Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - Denver Broncos Signing CHRIS GODWIN Could Be NFL Free Agency Game Changer

Episode Date: March 5, 2025

As the Denver Broncos prepare to dive into NFL Free Agency, why would Chris Godwin, Keenan Allen, Zach Baun, or Dre Greenlaw be game changing additions? Why would adding a safety like Jevon Holland or Cam Bynum be a dream scenario for the Broncos in free agency, and why should Sean Payton and the Broncos avoid Najee Harris and older linebackers? Cody Roark is a credentialed beat reporter for Mile High Sports and covers the Broncos daily in person. Sayre Bedinger is the site expert for Predominantly Orange. Both bring Broncos Country the most in-depth and objective coverage of the Denver Broncos. WANT MORE DAILY DENVER BRONCOS CONTENT?For all of the latest Denver Broncos news today -- Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOBroncos?sid=YouTube Locked On NFL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft & More🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNFL Follow on Twitter: @CodyRoarkNFL and @SayreBedingerFollow the show on Twitter: @LockedOnBroncos Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!ChewyChewy has everything you need to keep your pet happy and healthy. And right now you can save $20 on your first order and get free shipping by going to Chewy.com/LOCKEDONNFL. FanDuelRight now, new FanDuel customers can get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in Bonus Bets if your first FIVE DOLLAR bet wins!Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of the NBA. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Denver Broncos are gearing up for a jam-packed NFL free agency. And on today's show, we're going to talk about some game changers they could sign, dream scenarios for the Broncos, and players that they should avoid. You're going to get that and much more on today's episode of the show. You are Locked on Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. What's happening at Broncos country? You know what time it is.

It's time for another episode of Locked on Broncos, Your Daily, Denver Broncos podcast, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network where you know it is your team every day for all your Broncos news, content coverage analysis and more. You get that here every single day all year long. Broncos country, thank you so much, all the everydayers out there. Thanks for making us your first listen. However, you choose to do so. And if you're not yet in every day or become on by hitting that subscriber to that follow

button wherever you get your podcast. I'm Cody Rorick Broncos beat reporter here for Mile High Sports. joined as always by Sarah Bedinger, site expert over there, predominantly orange.com and Broncos country. We've got a jam-packed episode in store for you here today. We'll wrap things up by talking about players that Broncos should absolutely avoid in NFL free agency. Then we'll discuss dream free agency scenarios. If we were the GMs or if you were the GM, what would be the ideal dream scenario for the Broncos signing free agents here in the next week or so? Or we're going to kick things off by the Broncos, maybe looking at signing some game

changers in free agency? Who would those game changers be? That's exactly what you're getting on today's episode of the show. So, sir, let's waste no time, my friend. As we all know next week, March 12th, next Wednesday, 4 o'clock p.m. Eastern time. That's 2 o'clock p.m. Mountain time. The Denver Broncos could be making their first moves of free agency as the new league year officially begins. Some deals could also be agreed upon as early as March 10th, which is obviously that Monday, the legal negotiating period at that point or as they call it the legal tampering period. Notice how they change it from tampering to negotiating. Smart, smart, smart language right there for any of you who took sports law or

anything along those lines. But I mean, Sarah, we talk about game changers here all the time. We're kind of stealing this episode idea from a good friend, Ross Jackson, up there at Locked on Saints. I wanted to get your idea as to who some game changers would be for you. Now, let's start. Let's look on the offensive side first. And then let's look at the defense.

If you had to choose one player in free agency that you feel like the Broncos, They went out and they signed him. He would be a complete game changer to them here in free agency. I think the one true game changer for the Denver Broncos in free agency this year would be Chris Godwin. As of who's available right now, we don't know who all is going to get cut. It could be somebody notable might not be. But as of who's available right now, who realistically is set to hit the market like Chris Godwin to me, Cody, when healthy is one of the best wide receivers in the NFL.

And didn't the Denver Broncos get a bit of a front row seat to that last year? when they traveled to Tampa Bay to take on the Buccaneers. I mean, God would have made an incredible touchdown catch over Riley Moss in that particular game. And the dude's just a baller. And he does everything that you need. He's got strong hands. He can win after the catch. He's dynamic in space, all these sorts of things that the Broncos' offense desperately needs.

