Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - Denver Broncos SMART PLAN For Dre Greenlaw and Alex Singleton

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Denver Broncos have a plan for linebacker, Drake Greenlaw, and Alex Singleton, but is it a good plan as the Broncos get ready to kick off their season? We'll break that down here 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 up, Broncos country? Welcome me to another episode of Locked on Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast. Part of the Lockdown podcast network, we know it's your team every day.

Starting point is 00:00:34 as the Broncos get ready for their first game against the Tennessee Titans next Sunday. Sean Payton says that they have a plan for Drake Greenlaw and Alex Singleton as those guys are working their way back from injury. Is that a good plan, though? We'll debate and discuss here on today's episode alongside the fact that the Broncos will probably carry three running backs onto the game day roster. So what does that mean for the running back rotation? Who gets those looks and what we'll share that? Plus, we'll also discuss the blockbuster news of the Broncos facing Micah Parsons and the Green Bay. Packers, Haster Parsons was traded from the Dallas Cowboys.

Starting point is 00:01:08 And we'll also take a look at what that means for Nick Benito's market value. All on today's episode, Locked on Broncos. I'm Cody Roark. Broncos reporter here from Mile High Sports. Joined, as always by Sarah Bedinger, long-time site expert over there at predominantly orange.com. Thank you once again to everyone in Broncos country. All the everydayers for tuning in, making us your first listen, however you choose to do.

Starting point is 00:01:29 So today's episode show is brought to you our friends over there at GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create an account. use code locked on NFL for $20 off your first purchase. Sarah, we had a chance to catch up with Broncos head coach Sean Payton on Thursday following the last summer practice where the media gets to view it in its entirety. Now we go back next week to the regular season, team stretch individual period, but then we get open locker room, which will be nice. But the Broncos have a plan here for Dre Greenlaw, Alex Singleton,

Starting point is 00:01:58 who are obviously coming off of injuries this off season here, Alex Singleton, in the ACL, Drake Greenlaw, the quad, and Sean said that they have a plan. An interesting one at that, he says that they're going to be on a little bit of a pitch count. They're not going to be full go necessarily week one. Is this a good move by the Broncos or is it a bad move? I think it's a bad move, Cody.

Starting point is 00:02:19 I do. I really don't like the idea of those guys kind of shuffling in and out during the course of a game. We know when we've played sports, you played football a lot longer than I did. I think that obviously, you know that you get into the flow of the game, right? And obviously as a game goes along, you kind of get more comfortable, especially for week one. If you're rotating guys in, this ain't a hockey team, right?

Starting point is 00:02:39 You're trying to say, well, let's bring in the second line, you know, of guys. And I just don't like it. I mean, I know that it works in other sports, but I don't like it in the NFL where you're, especially where you're relying on a guy like Drake Greenlaw, especially to be a game changer for your defense. I don't like the idea of having him on a pitch count. But at the same time, what are you supposed to do? Right. I mean, obviously, if his health is in question or if his health is something that you're monitoring that closely going into week one, maybe the Broncos will just get off the field every, you know, they'll get three and out, three and out, three and out defensively.

Starting point is 00:03:12 That's what you and I kind of joked about on yesterday's show. Obviously, you'd love to see the team getting off the field quickly, but if they are having to sort of go to a bend, don't break situation at some point, the last thing I would think you would want is to take a guy off the field who's helping communicate the defense. right? So that's where I would say this to me seems like a bad move. What do you say? I'm stuck in the middle a little bit. I could see on one hand how it's a smart move here by Sean Peyton the Broncos. But I can also see the points that you made and say those are very valid, right? You talk about disrupting the flow of a game. You know, if you have, let's say Alex and Dre are in on one series, right? And I don't know if the plan is that one series, one of them is going to, you know, is going to come off or both of them are going to come off. We don't know that. But he said in terms of pitch count, that's why they got some of the other

Starting point is 00:04:00 guys, Justin Sternard, an experience guy who's got some starting experience. I imagine we could see Lavelle Bailey maybe elevated to the game day roster week one against Tennessee early on here. But the smart move would be like, okay, these guys, they didn't play much in the preseason. Alex Singleton luckily got some action against the Northern Saints. Strait Greenland did not play in the preseason. I understand wanting to protect your investment. The smart move, I'd say early on at least, is a pitch count. I could see it work, but there has to be a strategic plan where you're not necessarily taking both of these guys off the field.

