questions. Stay tuned for the prompt on social media at Cody Work NFL at Lockdown Broncos. At Sarah Bedinger, we got you covered. There's so many great questions that get sent in. We always try to choose three because then we can spend a whole entire hour answering questions. So maybe your question will make the next one. We appreciate just so much Broncos country.

Starting point is 00:23:37 All right, sir, this question comes in on Twitter from Brian Beasie. He asked the question with an eye on player development other than rookie quarterback Bo Nix, which singular player or players improvement over the offseason would have the biggest impact on the Broncos becoming contenders in 2025? Look, this is a tough one because when you look at this roster and how young it is, where could you, whether you're looking at offense or defense, which player can take such a big step forward that can help make you a more dangerous team? Who do you got in what position are you looking at?

Starting point is 00:24:12 I think if Marvin Mims, Cody, would take the next step in his game as a wide receiver to be a threat at every level of the field. I mean, we've seen the big plays deep down field. We've seen some big plays after the catch. And we saw him get more involved in the offense as kind of a, you know, hey, out of the backfield or, you know, just want to design ways to get the guy touches. We saw that, but where's the mesh concepts, you know, to get him yards after the catch? Where's Marvin Mims running those dagger routes? Where's Marvin Mims kind of making plays in the middle, intermediate area of the field?

Starting point is 00:24:48 But I want to see that so desperately. And I feel like if he could do that on a consistent basis. And I don't know what it is that he needs to improve, Cody. Is it, is it route running? Is it hands? Is it separation? Is it getting off of jams at the line of scrimmage? Like, what is it that would cause Marvin Mims to take that step forward in his game?

Starting point is 00:25:07 Because he's so dynamic with the ball in his hands that if the Broncos could find ways to have him running wide open, you know, deeper downfield without like having to be a 50-50, you know, deep shot, things like that. I just feel like Marvin is that guy that he could really take this. offense to new heights. He could be that player to vault the Denver Broncos offense, regardless of who they add in free agency. Yeah, I think that's a great point. I like your selection of Marvin. I would even add Troy Franklin to that just because we've seen Troy's size, we've seen his speed. And finally, we saw the deep ball and as to what you can do. And I think for Troy, the same thing can apply to him is what you're talking about with Marvin. Like, yes, we love the deep ball shots. Like, that's awesome. The fact that the Broncos have that and a legit threat

Starting point is 00:25:53 and the deep ball passing game now between Marvin and Troy. And obviously with Cortland, that's fun. That's exciting. But it's, okay, can you do it? Can you run slants? Can you do what Joe Burrow, Jamar Chase, T. Higgins do where you're running these short routes that are at different intermediate levels of the field. And you're getting the ball of these guys that have speed or athleticism to make guys

Starting point is 00:26:14 miss in space. And you're getting yards after the catch. That has to be an emphasis here for this offense going forward. I would add Troy to that. but I'm also going to say, too, I'm going to go at Audrick Estimate here in this because I think having that development, look, his rookie season, we saw flashes, right? You know, obviously we talked about early on the ball security issues. That was something. It wasn't an issue ever since the moment, you know, he got benched for that.

Starting point is 00:26:38 And obviously, he was on the four-week layoff because of the ankle injury. The fact that he's protective football is good. But for the run game to take off, Audrick's going to have to be a big proponent of that, I think going into the offseason, going into OTAs and training camp. If he can do even more and be better, because there's time, Sarah, you see it. You see that he's got good vision that he can put his foot in the ground, change directions at a level of the Broncos don't have with any of their bigger running backs there. You haven't seen that with Giovante, unfortunately.

Starting point is 00:27:07 Autrick Estimate is going to be a very big part of that offensively. Now, if we could shift gears here, if you could highlight maybe a player on defense that their development or them taking such a big step from this year to next year will help put the Broncos into contender status. who do you think it will be? Because I think the guy that we maybe if we answered this question last year, we would have said Zach Allen.

Starting point is 00:27:28 That came to fruition. Zach Allen was that guy. So I don't think we say Zach at this point because he's already done that. If you can look on defense, where are you going? How about Drew Sanders? I mean, that's kind of an out of pocket one. But I mean, look, I don't, I'll be interested to see or hear what Sean Peyton and George Payton say as to the vision of a guy like Drew Sanders going forward.

Starting point is 00:27:49 because this year, unfortunately, it was a bit of a lost year. Like we did get to see him play at the end of the season and some pressure packages and things like that. But does the vision change again now that you have a loaded edge group? I mean, there's not going to be many snaps out there with guys like Benito, Cooper, Dondre Tillman will be back. Obviously, Jonah Ellis. I mean, Jonah Ellis, the shoulder injury.