And more than just a floor razor, I think, at the position, he's a true threat that teams have to game plan for. And so to me, if the Broncos could add one offensive player, and free agency, Cody. It would be Chris Godwin. And I know there's going to be competition to get him. It's going to be expensive, probably to sign him, probably over 20 million a year. But look, it ain't my money. It ain't the listeners money.

It's the Denver Broncos and Walmart's money, right? So I don't think we have to worry about that. The cap situation is under control over the next handful of years. Like go out and make a big splash move like this and help your young quarterback in Bo Nix. Well, certainly getting a guy like Chris Godwin would be a lot more affordable than a guy like T. Higgins, so obviously T. Higgins, the franchise tag placed on him by the Cincinnati Bengals while they focus their efforts on trying to come up with a long-term deal not only for him, but also Jamar Chase. It could raise the question about maybe some potential

trade interests from other teams trying to reach out to see, hey, if you guys can't come to terms with T on a contract, what's the price to acquire him? I don't know if Denver would be on that, but Chris Godwin, look, you and I have talked about this before here. I think a majority of the office season, I've always felt like Godwin's not leaving Tampa Bay, right? But that could change a little bit, or it could just be a sign of good faith in a sense that they're not going to franchise tag him because that was obviously what was reported. So now it's like, oh, he is going to hit free. He's at least going to listen to different offers, but he still could come back to Tampa Bay.

I think Godwin would be a fantastic addition here to Denver for a guy like Bo Nix, amplifying that window there, though it would come at a price and it would come costly, especially as you look at trying to pay a guy like Cortland Sutton. But you got a guy like Godwin who's also coming off of a major injury. I think a lot of people are forgetting how dang good he was. prior to that injury. I mean, going into that match of the Denver had in week three against Tampa Bay,

it was the number one offense in the NFL at that point, the highest scoring offense. You had Mike Evans playing at a high level. Chris Godwin, and what do the Broncos do? Well, Pat Sertan and that defense came in and they said, hey, not today, Baker Mayfield, we're going to make your life miserable. I think Godwin would be good.

I'm going to go with an offensive player here that I feel like is a wide receiver that could be a game changer here for the Broncos, but not necessarily in the magnitude of, okay, this is going to be a wide receiver one. This is a wide receiver of note, as you and I talked about in yesterday's episode of the show. I'm going to go with Keenan Allen here who played last season with the Chicago Bears. And look, he was healthy, a large portion of last season. He had 70 catches for 744 yards and seven touchdowns.

And man, just his route running ability was still there. The only issue in Chicago, I think anyone who is paying attention. There are a lot of Broncos fans watching some Bears games last year because there were some Caleb Williams, Bow Nix discourse on social media that came very toxic. That offense was a dumpster fire with Shane Waldron. They started to make some progress toward the end of the season. Caleb Williams started playing a little better. But Keenan Allen is still a guy who produced inside of that offense.

And he's one of those guys I feel like would be such a friendly outlet option here to Bo Nix. In my opinion, it's not as big of a needle mover. I think as a Chris Godwin as you put out there. But I think it would be a game changer here for the Broncos, a wide receiver of note. and it wouldn't be as costly, I think, as a Godwin, though I wouldn't be opposed to across Godwin here as well. So, I mean, obviously, those are offensive picks here. I want to get your thoughts on a defensive game changer.

If you had to look at some of the defensive positions out there, who is a player that would be an absolute game changer here for the Broncos defense, in your opinion? Well, I'm going to shift gears on ways that I've kind of been thinking in the recent past here. And I'm going to say Zach Bond, Cody, I think would be a game changer, was in the defensive player of the year conversation this past year. And I think you do have to be careful. Like was this a one hit wonder sort of thing? Was this a say, hey, he's only going to work well in Vic Fangio's defense sort of a thing.

There's questions to be asked. But at the same time, certain guys break out at different times in their NFL career. And all it takes is an opportunity to get to get that chance to prove like, hey, I can do this for a consistent period of time. Now he's got that Super Bowl ring with the Eagles, right? He's played in the Fangio defense, which we know, kind of Vance Joseph has molded a bit of what he does and kind of meshed up a couple of different things there.

I feel like he could be a game-changing addition. And somebody that obviously Sean Payton drafted in New Orleans. And I'm not saying anything the listeners don't already know. We've been hearing about Zach Bonn all offseason from every fan out there who's like, hey, we need a linebacker. We could be spending money there. He seems like the obvious pick. So, I mean, just a really, really great year last year.