Starting point is 00:04:30 at the same time and then replacing them with a, you know, Karen A Reed and a Justin Sternard. I don't think that would be the move to keep the flow of the defense going there. And also I think just being a national competitor, you think Dre Greenlaw is going to sit there on the sideline after he goes in on that first series, you know, he's probably feeling good. And then all of a sudden it's like, all right, hey, Dre, next series,

Starting point is 00:04:48 you're off. We're going to, you know, keep it fresh. Drey Greenlaw doesn't strike me as that type of guy. Neither does Alex Singleton. No, definitely not. Those guys are not going to want to come off the field. So the Broncos are going to have to stick with whatever plan they're thinking of, right?

Starting point is 00:05:02 That's going to be the hard part is saying, okay, we're making a plan. Now we're going to stick to it and you can't convince us. Otherwise, I think to get a little creative with this instead of being pessimistic about it, what if we see a little bit more of PJ Locke as a dime backer in this sort of situation? I think that could be interesting for the Broncos or if they really view J.L. Skinner as being somebody who's rising in that role, maybe it's him. But I think having somebody who's physical coming into the game, maybe we do see a lot more dime looks with Jada Baron out there. I mean, maybe this is, I'm not saying he can play a linebacker,

Starting point is 00:05:34 but I know that he's physical and he can stop the run out there. He can make plays at or behind the line of scrimmage with his tackling abilities. No miss tackles last year at Texas, right? So I think the Broncos can be creative with this, although we know that at some point, you're going to need linebackers who can sift through that mess when teams are trying to run the ball between the tackles. And that's where these guys are going to have to be so effective. And, and they're going to have to be selective as a defensive staff of saying, okay, and when the field is long, maybe we can have our dime backs out there, but when the field is short or when we're in situations that are clear running situations, we've got to make sure that we have Dre Greenlaw and

Starting point is 00:06:14 Alex Singleton on the field. I think that's a smart play too, right? Because you're not necessarily handcuffing these guys that probably want to be on the field a lot. I would even say to it, we don't know what Tennessee is going to necessarily look like yet from a personnel standpoint. We know some of the players that they have, but are they going to be a run heavy team? Are they going to be 50-50 run pass? Are they going to be pass-heavy? I think all these things are going to matter. But to your point, I like the idea of a dime backer.

Starting point is 00:06:38 I think that Denver will play a lot more dime this season than maybe people anticipate. But I also think they could get to the big nickel as well, which you brought up J.L. Skinner, you know, the big nickel is where instead of having three corners, you have three safeties. And one of those safeties kind of plays that Romer guy down the box where I think you could essentially get creative. Colin O'Houfanga down in the box and let him be that big nickel. And then you put PJ lock back at safety with Brandon Jones.

Starting point is 00:07:04 I like the flexibility that the Broncos could have with that. You go to the dime. It gives you, I'd say, versatility to be able to cover and defend the run a little bit. And I know that that's why the Broncos have guys in the secondary at corner that are very good tacklers that aren't afraid to come up and get their nose dirty in piles. I think that's a plan we could see unfold here. I don't think that this is going to be a long plan here for Sean Payton and the Broncos. but I do think it is the smart plan for that reason. You want to be smart with how you bring these guys in and build that callous because think

Starting point is 00:07:33 about it, Dre has just returned to practice. He's been a full participant practice the last two weeks. You get good looks in practice, but it's not as physical as what you're going to get in the game. So easing, I'd say a guy like Dre into that, though I think Dre physically looks unbelievable, Sarah. And I can tell you this as someone who's watching practice, watching Gray out there, he is a true difference maker.

