Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - Denver Broncos Set Initial 53-Man Roster with ANOTHER UDFA Success Story
Episode Date: August 26, 2025The Denver Broncos set their initial 53-man roster with UDFA LB Karene Reid among those who made it. Audric Estimé, Damarri Mathis, and Caleb Lohner were among notable cuts. Cody Roark is a credenti...aled 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!RugietHead to Rugiet.com/LOCKEDONNFL and use code LOCKEDONNFL to get 15% off today. UpsideDon’t let this offer drive on by, download the free Upside app now using my limited time promo code TOUCHDOWN for a limited time 25 cent per gallon bonus! Offers vary by user and location, Go to upside.com for terms and conditions.Click Here to download the app: https://getupside.onelink.me/zlLr?af_xp=custom&pid=barrington&c=barrington_lockedon25&deep_link_value=promo&deep_link_sub1=lockedon25&af_dp=upsideapp%3A%2F%2F Yahoo FantasyPresented by YahooFantasy #YahooPartner. Draft now at https://yahoofantasy.com/lockedonnfl. PrizePicksDownload the PrizePicks app today and use code LOCKEDONNFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime. FanDuelToday's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Football season is around the corner, visit the FanDuel App today and start planning your futures bets now. 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.
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The Denver Broncos set their initial 53 man roster, and they had some surprises for us,
including keeping their undrafted free agent streak going.
We're breaking it down 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.
Welcome in Broncos country.
We are breaking down the team's 53 man roster, at least the initial 53 man roster, at least the initial 53
man roster before the frenzy of the waiver wire and all those sorts of things takes place.
And we'll tell you exactly what happened as the Broncos cut a couple of recent draft picks on
the offensive side of the ball.
Probably the biggest surprise cut coming on the defensive side of the ball.
And maybe where this team could still look to improve going forward.
We'll have all that coming up on today's show for you.
And thank you so much, Broncos country for making Lockdown Broncos your first listen of
the day.
part of the Locked-on podcast network, your team every day.
Today's episode is brought to you by Fandual.
Football season is around the corner.
So visit the Fandual app today and start planning your futures bets now.
And let's dive right in Broncos country because obviously there is a lot to break down the 53-man roster.
It went about how I think most people expected with a couple of twists, a couple of turns.
The Broncos, of course, zigged when some thought they would zag.
But for the most part, I think the offense turned out to be the way that we all thought it would be with a couple of exceptions, right?
Of course, the quarterback position was a bit of a question mark because Sam Ellinger played really well in the preseason.
So there was a question of whether or not the Broncos might keep three quarterbacks on the active roster, just like they did last year.
And that's not the case, right?
Sam Ellinger was cut.
The Broncos, as Sean Payton confirmed after practice on Tuesday, they want to bring him back.
So hopefully we will see and be discussing Sam Ellinger coming back onto this team's practice squad.
But obviously just the numbers game, everything else that the Broncos wanted to do with their 53-man roster,
not keeping three quarterbacks is kind of essential.
So you want to get that guy back to the practice squad because ultimately you can still elevate your third quarterback up from the practice squad as your emergency quarterback every single week.
and you don't have to use a 53-man roster spot in order to do that.
Why is Sam Ellinger different than Zach Wilson, right?
Well, Zach Wilson was a guy that was a former high draft pick
that the Broncos were trying to kind of have him be a reclamation project,
potentially get a compensatory pick in the future.
And as Sean Peyton said last year, you know,
they want to make him millions.
And he was the type of guy that Sean thought was kind of unfairly hated.
So it was a different circumstance with him.
And Sam Ellinger,
apparently does have some interest elsewhere around the league.
So we'll see if he ends up coming back to the Denver Broncos on the practice squad.
He played really well in the preseason.
He deserves a spot somewhere.
Hopefully it's in Denver.
But also the running back position,
we obviously saw the team kind of rip off the Band-Aid with former fifth round pick,
Audric Estime, one of the highest picks that this team ended up having to cut this time around.
And you just kind of felt like the writing was on the wall,
maybe a little bit late last season, when Estime was benched.
a healthy scratch for that playoff game against Buffalo in favor of Tyler Badegh, who again made
the roster and continues to be somebody that this team wants to utilize in their offense.