And maybe he's, and maybe instead of perceiving it as a one hit wonder, Cody, maybe we start to think, okay, well, this could be just the beginning, really, for him in his NFL startup. We talk about the development of players all the time. And Zach Bond making that transition from off, I mean, from edge rusher to off ball linebacker, I mean, you certainly see the athletic traits that really stick out there. And for him, he's a guy that, you know, when you watch him, Sarah, I don't know how many Broncos fans have actually, like, watched him or watched some, you know, in-depth equals games here. but you watch how instinctual he is. You watch how fast he flies to the football. He locates it well. He fills his gaps at an effective rate and he can drop back into coverage.

He is an athletic guy at that position here. I wouldn't be shocked. I know the main concern is, okay, is it the one-year-one? Everyone's saying, and you and I've highlighted this before, everyone keeps saying, well, he's just a product of that defensive line down there in Philly. I mean, I think while having that defensive line helps. The Broncos also have a really dang good defensive line too, Sarah. So if we're going to try to move the goalposts a little bit, I'd say the Broncos, they had 63 sacks,

which led the NFL last season. They were one of the top defensive line units in all of football here. Zach Bond would make that unit drastically better. I think he would be a game changer. I'm going to go with another option here. I'm going to go with a linebacker as well. I think Dre Greenlaw here, Sarah, would be an effective game changer here for the Broncos, six foot, 230 pounds.

Now, granted last year, he missed a majority of the beginning part of the season because he suffered that torn Achilles in the Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs. And then he came back and played some snaps. But then I think he had a major groin injury that sidelined him the rest of the season. So it was one of those things that, okay, his body wasn't ready to be back on the football field in 2024. So what does that mean for his market value here going into 2025? I feel like because of that, Sarah, it lowers his valuation in terms of, okay, he's going

to cost you an arm and a leg to get. I don't think that's necessarily going to be the case, which honestly could allow him to go right back to San Francisco now that Rob Arsala is the defensive coordinator there again. But I would think Drake Greenlaw, I feel like he would play well. He's instinctual. I think he would fit that mold there, especially if he's playing next to Alex Singleton. Maybe there's a situation where it's Alex Singleton and Drew Sanders competing for that spot there, right, fighting for that starting job where you bring in Drake Greenlaw. He's not a backup guy.

He is your starter. He gives you something you currently don't have there at that position. He's going to elevate the defense. I personally believe that because of his traits, his instincts, his ability. ready to play downhill. He's got athleticism to him. And I just think it's about, okay, what does he look like coming off the major injury? To me, he would be the game changer I would go with on the defensive side of the ball here. In Broncos Country, we want to hear from you, especially as you're watching and listening to today's episode of the show, wherever you get your podcast. Let us know if you had to sign someone on offense and defense to be a game changer, who would it be? But we're not done yet. Bracko's country. We still got a lot to break down on today's episode of the show. Up next, Sarah and myself, We're going to dive deep into what we believe would be our own personal dream scenarios for the Broncos in NFL free.

And see you're going to get that and much more here on today's episode of the show. Today's episode of Lockdown Broncos is brought to you our friends over there at Chewy. You've probably heard of Chewy. They do really have everything that you need to keep your pet healthy and happy, whether you're shopping for food, treats, or even pet health care. Chewy, they make it easy, fast, and affordable with over 100,000 products from all of your favorite brand. Chewy has everything that your pet needs, from food and treats to toys,

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in the description. Minimum purchases required, new customers only, terms and conditions apply C-Sight for complete details. Well, mom and dad said you could have whatever you want. So if you're going to the store with a unlimited budget. What are you buying in 2025 NFL free agency Broncos country? That's what we're giving you permission. Let's dream big on today's episode of the show. Cody and I are going to give you our dream free agency scenarios for the Denver Broncos with free agency.