Starting point is 00:07:53 You can tell the type of presence that he has. I think for Alex Singleton, that's probably where I think the pitch count will probably be a little bit more something to monitor here because, yeah, I mean, this is a guy who's tough as Niels played a whole game with the torn ACL. But, you know, the knee, that's always a tricky thing. It depends on how you feel and how is he going to feel when he gets, you know, in that first pile there where he's being sent on a blitz. How does that feel when he has to track a run from one side of the field to the other? Hopefully that's not the case because the Broncos defense will hopefully shut some things down. But I think early on here, week one, smart move because. think about it. Would you rather them kind of be on a pitch count now for the first week or two?

Starting point is 00:08:31 Or would they go full go? Something happens. And now you miss them for L.A., Cincinnati and or Philadelphia. That's a tougher stretch. I'd rather kind of build that callousness into those more physical games that Denver's going to play early on in their schedule. Absolutely. And you have the Titans and the Colts to start off the year, right? So you want to make sure that, hey, we're getting off to a hot start. and not that you're saying, hey, we're just clearly better than these teams. You can't overlook anybody in the NFL. You and I know that. We saw it. Last year, we've seen it for the last 10 years.

Starting point is 00:09:02 But at the same time, maybe it's a situation where you feel like you can bring them along a little bit more slowly. You have a bit more margin for error in terms of the talent discrepancy there. I think it also puts a little bit more pressure on the defensive line, Cody, to protect the linebackers to make sure that they are, hey, that front line of defense, you're not letting anybody get past you, right? You're making the job of the linebackers easy, regardless if it's Justin Surnad, Dre Greenlaw, Alex Singleton, Lavelle Bailey, whoever it ends up being. So I think that's another key here is that the defensive line is going to have to be on its peas and cues

Starting point is 00:09:36 right away to start this season. Broncos country, we want to hear from you. Your thoughts on Sean Payton saying that the Broncos plan to have Drey Greenlaw, Alex Singleton, a little bit of a pitch count as they get ready for the regular season going into that week one game, how often Will we see them? Will we see them pulled out? Let us know your thoughts on Peyton's plan. Whether or not you agree that it's smart or not. We always want to hear from you here. But coming up next, Broncos country, we're going to discuss the Broncos planet running back on game day. Sean Payton says it's hard to bring four guys up on the game day roster. So what does that mean? Tyler Biday, J. Lilal McLaughlin, J.K. Dobbins, and RJ Harvey will tell you, you're on today's episode of the show.

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Starting point is 00:10:54 That's promo code. Touchdown. Offers vary by user and location. Go to upside.com for terms and conditions. This episode of Lockdown Broncos is also brought to you by game time. NFL season is back. And honestly, there's nothing better than being in the stadium surrounded by fans,

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Starting point is 00:12:09 Swipe, tap, ticket, go. Download the Game Time app today. It's tough to feed all the different backs you've got when you've got four guys. So Sean Payton shed some light on how the Broncos might plan. on getting their backs involved at the start of the regular season. Broncos country, we're excited to talk to you about it, but want to say thank you once again for all of you making us your first listen of the day every single day. We appreciate all of you every dayers, especially those who engage with the show.

Starting point is 00:12:35 If you haven't already, take a couple seconds, follow us wherever you're listening to podcasts or hit subscribe on YouTube. Cody, let's talk about the running backs, because obviously the Broncos kept four on the 53 men roster. That doesn't necessarily mean, though, that they're going to dress four for the game against the Titans or I don't know, it could be a case-by-case basis. I heard your great question.

Starting point is 00:12:55 You asked Sean Payton at the media availability after practice yesterday. And I'm interested to know what you gleaned from his answer, because to me, it really sounds like we're getting ready for a heavy dosage of J.K. Dobbins and R.J. Harvey this season. It seems that way. And look, where I was originally going with my question to Sean was going to ask him, essentially, you have four backs that are very capable of, you know, of producing with different skill sets.