And Sean Payton noted that Badee has that versatility that they really like, the ability to do a
number of different things to help out your offense, including pass protection.
And he said by no means, is this the end of Audric Estime's career, right?
This is just a, I guess, a stumbling block or a stepping stone.
didn't say those things. I'm saying them. But for Estimate, obviously, you know, with a fifth round
pick coming in, like Sean Payton said, it's not uncommon for fifth round picks to get cut year after
year. I mean, the stink to see, yeah, you want your draft picks to hit. You want them all to work out.
But there's also a reason why the Broncos overhauled their running back position from what they had last
year. Remember, Bade did not make the 53 man roster initially last year, but he produced when he was called up
off the practice squad.
So the running back room is going to be four guys, J.K.
Dobbins, RJ Harvey, and then obviously Badeh and Jalil McLaughlin as well.
And Jalil finally welcomed a new baby into the world.
So congrats to him and his family.
Excited to see how Sean and his offensive staff utilize those running backs,
as well as the receivers.
Five receivers made the 53.
There was some question about whether or not the team would still keep six after
trading Devon Valle to the New Orleans Saints.
That did not end up being the case.
For now, they've got five.
Sean Peyton does kind of historically tend to keep five guys,
but I think we'll see what the Broncos do with the practice squad.
A number of guys that were on this team's offseason roster
should be considered strong candidates for the practice squad,
but I wouldn't be surprised if we see a familiar face back on this team in some shape or form.
And we'll talk about that later on in today's episode,
little tease to keep you around for the last segment.
of the day.
But other than that, I think tight end, we saw Caleb Loner get cut, right?
That was kind of expected after his rough preseason, although throughout the course of
the offseason, I had kind of been in this camp that felt like the Broncos drafted him.
They spent a pick on him to prevent other teams from trying to get him, right?
So they're going to stash him on the 53.
I think he was just a little bit too raw for what we all saw, at least in the preseason games.
And I can only imagine what they saw on the practice field as well.
little bit too raw to keep on a 53-man roster that is as talented as what the Broncos have.
So they are subjecting Caleb Loner to waivers.
And I would guess that he's probably going to clear waivers.
We'll see if he ends up back on Denver's practice squad or if he pursues other opportunities.
Because remember, he was apparently close to signing a deal with the Indianapolis Colts after the draft before the Broncos kind of swooped in and picked him before the draft could get over.
So that's an interesting scenario to monitor.
but for now the tight ends on this roster.
Evan Ingram, Adam Troutman, Nate Adkins,
who will miss the first couple of weeks of the season.
And then Lucas Krull made it again.
He had a strong, strong finish to the offseason program.
Really excited for him.
Hope he gets another opportunity.
The offensive line, the Broncos kept nine players,
and it was the expected nine, right?
We have our starting five, Garrett Bulls, Ben Powers,
Luke Wattenberg, and then obviously Quinn Miners and Mike McGlinchie
on the right side of that offensive line.
and then your backups are going to be Frank Crum and Alex Forsyth,
two young players that this team really believes in.
And then you've got Alex Palschowski as one of the other reserve offensive linemen
and Matt Pert, who the team re-signed this offseason.
So nothing really surprising.
Calvin Throckmorton was a player that was kind of discussed in that mix there.
But Calvin, he's probably going to come back to the practice squad, right?
He's a veteran.
The Broncos aren't subjecting him to waivers or anything like that.
and I think they believe probably that they can get him back as a 10th offensive lineman
who could in a pinch come in and actually play for them if need be.
So he's part of that second offensive line unit.
And then we'll see what other developmental guys, Joel Machowski, Clay Webb,
Xavier Truss, all these other guys that the Broncos had on the offensive line,
who could be some interesting candidates for the practice squad as well as,
I know we didn't mention him, but Caden pre-scorn at the tight end position,
Adam Prentice was also cut by the Denver Broncos.
And Sean Payton said that we're going to see in the coming days
kind of how the fullback position is going to materialize
because Michael Burton was placed on season ending injured reserve.
He had a hamstring injury.
So you're missing Nate Adkins.
You're down Michael Burton.
I don't know what the situation is with Adam Prentice,
but it does sound like the Broncos have a solution that's in place
or on the way for the fullback position.
Maybe it is Prentice coming back as a person.
practice squad guy who shuffles up to the active roster.