Literally, come on, everybody, less than a week away. Like, we're ready for the Denver Broncos to start making moves. And we know that you are too. So what you want to do, be subscribed to lockdown Broncos if you're not already so that you can not miss a single ounce of Denver Broncos. news, content coverage, reaction, analysis, and everything in between and see if Cody and I are even close. I mean, maybe the stars will align with our dream scenarios here, Cody, as we put on our GM hats and say, hey, I feel like the Broncos are close to being true contenders in the

AFC. There's a handful of moves that they could make in free agency to get there. I want to start with you. Let us know what's your free agency dream scenario for the Denver Broncos here in 2025? Well, I think when you look at this, right, dream scenarios, okay, let's take a look at team needs. I think it's easy to pinpoint inside linebacker, safety, running back, tight end, wide receiver. I think these are the top needs here for the team. Now, I think while Denver could go out here in free agency and they could address almost every position we need that they have, I think they're going to be measured with that approach. We're not just going to say, we're going to get this guy, this guy, this guy, this guy,

just so we can take care of our needs and then going to the draft thinking, okay, whatever. I think that Denver, if I had an ideal dream scenario here, Sarah, for the Broncos in Free Agency, it would go a little like this. I would have the Broncos go out there. We talked about it in segment one. I feel like them going out and getting a veteran guy like Keenan Allen to come in to be another option here for Bo Nix. Next to Cortland Sutton, Marvin, Man, is Devon, Valey, Troy Franklin. I think Keenan Allen would be a dream scenario signing here for the Broncos as he enters year number 13 in the league

and still has a little bit left in the tank to play. But we've already talked about Keenan Allen. I've got Drake Greenlaw as another dream scenario signing from my perspective here at inside linebacker, but the one that I'm probably the most excited about here, if Denver is as invested in maybe adding another safety, as people talk about here, Minnesota Viking safety, Cam, Bynum is a name that I've got my eye on, a guy who can make plays on the football, guy who comes up against the run. I feel like when you envision a defense with he and Brandon Jones at safety, these guys compliment each other so much from a skill set standpoint, and it helps out your guys

a cornerback. And even if you go out and let's say you get the Dre Greenline, he impacts that second level at inside linebacker. You've got one of the NFL's best defensive lines returning from last season minus DJ Jones status, which we don't know right now. To me, that Broncos defense becomes even better than they were last year on paper.

And obviously they're going to have to go improve it. But to me, those three players right there would be my ideal dream scenario here for Denver. I want to ask you now as we're diving into this. If you had it your way, right? If this was Burger King, if Sarah had it his way, as the GM of the Denver Broncos, what would your dream scenario be here going into 2025's

free agency period? Cody, I just have to quickly say before we go on, because you brought up Burger King, I heard a funny joke about Burger King from somebody recently that they go there once a year to remind themselves of how much they hate it. So I kind of really resonated with that take. But yeah, if I'm having it my way, I really think that you start with the guys like Chris Godwin and Zach Bond, like we talked about before, just put. potential game changers for your offense and defense at key positions of need.

And then I picked Javon Holland for the safety position. Look, I know there's things out there. Our good friend, Zahn, on Twitter pointed out that Javon basically went on social media, told Vic Fangio to kick rocks after the Eagles moved on from him last year. But you know what? Sometimes you got to eat humble pie after telling somebody to kick rocks. And I think Javon Holland has probably seen why he was wrong about Vic Fangio over the course of the last year.

and people can change, you know, as we know from the great show, sketch show from Tim Robinson. People can change. You don't always have to be a certain way. But sorry, I digress on the show today, folks. I like the idea of just a playmaking safety next to Brandon Allen. And look, these two guys were previously teammates in Miami. So if the Broncos need any intel on what kind of a guy, Javon Holland is, although I'm certain that they interviewed him prior to the drafts just a handful of years ago

when he was a second round pick by the Miami Dolphins. I feel like he's a fit for this defense in terms of, we saw how Brandon Allen transitioned from Miami to Denver, having played for both Fangio and obviously Brian Flores over the last handful of years there. Maybe Javon Holland could be ideal to do the same. And the change of scenery, you just never know when a guy is going to be able to capitalize on that.

So I feel like if the Broncos added those three guys, shoot, Cody, I think we'd be printing some, potential and your dream scenario for that matter. I think we'd be printing out the, you know, Super Bowl champion T-shirts right away. We'd be booking our tickets to Santa Clara for the Broncos making these kind of moves because ultimately that's what it's all about, right? It's like, what are the moves that's going to move the needle enough to get this team

into championship contention? There's no reason to, if we're drumming up a dream scenario, there's no reason to say, well, they won't be able to sign this guy because of this reason or what. Let's go, let's go big or go home with these signings. Well, one thing, too, is when we look at what George Peyton, Sean Payton said, is like, it's not just going to be one player that's going to come in and make this team suddenly better around Bo Nix, or it's not just getting Bo Nix one player that's going to make him better going into his second season. It's building a better team around Bo Nix and having better pieces, not on offense, but just also defense, special teams.