Starting point is 00:13:20 I was going to ask him what his challenge was going to be as a play caller of trying to figure out how to incorporate those four guys without impacting the flow of the game and how it impacts him as a play caller. But he kind of went to like, you know, it's generally, it's hard to carry four backs on the 53. And I was actually sitting there today at practice and we were looking over the roster of the 53 and even the practice squad. And we're saying who are going to be the game day inactive's here for this team? Like what positions? It's tough. And usually it would probably be one of these running backs at this point. Now, he didn't necessarily say that was how it was going to be for him,

Starting point is 00:13:53 but he said historically, you know, around the league, historically, you know, in teams that I've coached, we generally feed two. And that has kind of been the trend here. I mean, it really was a lot of Javante last year, Javante and Jalil. And then sometimes it'd be Jalil than Javante. And then, you know, you'll have another back. Every once in a run is going to get maybe one or two touches or carries in a game. He's not saying that he's just going to run with just two guys specifically.

Starting point is 00:14:17 I think that there will be three on the game day roster. I think right now it's probably going to be heavily J.K. Dobbins getting the primary touches, R.J. Harvey. And then I think Jalil McLaughin would the change of pace, though I still think Tyler Badegh is going to be active. And I think it's going to be in the kick return special teams game. I don't think it'll necessarily be in that situation where it's like, all right, now you're going to have a fourth back and he's going to get a carry,

Starting point is 00:14:39 you know, four guys in one game we're going to carry. I don't think it's going to be that case. I'm curious for your thoughts on this and also Peyton's answer. Yeah, I really liked what he had to say. I know that you didn't get necessarily a chance to finish your question there because I know you and I talked about it before the presser. But at the same time, I think that he did shed some important light on the kicking game aspect like you mentioned. And that's where I do think, like you said, we're going to see Tyler Badegh, making an impact right away. Because if Marvin Mims is able to play and it sounds like he's going to be back at practice on Monday, which is great news for Broncos country out there.

Starting point is 00:15:12 But, you know, even if even if he's out there on the field, you kind of expect the Titans to kick away from him. So that gives Tyler Badee at least a couple of opportunities to go out there and make some place and show what he can do with his explosiveness, flip field position, give the offense a short field because we may not necessarily see him out there on offense for more than a handful or a couple of snaps. If that, the Broncos want to feature these other guys. I don't mind that. I think that you and I kind of discussed when we were talking about breaking down this

Starting point is 00:15:41 running back position that you want to see these guys kind of get into the flow of the game. just like we talked about with the linebackers. We saw some times that, you know, last season against the Chargers, against the Bengals even for a little bit, against the Saints. When you were riding the hot hand, it was working for you. And so now you have two guys that you feel like you can really feature. I loved what George Payton had to say about J.K. Dobbins, kind of just basically capturing that room from the first couple of days that he was there.

Starting point is 00:16:09 Really impactful addition that we haven't got to see the fullness of what he can do yet. So I'm okay with the idea. of it being sort of a one-two punch out there instead of a, you know, like a pitching rotation for lack of a better term. I want to see these guys out there getting their touches and getting opportunities to sort of build momentum as the game goes along. I even think Jalil could factor into the return game as well, at least on kick return, right? Because we talk about all these contingencies. I know we were highlighting Marvin's injury and you and I were even debating discussing that, okay, well, who can do what Marvin does?

Starting point is 00:16:41 Really, nobody can. But I would say the two closest guys in terms of athleticism, can't have an impact and speed would be Jalil and I think Tyler Badegh. And I think those would be two safe options to have back on kick return in the event something were to ever happened to Marvin. Now, with that as well, part of me wonders if that running back rotation is going to be fluid, you know, you're going to feed the primary two guys. But Sean mentions if you even have a third guy that gets a couple of touches here and there, could that change on a game to game basis?

Starting point is 00:17:11 Could one week, could we see Tyler Badee in a two minute drill or as a third down back or would that be Jalil McLaughlin one game depending on the type of opponent that you're facing? I think that's something that we're going to have to wait to see unfold a little bit. Certainly, you know, Jeffrey Simmons to Vondre Sweat, that's not an easy task. I think if you're looking at this front that Tennessee is going to bring to town here, former friend I think Draymont Jones,

Starting point is 00:17:33 I can't recall if he made their 53-man roster or not off the top of my head. But that's a good defensive players there that I think are going to have an impact here. And those two guys inside the trenches are, going to kind of try to set the tone for that Titans defense. And it'll be a big challenge here for the Broncos O line. But I think a good test for these running backs here. You want to see Denver get off to a hot start. And I think there's no better way to do that than get your run game going.