Starting point is 00:28:13 Like, remember, that's something we probably haven't had a chance to talk about. That's the same shoulder. I think he hurt and had to have surgery. on. And the fact it didn't look good. He didn't return. So there's a chance that maybe Jonah might have to have surgery on that this off season, which if it's the same injury to that same shoulder, look how late we are in the process right now. I think I was talking with someone and he had that surgery last November and just barely got along here to there. So he'll be behind the schedule if that's the case. So that also might change things now. Oh, yeah, that's that's concerning.

Starting point is 00:28:46 and of course we'll be eager to hear more about his status going forward. But I mean, let's just dream a little bit about Drew Sanders potentially kind of floating back to the inside linebacker position as a, I mean, I don't know, a pressure player from that spot as well. And we know that he's got an athletic. Athleticism to cover. Like he could be a guy that you could say,

Starting point is 00:29:07 hey, this is a chess piece that we want to find a way to get him on the field. And he's not just going to be backed into the corner of playing only off the edge. And so I don't know, he's maybe one of those guys, Cody, because there's a number of guys took that step forward this past year. Now, could we say Nick Padito getting to the next level? Absolutely. Or Jonathan Cooper, same thing. Like, those guys can continue to get better.

Starting point is 00:29:28 Riley Moss, absolutely. But I think it's that void right now at the offball linebacker position. That's really something that could take this Broncos team defensively to New Heights. I was going to say that's a great pick because he actually might be the in-house solution for the Broncos at inside linebacker, right? Obviously with Alex Singleton coming off the injury, Alex will jump back into the starting lineup as that, you know, as the starter and captain. And then I think it'll be Drew Sanders.

Starting point is 00:29:56 I think it'll be Singleton and Sanders next season. If we have to give an early prediction now, still would expect to maybe sign a linebacker and maybe they're interested in bringing Zach Cunningham, the veteran back, which isn't a bad option for you there. You got Lavelle Bailey still on the roster who's developing. So maybe that is the solution is maybe. maybe you focus elsewhere and you focus on your in-house development with these players. And look, you and I have talked about this on the show before.

Starting point is 00:30:22 Denver's front office here and Sean Payton, they are massive believers in player development. There's an emphasis there. There are some teams out there that just want to go out and get the best player possible and say, hey, we hope it works. Whereas there are people who, I think when you look at the Broncos current roster, you look at starters, you look at the emphasis on homegrown players, right? Pat Sartan, Quinn Miner's being great examples of that. where the Broncos really are trying to be in terms of building the foundation.

Starting point is 00:30:47 They've said it, you Peyton and Peyton, so much of this, you know, during their tenure so far. To me, I think that's going to be crucial. So maybe that's the in-house element. I'm going to say Riley Moss. You know, I loved what we saw from Riley this year. He broke out in such a big way. And I know the knee injury derailed him a little bit in that regard. I think that Riley's got an even more of a chip on his shoulder going into the offseason.

Starting point is 00:31:10 He's hungry or he's got a great mindset to him. and I think he can be even better next season at one of the hardest positions in all the football. So for me, my defensive selection would be Riley Moss. I think if Riley can become that and take that extra step further that I know that he wants to be able to take, Denver is going to have more impact than there's back end secondary, I think, with these two guys. And hey, that's what we do. It's all about development. It's all about getting tested playing with the fire.

Starting point is 00:31:39 Riley has been tested. You know, the T. Higgins game was a great opportunity. opportunity for him to learn even more about how he can get better. And I can guarantee you haven't talked to Riley, sir. He's just focused on improving and just sticking with the team and doing whatever he can to make, to make an impact. And I think that's going to be an exciting development to watch. So Broncos country, we want to know your thoughts.

Starting point is 00:31:59 If you had to choose any other player besides Bo Nix in 2025, whose development will help them take the next step towards becoming contenders, who do you think that will be? Whether it's offense or defense, make sure you let us know, you know, locked on Lockdown Broncos wherever you listen to your podcast. We're also available on YouTube. But with that said, Broncos country, that'll wrap up today's episode of the show. Sarah and I, we appreciate all the everydayers so much.

Starting point is 00:32:22 Look, if you've rocked with us all season long, make sure you rock with us all throughout the entire off season because we're going to bring you fresh content five days a week, every single weekday all throughout the entire off season. We've got a lot coming up. The off season may be here, but you know, you got the senior bull coming up. You got obviously free agency coming up here in a couple months. The NFL draft, the Combine. And there's so much going on.

Starting point is 00:32:43 And Locked Out Broncos is the place to be for all things surrounding your favorite team. That is the Broncos. Tomorrow's episode of the show for all you every day is out there. We went to the Broncos final locker room cleanout. We got some insight from several players on the roster. We'll recap that and where the mindset of this team is going into the offseason on tomorrow's episode of the show.

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