Our choices there, your choices of obviously Zach Bond, Chris Godwin, Javon Holland, that makes this Broncos team better. I believe that Keenan Allen, Drake Greenlaw, and even Kambaynum, make this Broncos team better. Let's maybe go under the radar here, right? Like an honorable mention, not necessarily like a big, big name that would be a complete needle mover. But I think if we could highlight, if Denver's going to make three notable moves, like the ones that we highlight it here, if there was one additional move that they can make, where would we go? I think for me, it would be adding Isaiah Simmons as one of those other linebackers there.

Like, you know, I don't think that Denver is just going to stand pat and say, we're just going to add one inside backer. I feel like adding a few players to that position would be good. I think Isaiah Simmons would be that under the radar, honorable mention name for me. Who would it be for you and at what position? Well, I really like the idea of Bobby Brown the third from the Los Angeles Rams, the defensive linemen, six foot four, 330 plus pounds.

I think he had a nine point something on the Rass scale coming out of Texas A&M a few years ago. And the Rams just can't afford everybody. They're having to dump people right now. And so I don't think they're going to be able. they might be able to re-sign him, but they also might have to let him hit the market. And if he does, I think he's kind of the ideal replacement for a DJ Jones as an early down run defender guy, but with the upside, like what the Broncos saw in Jones a couple of years back. So you sign him to a multi-year deal and then you start bringing, you know, guys back into the fold otherwise,

like Zach Allen, John Franklin Myers, et cetera. I like the idea of the Broncos going after somebody like that who's eager to prove himself as a more every down type of player. Instead of, you know, I think he'd posted on Twitter the other day, he was like responding to the official Rams account. And they were talking about how he's one of the best run stuffing D-Lyman in the league. And he took issue with their tweet because he's like, I can do so much more than this. You know, you get these guys get pigeonholed into certain ways, even online. That perception affects their value in free agency. And so he wants to prove that he can do more.

I just really feel like he could do that in Denver with a success that they've had developing guys there on the D-Line. mine in recent years. I like that point. To recap here, Broncos countries, we've given our dream scenario. Sarah's dream scenario would be Javan Holland of the Miami Dolphins

coming over at safety and free agency. Chris Godwin at wide receiver and Zach Bonn at inside linebacker. Mine were Keenan Allen at wide receiver, Camp Bine him at safety and Dre Greenlaw at inside linebacker here. We want to hear from you, Brockos country. What would your dream scenario be if you had to choose three players that you

could be the GM and bring into Denver that would make the team better? who would it be? Make sure you let us know wherever you get locked on Broncos here. But we're not done yet. Broncos country. We got one more thing to talk about here. And it is going to be an in-depth discussion on who the Broncos should absolutely avoid at all cost when it comes to NFL free agency. You'll get that up next on Lockdown Broncos. As NFL Free Agency approaches next Wednesday at 2 o'clock PM Mountain Time, who should the Broncos avoid in free agency that people have been talking about? I think there are a handful of names.

And I think, Sarah, as we go on and talk about this, we look at positions of need. I was going through SpotTracks list of free agents. I was thinking to myself, okay, if we talked about the positions that we addressed here on today's show, what positions and what players should the Broncos avoid? The more time passes here, I'm starting to feel a little bit more like I would like to avoid a veteran running back here in NFL free agency. I don't know how you feel about that. Let me know. I completely want the Broncos to avoid that.

And not because I don't like Najee Harris or Aaron Jones, things like that. If the Broncos sign those guys, hey, we'd get excited about that because those guys have potential to really, again, like we talked about earlier, be game changers for this team, even if it's a short-term deal. But I just, I don't like the idea at all of putting yourself in any sort of position

to talk yourself out of guys in this upcoming draft class. I think that at the running back position specifically, Cody, you should be looking for every reason to talk yourself into these guys. I mean, the players that are coming in as fast and athletic as we've probably ever seen at running back, I don't think there's any free agent out there that would deter me from that draft class. And that's where you've got to be really patient, right? It's like, I love sneakers. For those watching on YouTube, they see the sneaker behind me, the Jordan 4 military blue. There's some sneakers that come out that I'm like, man, I would really love to have that.