Starting point is 00:17:58 Right. The Broncos want to be hot in the first five games. If you're running the football well, I think there's a very good chance that you can do just that. Yeah, absolutely. They have to be able to run the ball well. And I think that's key to this team getting off to a hot start just in general is establishing that ground game because really that was the difference. difference last year between this offense being something that was really explosive at times.

Starting point is 00:18:21 And we saw what Bo Nix could do through the air without any touchdown passes in the first three games. I mean, he finished the year's second all time in rookie touchdown passes. Imagining what the Broncos could have done last year with a consistent running game behind Bo Nix. That was a dream that I wish we had gotten the chance to realize. We just never did get to see it. I mean, it wasn't there all year. And so you want to have that for him. And a the offense that be so dynamic on a week-to-week basis that it just helps unlock what Bo Nix is capable of doing here in his second season, where we're all anticipating a big year-two jump. That year-two jump is going to go hand-in-hand with a running game finally being, I'll say, competent,

Starting point is 00:19:04 because last year I don't even think it was that. Well, and we'll see Broncos country. Will they carry three running backs on the game day roster, four, but use only three backs offensively? That is the mystery, and we'll get a chance to find out. next Sunday against the Tennessee Titans here. But Broncos, country, we're not done. We still got a lot to discuss here on today's show coming up next. We're going to discuss the Broncos facing Micah Parsons and the Green Bay Packers late in the season.

Starting point is 00:19:27 But what the latest Micah Parsons trade and contract extension could mean for Nick Benito. We'll share that much more here on today's episode of the show. Today's episode of Lockdown Broncos is brought to you by prize picks, the daily fantasy platform that lets you turn your football predictions into real rewards. we are very close to the start of the NFL regular season. College football is already underway. And whether you've got your eye on big name quarterbacks or breakout running backs, prize picks makes it easy to get in the game.

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Starting point is 00:20:37 Micah Parsons was just traded in a blockbuster effort by the Dallas Cowboys to the Green Bay Packers. Now the Broncos, we're to face the Cowboys in Week 7 and Micah Parsons, but that stakes for the Broncos now get a little bit higher latency, because now they'll face that tough Packers defense with Micah thrown into the mix. We'll talk about our thoughts on the initial blockbuster trade,

Starting point is 00:20:57 but more importantly, how it affects the market of Nick Benito, who is looking for his contract. Could it mean that a deal for Benito is coming up very soon? We'll debate and discuss here on today's show. I want to say thanks once again, all the everydayers out there in Broncos country. Thanks for making us your first listen, however you choose to do so. Sarah, you and I, before recording this, we got the notification, the blockbuster news of Michael Parsons being traded from Dallas to the Green Bay Packers, an already good defense.

Starting point is 00:21:24 We know that Denver's going to face Green Bay, Week 15, late in the season. This is a game that could potentially get flex, which wouldn't be opposed to that there. But more and so, like your initial thoughts on this trade. And on top of that, Michael Parsons getting $47 million per year. highest paid non-quarterback in NFL history. How does this also impact the market for Nick Benito? That's a huge question here. Well, first of all, Cody, I absolutely love this trade for the Green Bay Packers.

Starting point is 00:21:55 I hate it for the Dallas Cowboys. I think the Cowboys got absolutely fleeced. I know that it's a lot of money to pay a pass rusher, but got to keep in mind, too, that's a star player that you drafted and you developed and he's led the NFL in pressures since 2021. when he came into the league. So you've got to pay up when a guy plays well. You're setting a really bad precedent for your organization.

Starting point is 00:22:18 For the Green Bay Packers, I mean, man, they have been able to strike when the iron is hot, haven't they? They stole Josh Jacobs when the Raiders let him go for no good reason. They stole Xavier McKinney from the Giants when they let him go for no good reason. That's a team that does not typically make big moves like that, but I know they've got a new president in place,

Starting point is 00:22:37 Ed Policy, that wanted to make a big splash. And wow, this is the, I mean, this has got to be the biggest defensive player trade that has ever happened. I mean, I know Khalil Mack trade is up there, but you're talking about multiple first round picks and Kenny Clark going to Dallas. This is a great trade for the Packers, the youngest roster in the NFL, Green Bay. I think they're the, I think they are now the favorites over the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC. I think they're the best roster in the NFC, if not the NFL. This move was their missing piece type of move. And shoot, Cody.

