Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - Denver Broncos SNUBBED After Improving Roster | Better Than Kansas City Chiefs?

Episode Date: June 10, 2025

The Denver Broncos were snubbed in the Locked On NFL Scouting Podcast's offseason rankings for most improved roster and placed behind the Kansas City Chiefs. Denver's offseason moves of adding Talanoa Hufanga, Dre Greenlaw, and Evan Engram moved the needle more than anything the Kansas City Chiefs did. Plus, we're excited to see Bo Nix's continued chemistry with Broncos wide receivers and Denver's cornerback depth on display at Broncos minicamp. 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!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. Skylight CalendarRight now, Skylight is offering our listeners $30 off their 15 inch Calendars by going to Skylightcal.com/NFL. FanDuelRight now, new customers can get TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in BONUS BETS when 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. Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNFL at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. 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 Locked-on NFL scouting podcast says that the Denver Broncos had a worse off season than the Kansas City Chiefs will tell you why we disagree with that and much more 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. What's up, Broncos, happy Tuesday, and welcome into another episode, Lockdown Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. For all your Broncos news, content coverage analysis and more, this is the place to be every single day all year long. So a special shout out to all the every dayers out there in Broncos country. Thanks for tuning in and making us your first listen of the day, however you choose to do so. And becoming every day or if you're not one already, it's easy. All you have to do is hit that subscriber, that follow button wherever you get your podcast or YouTube,

and you'll stay locked in to your favorite team, the Denver Broncos. I'm Cody Roark, Broncos reporter from Ohio Sports. You can check out my written work and daily coverage of the team over there. as well as this podcast every single day. And I'm Sarah, but injure, you can find my written work over at predominantly orange.com and rocking with your boy, Cody, every single day here, Lockdown Broncos. And we're also available on Bleacher Report on Wednesday. We'll do some fun streams there, but always trying to get in front of the eyes of Broncos country

to bring them the best Broncos content out there. And speaking of that, here's what you're going to get on today's episode of the show. Our good friends over there at the Locked-on NFL scouting podcast with the draft dudes, our good friends, Joel Marino and Kyle Craves, they dished on the best. off seasons by every NFL team. They had the Kansas City Chiefs ahead of the Denver Broncos, and we kind of took a little bit of an issue with that. So we're going to talk about that here, obviously, on today's show.

And then we're going to dive into mandatory minicamp beginning here today. We're going to be out there at practice. But we're going to take a look at three offensive storylines that we have our eyes on, including Bow Nix's chemistry with the wide receiver group. And then three defensive storylines that also sees the return of John Franklin Myers and how that cornerback depth is going to shake out because it is very deep right now as the team prepares for training camp. We're going to break all that down here today.

Sarah, let's open things up here by talking about something our good friends over there at the Locked on NFL scouting podcast with the draft dudes. Obviously, Joe Marino, Kyle Crabs are good friends. We love them. They do fantastic work there. Obviously, Joe covers locked on bills. Kyle covers Locked on Dolphins. But then they do this national show where they, you know, they share their expertise.

And, you know, from their draft background here, I disagreed when they came out with their top 10 off seasons of this year. The Denver Broncos made it into both of their top tens. I just disagreed with the placement. Let's take a look here. First and foremost, the Broncos come in at seventh for Joe Marino. They come in at eight for Kyle Crabs. And Kyle's Kansas City is ranked number one as having the best NFL offseason.

And then the rank six is having the best NFL off season, according to Joe. I disagree that. I think you can make arguments to the Broncos had a better offseason than a team like Kansas City. Yeah, I think you can make an argument that the Chiefs had one of the worst off seasons in the NFL, right? I mean, when you look at a lot of the losses that they had, I guess two notable ones, really Joe Tuny on the offensive line and then Justin Reed defensively. And Justin Reed, Cody, kind of represents a sort of mass exodus over the last handful of years in the defensive backfield for that Kansas City team. Of course, Charverius Ward a couple of years ago and then Legerius Sneed last offseason. And now Justin Reed this offseason, I guess if you want to take it a step further,

you could go back to Tyron Matthew leaving that group. And yeah, Steve Spagnola has done a great job of developing guys on that side of the ball. Trent McDuffie, really good player. But man, you lose a guy like Justin Reed. And he's been a key piece to that defense. They've been so good over the last couple of years. Justin Reed has been a key piece for them. And then the offensive line was already bad.

And now you lost arguably your best guy, right? And Joe Tooney, who's now with the show. Chicago Bears, you bring in a guy like Josh Simmons to play left tackle for you, first round pick for the Chiefs this year. That could work out. He could be maybe the best left tackle from this year's rookie class, but also he dealt with injury last year at Ohio State. And that can't be just, I know, pooh-poot or shoved to the side as he gets to the NFL

level where he's now going to be facing off against, you know, really good pass rushers. So I just, I don't know. I wouldn't have put the Chiefs in the top 10 of Austin. off seasons, much less number one. I think that's crazy. I mean, and we love, like you said, we love Joe and Kyle. They do awesome work. They're awesome to work with.