the sneaker that's coming out down the line, I want it even more. So you got to pass on the one now in order to get the one that you want later. And some people might say, well, why not both? Because at running back, the Broncos already have guys that we want to see them play. We want to see Estimate. We want to see McLaughlin. I want to see those guys contribute to this team. So adding a veteran running back, it only figures to help these guys talk themselves out of NFL

draft prospects. And that's not something that I'm really interested in. Yeah, no, I agree with you. too because I think the Bronco should fully embrace the youth movement at running back with the NFL draft with the guys that they already have on the roster. They got four young guys that Sean Payton has already mentioned by name. That's Blake Watson, Jaliliel McLaughlin, Audrake Esteemate and Tyler Badegh, bring in another guy or maybe even two guys during the NFL draft and see who who survives, who makes it. Like Sean Payton has acknowledged that

there isn't the idea like the Bell Cal back unless you have a certain guys like Derek kind of. Like he says we have to use multiple backs. But I felt like because Javante was the veteran in that room last year, I felt like there was a little bit of allegiance to him, which was fine. I understand that as a coach. It's a tough position to be in. But I also feel like that hindered maybe seeing what these young guys could truly do inside of this offense, right? You want to be able to get a picture of what that's going to be. I think this year's draft class, as you mentioned, you got a combination of size, explosiveness, athleticism. You got running backs in this year's draft that have legitimate joker traits that John Payton's looking for.

And if he doesn't identify that in a tight end, it could be one of these tellbacks, even since a couple of those Ohio state guys. You know, I'm very fond of the Buckeyes group of backs in this year's class. That is the path I'd rather the Broncos go. So I agree with you. I know you have Najee Harris, Aaron Jones on your list. I also have another veteran name that some people have talked about, Rahim Moster. I don't think that would be a name that the Broncos should even consider.

Obviously, his time at San Francisco, there was a time where he was explosive, you know, had the fastest miles per hour in terms of carries on a touchdown score. But injuries have definitely been a major, major factor in his career. The Miami Dolphins obviously moved on because they really love what they have with Devon, A. Chan and some of the other backs they got there. I just don't think bringing in a veteran right here is going to do much for this room, for the running back position in today's NFL. I don't know unless it's a complete game changer,

which I don't think there's a game changer out there in free agency right now that'll come in and move the needle for the Broncos away. I think one of these young guys in the NFL draft. So I'm in agreement with you. One guy at a skill position that I think the Broncos should avoid, I feel like a wide receiver, Stefan Diggs. I would like the Broncos to avoid him. Obviously, he's coming off of an ACL.

But I just don't think, and I've said this before, I just don't think he's going to be a fit inside of this locker room. He's a guy who wants a lot of touches. And look, I think that's a different dynamic. You know, Stefan Diggs at one point, one of the best wide receivers in the NFL. Obviously, George Payton knows him very well, but my concern and my main hang up here is you have a wide receiver room that has Cortland Sutton,

who's the top target guy, right, the top beneficiary, and you got Marvin Mims, you got Devon Valle, you've got Troy Franklin. None of these guys complain about touches, right? You mentioned the game where Cortland didn't have a single target against New Orleans. Cortland wasn't pouting. He wasn't doing that. If Stefan Diggs, we've seen this before, even in Houston, there were times where Stefan Diggs was visibly frustrated on the sideline, I just don't think that would be a good dynamic here for the Broncos.

That is one name. get a skill player position the Broncos should absolutely avoid. Yeah, I could see that for sure. You want to make sure, especially if you're adding pass catchers to the mix with a young quarterback, that you're adding the right culture fit and the right, the right players at that position because the chemistry with the quarterback, the chemistry with the other receivers. I mean, there's a reason why I think it was yesterday's show, Cody, that you brought up to 2013 kind of, you know, murderers row lineup of skill players the Broncos had at that time.

those guys weren't all, you know, fighting over carries. They knew that the ball was going to come to them eventually. They weren't fighting over targets. They weren't fighting over, hey, I don't have 10 touchdowns yet. Give me 10 touchdowns. I think Peyton Manning was probably more aware of that than the players were themselves. But look, with the Denver Broncos right now, like, these guys can't afford to be, to be whining about not getting targets, right?