Starting point is 00:23:10 I'm sad we've got to play them late in the season. This is not, yeah, you don't want to see this type move made to somebody who's on your schedule. Luckily, it's December in Denver, not December in Lambo. But, I mean, then again, Green Bay, they're going to be used to the cold. So even if it's cold in Denver, it won't necessarily matter. But that'll be a fun matchup. That'll be a huge test for this Broncos offense. And who knows?

Starting point is 00:23:30 I'm excited. I wish right now we can just look into a crystal ball and fast forward ahead and say, okay, where are the Broncos at week 15 when Green Bay comes to town? What does it, what does it look like? What does their record look like? What is the trend, how the offense and the defense are playing? If we could know that information now, gosh, that would be a mighty fine thing to know here. But I think even kind of in the grander scheme of things here, if you want to know a little bit more about this trade,

Starting point is 00:23:53 you want to hear from the Cowboys side. Check out our friends over there at Locked on Cowboys. You want to hear the Packers reaction. Go check out Locked on Packers for more Micah Parsons coverage and reaction on the Lockdown Podcast Network. They did a terrific job of breaking down the instant impact of what this means for their franchises. But let's talk about how this impacts the Broncos. franchise here. And I think everyone is looking to the upcoming Nick Bonito deal.

Starting point is 00:24:15 $47 million per year here by Michael Parsons. I'm going to restart that. I got tongue-twite. Tongued. 47 million dollars per year here for Michael Parsons is ridiculous. Record setting, astronomical. It breaks the bank. But for the Broncos, I mean, I don't think $47 million per year is even in the

Starting point is 00:24:36 stratosphere of what they're looking at with Nick Benito. Where would you say based on this? Because I know a lot of people are going to have different reactions to it. Where do you think that Nick's deal is going to range from? Where do you think of the best price is for him? Well, as I'm looking at sort of the edge rusher market right now, obviously the average. If you're talking about a starting point, maybe being the franchise tag number, this obviously raises the average, right?

Starting point is 00:25:02 I mean, we saw Miles Garrett get $40 million per year earlier this off season. That was unprecedented. And then T.J. Watt topped it at $40. million per year. There's a couple of other players, Max Crosby at 35.5, DeNeil Hunter at 35.6, and then Nick Bosa at 34. So those are the only players at this point, which is a large handful, obviously, but they're the only ones that are currently getting over 30 million in average annual value. The Cincinnati Bengals just got a one-year deal done with Trey Hendrickson at 29 million. So I say all that to kind of say you look at some of the lower end of the top end guys,

Starting point is 00:25:38 like Greg Rousseau at 20 million and then you have obviously Micah Parsons now at 47 million. I mean, it's crazy to see, but I'd be surprised if Nick Benito now, I was in the camp of like 25 million per year before. I'd be surprised if it wasn't up at 30 million per year right now. And that's just the reality of a player of his caliber off the edge and where the Broncos are at. And in terms of guaranteed money, I mean, shoot, T.J. Y got 108 million miles Garrett, at 88.8 million. Max Crosby 62.5. I'd be surprised, Cody, if we weren't talking about a four-year deal, 120 million and 65 million or more guaranteed. Micah Parsons got 120 million fully guaranteed at signing in his latest deal. Like that is crazy here. I could see the range here

Starting point is 00:26:29 for Nick being like 26.5 to 31 million. I think that could be maybe the range of which they're at. But I would say this though, Nick, I like the upside of Nick. I like where Nick is going as a player. And I also like who Nick is inside that locker room, who he is on the field. I mean, this is a dude who works his tail off. You don't see a lot of distractions from him at all. Not to say that Micah, you know, is a distraction, but certainly what the Cowboys were dealing with. And I think a lot of this has to do with the pettiness of Jerry Jones, which I don't

Starting point is 00:26:58 fault Micah for this. But it seems like because of how Jerry was, Micah was very public with a lot of stuff. Like we heard from George Peyton earlier this week and one of the things he talked about because he was asked a question about Nick Benito and he said, we prefer to keep those talks in house and private just because we want to keep it respectful. And it's like that's between he, Nick Benito, Nick's agent and things like that. So for me, I'm thinking that knowing who Nick is on and off the field, I think the money per year is going to matter because you look at market, you look at trend.