But I guess that's a TBD sort of situation to be determined what the Broncos will end
up doing at fullback.
But that is an important part of Sean Payton's offense.
So we expect to see something there, whether.
And Sean confirmed that.
He said a few days ago that they were going to be monitoring the wire at
tight end and fullback.
So we'll kind of see what happens.
Who was cut, maybe that they liked or, you know, there's a veteran out there.
I don't know exactly what it's going to be, but we do know that there will be some movement there
and that it's not just going to be Adam Prentice and that's that.
I mean, there may be something else in the works.
But although things were pretty expected on the offensive side, right,
we would say that the defense might have had the most surprising cut for the Denver Broncos here
as they whittled their roster down to 53 guys for the initial roster here.
They kept seven defensive alignment.
We're going to talk about that as well as an undrafted play.
making the roster yet again coming up on today's episode lockdown broncos today's episode of
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We're going to talk about the Denver Broncos keeping seven defensive linemen and
undrafted free agent making the roster yet again what the future might hold for a
couple of other players. But first, Broncos country, want to say thank you so much to all of you
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advance for helping us out, everybody. Let's talk about the Denver Broncos defense on the 53-man
roster, starting with seven defensive linemen. Pretty
crazy. Cody actually called this a couple of weeks ago. And I thought that was a pretty bold
prediction. But man, here it is. It has come to pass. The Broncos defensive line is one of the
most talented units on this roster. And of course, you wanted to see them keep as many as they
possibly could, right? But the Broncos, they kept more than I think most people thought that they would.
It's the Zach Allen, DJ Jones, John Franklin Myers, Malcolm Roach, the usual suspects. But the
team also traded up for Sabian Jones in this year's draft. I think he's going to be a weekly
inactive as he kind of grows and develops his craft. But the team, I don't think they could decide
between Jordan Jackson or Ioma Oazerique. There's a principle that's, you know, the power of
and, right? And this is one of my favorite things, the power of and, right? It's the question of
why not both, right? And so they're probably asking themselves that question as they're assembling
the roster, hey, which one do we want?
In Yomo Wazerike or Jordan Jackson.
And somebody's like, why not both, right?
And so they construct the roster in such a way to keep both of those guys because both
guys played pretty well during the preseason.
Jordan Jackson played a pretty substantial role last year for this team.
And In Yomo Wazerike is somebody of the Broncos have stood by as a former fourth round
draft pick who was a projected starter going into 2023.
He ended up getting suspended for the whole 2023 season.
actually a full calendar year, comes back, you know, in the middle of training camp, basically
last year and gets on the field a little bit last season.
But now you kind of finally feel like he's maybe got his game legs under him.
So I think that's going to be interesting, too, to see, do the Broncos dress five guys on the D-line?
Or do they dress six?
But they obviously kept seven guys.
And we'll see who they bring back to the practice squad.
I think Jordan Miller, who was cut, could be an ideal candidate to come back to the
practice squad.
we'll see what happens there.
The edge position, no surprises whatsoever.
Obviously, Nick Benito, Jonathan Cooper, Jonah Ellis, Dondray Tillman,
and then rookie Q Robinson.
Those five guys also made the final 53-man roster,
and they're going to be all contributing on game days.
I don't think you're going to see any of those guys inactive.
Maybe Q Robinson, but the Broncos believe in his special team's ability.
So I would be a little bit surprised if he was a game day inactive,
even week one against the Titans,
We'll see, though.
We'll see.
I mean, this is a deep roster that is also healthy.
So that is a possibility.
Inside linebacker is where we got our biggest surprises, right?
Of course, I think everybody expected the top two guys, right?
Drey Greenlaw, Alex Singleton, nothing surprising there.
Justin Sternard, a third guy.
But then I think everybody thought that Lavelle Bailey was going to be that fourth guy.
And if the Broncos were going to keep somebody else, it was going to be a fifth player.
Well, they cut Lavelle Bailey.
surprisingly. They're subjecting him to waivers, would not be surprised to see him get picked up
by somebody else. But they kept Karen A. Reed, an undrafted rookie out of Utah. So shout out to
Corrine Reed for proving himself in three preseason games. I feel like we really saw him stand
out, especially, you know, he had the interception in week one of the preseason against the 49ers,
had the fumble recovery against the Saints, made a number of plays on special teams, really did his
best to stand out at a position group that we kind of said, you know, at the time of the draft,
if there's any area of this roster where somebody could crack the team as an undrafted
free agent, it was going to be that inside linebacker position.