They just need to continue to build some success offensively. And so getting the right culture fit for this. team is imperative this off season. That's why you kind of tend to lean to the draft when it comes to the playmaker position because those guys are trying to earn their next contract. They're not already established guys that are trying to build legacy, so to speak. I mean, and there is a big difference with that. When guys are out there trying to build legacy, they don't necessarily care as much about, you know, the Denver Broncos. Like that's what, remember what John Lway once said?

He's like, I want players who want to be Denver Broncos, right? And that was in response to Brock Osweiler leaving for the Houston Texans, I think that that's the mentality that you want these guys to have is like what McLeanche had when he came in, what, you know, other other players that the Broncos have signed have said, like, I want to be part of turning this thing around. And that's the type of guy that you want to have in this particular situation. That's why the guys that you and I have mentioned on our dream list, on our, you know, game changers list, all of those guys have been part of winning teams in recent years. They've all been part of teams that have been to the playoffs or been to the Super Bowl or won the Super Bowl, right?

And so those are the types of culture guys that you want. They've been to the mountain top. They know how to get there or at least they're hungry for that. And the hungry of the player is in free agency, especially, the better. And on top of that as well, let's look at maybe the defensive side of the ball. What are some players or some positions? Maybe you would stay away from like at this point, we already know, the Philadelphia Eagles, they released James Bradbury, they released Darius,

I've already seen Broncos, going to say, oh, go get these guys. I think that they should stay away from them. You've got young guys that are on a really good path. You got the defensive player of the year. You got Riley Moss, who's a pretty good corner, who's obviously, I think I want to take another step forward here this year. You got Jayquam Macmillan, who's at a ridiculously cost-effective price here for the Broncos is one of the best young nickel players in the secondary right now in the NFL.

And then you got Chris Abrams-Drain, who we saw a lot of really good stuff for in the limited action. We saw him last season. And I don't think you bring in a veteran guy like any of these guys to the mix. I think you stay away from them. Yeah, stay away from the old corners. There's no reason for them to be in Denver. They're not going to be stealing playing time from a young guy that should be playing. So, yeah, I know that it's a, you know,

I guess the shiny object syndrome thing goes both ways, doesn't it, Cody? Because there's certain folks out there that really like those guys. And, you know, they still think Darius Slay is 27 years old or something. I mean, I don't like that idea at all. I don't like the idea of going after linebackers that are going to be 30 years old or older this off season, especially with Alex Singleton, potentially expected back. I mean, as far as what we know, sounds like the Broncos are going to bring him back. And he's going to be 32 this coming season.

So I think you've got to get younger. The Broncos didn't have a first round pick in 2022 or 23. They barely had second round picks in those drafts because they traded up to get Marvin Mims and they traded the, you know, Von Miller to get the Nick Bonito selection, you've got to get guys in free agency that are still within that realm of either they're entering a second contract or they're young enough that you could justify saying, hey, it's, it's almost like we kind of drafted this guy. That's kind of where I'm at with free agency right now is you need those more building block types of players as opposed to the, here, let's put a patch on this. Let's put a patch on that. Take calculated risks. Sure, do that. But get the guys that could be actual building

blocks for the team. That's why I think Denver needs to go in 2025. I agree with you. And if they do decide to take that path, I think it'll put them on a better position going forward than many people thought, which I think makes the impressive turnaround from the time that Sean Payton, the Broncos released Russell Wilson, the overall optics on the franchise. I think that right there was what put a lot of people saying, hey, they're going to be the worst ranked team. They're going to win one game in 2025, I mean in 2024. And then all of a sudden Denver went on. They won 10 games there with Bo Nix, who proved to be the franchise quarterback. suddenly the optics of this franchise are a much different place.

They're already viewed as a team that is young and hungry and dangerous. But now how do they become a team that nobody wants to play in 2025? I think if they get a couple of game changers like we talked about or if those dream scenarios fall into place, the Broncos will be a team that people don't want to play in 2025. But that'll wrap up today's episode of the show. Broncos Country, appreciate you as always for making us your first listen.

All the everydayers out there in Broncos Country. Here's what you can expect on tomorrow's episode of the show. you sent in your mailbag questions. Sarah and I were going to open up our handy-dandy notebook, and we're going to pull out your best questions. We're going to answer them on tomorrow's mailbag installment of Lockdown Broncos. We'll see you then.