Starting point is 00:27:30 What have you done for me lately? Nick has ascended two consecutive years in a row. he gets off to a hot start and there's no deal. That price tag's going to rise up a little bit further here. But on top of that, you're getting a player who has shown that he's dedicated to his craft. Like, look at Zach Allen, just got paid. And Zach is still treating. Zach got paid literally left practice to go sign his deal, came back out and was on an absolute terror net practice.

Starting point is 00:27:53 So just because he got paid the big bucks, he was out there beating double teams, sacking quarterbacks with one hand. Nick is in the same category here. He's built different. I think the Broncos is going to take. care of him. I'm going to guess around 26.5 to 31 million is going to be the range per year that we see. And I think that the Broncos will be able to do it. Yeah, and he's worth that. I mean, I know that those are big numbers getting thrown around, but look, this is a different

Starting point is 00:28:17 ballgame that we're playing. The salary cap is going up substantially. And what you pay now is going to be a smaller piece of the pie in future years. That's just, that's just the way of things, you know, and it's just what it is. It's no longer 2010. It's no longer, 2021. I mean, we are adapting with the times and guys are getting paid like this because the NFL is making so much ridiculous money from their big TV deals, splitting things up to 85 different streaming services. I mean, the NFL has money there and the Broncos obviously have cash in the bank with that Walmart money. So there's no doubt about it that it's a new era for a lot of fans who are used to maybe the John Elway way of kind of being a little bit more frugal with the spending.

Starting point is 00:29:04 or trying to go below market or if you even go below market, you're, I mean, I don't know, we didn't see that from John Lelbert very often. He paid, he paid Von Miller, he paid Demerius Thomas, and he tried to pay Brock Osweiler. I think John was pretty stingy otherwise, you know, I mean, it was a tough, it was tough to get money out of that guy for anybody who he drafted anyway. So, and I know there was more players than that. I'm just being funny, but obviously. Those are the big names.

Starting point is 00:29:30 Those are the big names. Yeah, right. So that's where it's just kind of a new era for the Broncos. In hindsight, knowing what we know about how John operated a little bit, I'm glad that John kind of stepped away when he did because I would have worried at this point knowing how frugal kind of John was. Would he have been like Jerry Jones in a sense with some of the stuff? I hope I'm glad we never had to see that play out. I love where the Broncos are heading with player development with George Peyton, with Sean Peyton here. And I also think more importantly as you build this roster and you have a vision and a plan for your developmental guys.

Starting point is 00:30:04 here down the stretch. It really is about keeping this nucleus intact. And what's the biggest benefit we talk about? You do all this right now while Bo Nix is on what his rookie deal. That's the one thing that matters. You can maximize your window. And then at that point, I think if the Broncos win a Super Bowl, certainly it makes some decisions tougher down the road financially because now everyone's trying to steal from your roster. Everyone's trying to get your free agents. Hopefully that can be the case here for the Broncos in a couple of years if they can win a Super Bowl or get back there and amplifies the stock as is here. But Broncos Country, your thoughts on the Micah Parsons mega contract,

Starting point is 00:30:38 how it impacts Nick Benito's potential upcoming deal. Watch as soon as we post this or we record this, I guarantee you watch Nick Benito is going to get some sort of contract extension. We're into a breaking bonus episode for you here, lockdown Broncos. But as always, Broncos country, we appreciate you so much. We are one week away from the Broncos kicking off the regular season against the Tennessee Titans.

Starting point is 00:30:58 Our next episode of the show is a Monday mailback. So make sure you reply, you send to us your mailbag questions. We'll feature the best ones in Monday's episode. Lockdown Broncos. Broncos country. We'll see you then.

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