And sure enough, here comes Corne Reed, now on the 53-man roster with Drew Sanders going
to temporary IR.
So the Broncos clearly expecting Sanders to be coming back in the next handful of weeks,
or I guess in at least a month because he has to be out.
for the first four games, but Drew Sanders going to temporary IR and Kareni Reed, keeping alive
the tradition, right?
This is an important tradition for not only the Broncos, but I also feel for Sean Payton,
right?
Sean has a lengthy history dating back to guys like Tony Romo of finding undrafted players and
turning them into studs.
And the Broncos have one as well.
I mean, 21 of the last 22 years, an undrafted rookie has made the Denver Broncos
initial 53-man roster.
Last year it was Frank Crum and Lavelle Bailey.
This year, it's Karenne Reed alone.
So I think it's really cool for him to get that opportunity to, I mean, I think he's
probably going to play.
He's a good special team's guy.
He's going to be out there.
So this is an important tradition for the Broncos and for Sean Payton.
And I've said this before, but it's important to note that I don't think they're going to
shoehorn a undrafted player into the 53-man roster.
But I also feel like that tradition is important enough that, hey, they want to keep it going,
if possible.
And this was the if possible, right?
Karen A. Reed makes the roster.
Unfortunately, in the defensive backfield, we saw a number of recent draft picks, as in
the last four years, get cut.
So at cornerback, the Broncos finally said goodbye to Damari Mathis.
They're no longer keeping him around.
They kept five corners on the roster, 10 defensive backs in total.
but this was the end of the line, I think, for Damari Mathis.
And I do believe that we will see Damari probably going elsewhere, right?
I don't think he's going to be coming back to the Denver Broncos as a practice squad player or anything like that.
He's got a lot of friends in high places elsewhere in the NFL.
And so the Broncos, they just had too good of a cornerback position to really justify keeping a sixth guy there at this point.
It's not fair to Damari either because he's not going to play, right?
You have Pat Sartan, Riley Moss, Jada Bear in your first round pick, Jekwon Macmillan,
and then Chris Abrams Drain, who's been playing really well in his first NFL season plus camp and preseason here.
So it's tough to say goodbye to former draft picks, but the Broncos will save $3.4 million on the salary cap by letting go of Mathis.
So I think they'll utilize that in some positive way, not necessarily immediately, but maybe they'll use it for one of their extensions.
they've got going on or somebody that they're looking at extending down the line.
So every little bit helps when you're paying your own players.
So that's a pretty big chunk.
Delary and Turner Yell is another recent draft pick that this team said goodbye to.
Now, we didn't see DTY at all last year.
He had the ACL injury.
And it's just unfortunate he was a really strong special teams guy,
not necessarily climbing into the defensive rotation so much,
but certainly a contributor on special teams.
and I think the Broncos liked him in that regard,
and maybe he'll be back on the practice squad
and could get shuffled up as the season goes along.
Another cut that did surprise a few people that, you know,
wasn't overly shocking by any means was Sam Franklin,
Jr., who signed a free agent contract,
a safety and special teams player with the Broncos this off season.
Sam, you know, he was with the team during the preseason during training camp,
and you kind of felt like, hey, if they're going to keep six safeties,
he's probably that sixth guy.
But unfortunately, the Broncos did not keep six.
safeties and he's not going to be on this team.
The safety group is going to be comprised of Tala Noah Hufanga,
Brandon Jones, PJ, P.J. Locke, Devin Key, and then J.L. Skinner,
and all those guys, I also believe, are going to be playing pretty much every single week
because of their special teams ability on the back end of that unit.
The special teams group, similar.
It's chalk based on what we expected.
Will Lutz, he's going to be the kicker.
Jeremy Croshaw, as far as we know, he's going to be the only punter, but we'll talk a little
bit more about that coming up in the next segment. And then obviously you have your long
snapper Mitchell for Boni. So the initial 53 man rosters, did anything surprise you? Let us know
if you're watching in the comments on YouTube or let us know on social what maybe some of your
surprising roster moves were for the Denver Broncos here as they get down to 53. But of course,
it's called the initial 53 for a reason. How are the Broncos going to be looking for help from the
outside or are they at all? Where are they going to be maybe looking to add some play?
to the practice squad, some dart throws, some lottery ticket type players.
We'll talk about where the Broncos need to look maybe for some outside help coming up next on
today's episode, Lockdown Broncos.
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Where do the Denver Broncos need to look on the outside for some help?
Well, we're going to discuss that on today's episode.
lockdown Broncos, but once again, just want to say thank you to all of you members of
Broncos country out there that make us your first listen of the day every single day.
We appreciate you so much for tuning in and making us part of your day.
And Broncos Country, let us know what are your thoughts?
Where does this team need to add?
Are you worried about any positions?
Are you maybe feeling like they should add somebody?
Are you looking at some reunions?
Because the unfortunate reality of Cutdown Day, we don't necessarily have a segment for
this, but the unfortunate reality is that you look at a lot of these cuts around
league. You see so many former Denver Broncos players. It's kind of a sad reminder of how bad this
team has been over the last five plus years, right? You see all these guys who were drafted by
Denver, especially even in the high rounds. And you see them getting cut by other teams,
not even not even getting to a 53 on another roster. And it's just a sad reminder of just where
this team was. But it's also a, I suppose, you know, light in a dark place to know that this
team is going somewhere, right? We're going somewhere. They're building something. It's a new era.
It's a dawn of a new era in Denver with Bow Nix at quarterback and Sean Peyton as head coach.
It's exciting to know how far they've come, but it's kind of sad to think about how bad it's been.
So it's interesting that you look at this roster. And I think offensively, you could make a case that
tight end is still a concerning area for this team, right? I think the depth at this
position is something that even Sean Peyton said, and we mentioned it earlier,
that they would be monitoring the wire at the tight end position.
I think that's fair.
I think that's fair for him to do.
And I think that this team is looking at you see a number of guys that were cut around
the league, Jalani Woods, a former fourth round pick of the Indianapolis Colts, who's got
great size, athleticism, big time traits, has produced at a high level in the past, even if
on a small sample size.
So that could be an interesting move.
I personally am intrigued by the possibility of reuniting with Greg Dulcich.
I know not everybody likes that idea, but Dulcich played pretty well for the Giants throughout
their offseason program, stayed healthy, most importantly, and they have three touchdown
catches during the preseason.
So I'm kind of interested by that.
I mean, let bygones be bygones, I suppose.
It didn't work out for him in his first stint in Denver, but shoot, there's no reason why I
don't think you can bring him back and give him another shot and see what he can do.
He knows the offense.
He was drafted by George Payton.
And obviously, his teammates probably still like him.
So I don't think there's anything wrong with that idea.
But at the same time, you know, some are just opposed to, hey, we've already crossed that bridge.
Let's not go back to it.
And I get that too.
I think that's fair.
So, but if there's tight ends out there, I think that's a position group, not specifically just Dulcich, but position group, tight end offensively.
That's where I would be looking for outside help if I were the Denver Broncos, if only to bring in somebody to the practice squad.
And I think they will try to get Caleb Loner back on the practice squad.
But ultimately, if somebody does suffer an injury at that position, they're already down Nate Adkins.
So you want to make sure that your butt is covered, for lack of a better term there, and bring somebody in.
And there's some guys out there with some upside.
So take a shot on upside.
I'd love to see George Payton and Sean Payton maybe even do a little bit more of that.
I think you could also say wide receiver.
And I teased this earlier that somebody that we know already could potentially come back.
we know that the Broncos earlier this offseason tried to re-sign little Jordan Humphrey he
resigned with the New York Giants a lot of you are hearing me say that name and you're like already
bashing your phone or your computer or wherever you're listening to the show and you're like no no
no let's not go back to that well I just think that there's a chance that that's a possibility so
let's not get too carried away about it but after the trade of Devon Valet I think you can make
that make a lot more sense right because little Jordan was one of the top guys on this
team last year in terms of snaps played.
Now you have the knowledge and, I suppose, the proof of concept with some players like
Troy Franklin, Marvin Mims, Pat Bryant, your rookie receiver.
You know that those guys can play and you're going to give them snaps.
But instead now, Lil Jordan Humphrey can be an insurance policy for you as opposed to
somebody who's just going to play a bunch of snaps and eat up targets that should be going
to other guys.
now those snaps and targets can go to those other guys,
but he can provide you some necessary depth,
knows the offense,
blocks well,
makes plays after the catch.
I know we've been hard.
I've been hard on Lil Jordan Humphrey on this show
many times in the past,
but at the same time,
I do think that as a sixth receiver,
he's very valuable depth as a second receiver,
not much of a fan of that there.
And that was what he was last year for the Broncos
in terms of snaps played was the second receiver.
So you want to see the team,
shift in that way, but I don't think you necessarily have to say, well, he can't come back at all
or he can't be an asset to this team at all. I think he could provide some nice depth. So those would be
the two positions offensively that I would be looking at. And then defensively, I think you still
keep an eye on linebacker. And you're going to need some depth now for your practice squad at the
cornerback position. I think the Broncos do like some of their own young guys, Jaden Robinson,
who we highlighted throughout the preseason. I hope we see him back on the
practice squad. And we could see guys like Reese Taylor, Quentin Newsom, who have been with this team
in the past. Those guys could be back on the practice squad as well, but wouldn't be opposed to maybe
adding somebody that they scouted during the preseason process. And, you know, maybe somebody
clears waivers or it's another young guy that just needs an opportunity that they feel they can
develop. I don't hate that idea at all for the Denver Broncos of going after the cornerback position.
But linebacker is certainly going to be something that I think they look to,
focus in on a little bit because you have two guys at the top of your depth chart that are injury
prone. And I hate to say that. It's just true. And you don't want them to get injured and you're not
expecting necessarily an injury, but you've got to be ready in case because last year, the Broncos
got caught in a really rough situation where they were signing guys in the middle of the year like
Juan Alexander and Zach Cunningham. And then those guys end up playing. And last year at roster
cuts, they signed Christian Welch or they claimed Christian Welch off waivers. And he came in,
ahead of Cody Barton for snaps defensively against Seattle.
So this team can't get caught in that same exact type of situation.
Or maybe they just plan on,
hey,
if something does happen,
we are going to let Corrine Reed kind of sink or swim out there.
But if you are in any way nervous about that,
then go after somebody.
There's guys available that could play if need be.
So hopefully the Broncos will take a look at those positions defensively,
not necessarily for the 53, and I'm not necessarily talking about the 53 for any of these possible
additions, but I would say that if it's the right guy, if it's the right fit, maybe consider
that.
So the other one, the last one that I want to talk about is the punter position.
So I think the Broncos can really utilize the practice squad and the exceptions allowed
for so many veterans on the practice squad.
They could utilize that in a great way on a punter.
Use one of your 16 practice squad spots on a punter.
I know that's not necessarily the best thing to have two punters on your roster,
but shoot, with Jeremy Croshaw's struggles in the preseason,
you've got to have somebody ready in case he struggles in the regular season
because you cannot be giving up field position to other teams.
And you just get the sense that, okay, with a rookie like Jeremy Croshaw,
you're going to let him sink or swim out there.
And that's okay to a degree.
It can't be costing you games when you're trying to compete for a Super Bowl.
With Sean Payton said this roster is special.
And if you're being held back by a rookie punter, you have to figure out something else.
So I wouldn't be surprised that the Broncos do bring in a veteran punter for their practice squad
and maybe even shuffle that guy up for week one and kind of just say,
hey, we're going to take this on a punt by punt basis because winning is that important.
And getting off to a hot start is.
that important for this team.
But Broncos country, the 53-man roster, it's set initially.
We'll set our sights next on how does this team assemble the practice squad?
Who's coming back?
Are they going to be able to get Sam Ellinger back back?
Are they going to bring in any other running back depth from the outside?
What is going to end up happening with the frenzy of the waiver wire?
We'll be breaking that all down coming up on the next episode, Lockdown Broncos.
And hey, thanks for making Lockdown Broncos your first listen.
And once again, NFL fantasy draft season is here.
So for your second listen,
make sure you go find the locked on fantasy football podcast.
And you know what?
Maybe take home your trophy this season from some of their advice that they're given.
We appreciate you all so much Broncos country.
We'll catch you on the next one.