I don't know, I don't know that I would have Kansas City anywhere near the top 10 of office. They definitely don't come to mind when I think, hey, who's the most improved roster in the NFL this off season? I definitely don't think of the Kansas City Chiefs off the top of my head. And, you know, we got Minnesota for Joe Marino. Minnesota comes in at third. I think that they made some key additions this offseason.

But the biggest question for them is going to be J.J. McCarthy, how that goes for it, right? So in terms of which teams did the most to improve their rosters, I think you can make a strong argument about the Broncos. And then Arizona is ranked in their top five in each of them. Like in Joe's, Arizona comes in at fourth. And then in Kyos, they come in at number two overall here. And when you look at the key moves that Arizona made this off season, you know, obviously they agreed to terms with Callas Campbell on a contract, on a one-year deal. Calais isn't the guy that, you know, we were seeking like, maybe four or five years ago. We're like, hey, Clay's Campbell, bring him back to the Mile High City, bring him to Colorado here.

Obviously, you know, they added young guys in the draft there. They signed Zay Jones. They got Josh Sweat on a four-year contract, obviously there, Jacoby Brissette to back up Kyler Murray. To me, I look at all these moves. I'm like, all right, well, that's not necessarily like needle moving in a sense that, okay, hey, they're immediately, they had the best offseason overall from this standard. When when we talk about rookies, you always have to approach it from the basis of, we don't know what these guys are going to be just yet.

So that's where I would disagree with them on Arizona. I think when you look at Denver's key additions, right? Let's look at it defensively addressing two of their most crucial needs defensively, inside linebacker and safety. You get Dre Greenline, you get Talanoa, Hufanga. You sign those guys in free agency. You give Bo Nix a player like Evan Ingram, who the Broncos have been desperately looking for a player with that type of archetype and potential to put inside of Sean Payton's offense,

you get him one of the biggest needs offensively. And when we look at the draft, like even on our side, as we talk about the draft, on paper right now, the Broncos, they had a terrific draft, I think, in their first, and their premium picks here, Jada Baron, I think can be a great weapon here for the Broncos defense. I'm excited to see that. RJ Harvey, who's getting all this rookie buzz right now and rightfully so there's a lot of excitement about what he's going to bring to the table.

These guys got to go out there and play first, right? So when we factor in, I think off seasons and improving, I think we really have to look at it from the free agency standpoint. Who did they lose? Who did they gain? I think when you look at Denver compared to maybe, you know, most teams even in the AFC West, I think Denver did the most to improve because they were already really competitive last season. Their roster was a big surprise to a lot of people. They got better in the areas they absolutely needed to and they should be infinitely better because of that this upcoming season. So I would argue, let's maybe look at it from this standpoint.

there, if we could put the Denver Broncos anywhere in the top 10 in terms of offseason for most improved rosters, if we could change their placement in Joe and Kyle's rankings, where would we put the Broncos here amongst the teams on a one through 10? Where would we go? Well, I think the Broncos, no matter what way you slice it, they had a top three overall offseason in terms of most improved rosters in the league. I know you have to factor the injury risk in, just like I said with Josh Simmons and the chief. So you have to factor that. in, but we're talking about a proven couple of guys in Dre Greenlaw and Tallanoa Hufanga as opposed to a rookie coming out of Ohio State who, you know, hasn't ever played

in the NFL. We're talking about Evan Ingram, who was second all time in the single season catches list for tight ends ever in NFL history. And then you factor in Jadae Barron, who was pro football focused. You know, everybody has him as their top cornerback in the draft outside of Travis Hunter, right? The draft dudes love Jada Barron. coming out. And we know this.

Everybody loves Jada Baron and the Broncos stole him with the 20th overall pick. It's one of those situations where I think there's just like a sort of fatigue with well, you know, great, good stuff from Bo Necks last year. Good stuff. That was fine. You know, we'll see if he can do it again, right? I think everybody's still skeptical

whether Sean Payton and Bo Nix can do it again after last year because what are we seeing now, Cody? The narratives are that, hey, the Broncos, they beat up on bad teams. They couldn't beat any good teams. Well, you said the Broncos were a bad team. So they beat up on the bad teams. What does that say about them?

You know, how many times are we going to move the goalposts before we have a legitimate conversation? And I think, you know, it's nice to be in the top 10, right? It's nice to be recognized as having one of the best off seasons. But I do think it's a little bit ridiculous to say that teams like Arizona. I mean, having a better, more improved roster than Denver this year. I think that's, I think that's wild. You're talking about a Broncos team that's bringing back 86% of their guys.

from last year and adding Greenlaw, Hufanga, Evan Ingram, Jada, Barron, R.J. Harvey, potentially J.K. Dobbins in the near future. So I just, I don't know, Cody. I don't agree with a lot of the offseason rankings list. I think that's part of why they get put out, right, is so that people will disagree and talk about it. And, you know, it's not necessarily clickbait. It's just discussion driving. And I think that with these two guys, like, why is Buffalo on that list? Who did Buffalo bring in other than two guys who are suspended? for six games to start the season. Like Buffalo didn't do much. Their draft was fine.

They didn't bring anybody in. I will say Kyle doesn't have Buffalo on his list. Yeah. Kyle doesn't have Buffalo even on the list. And Joe doesn't have Dallas on the list. But Dallas, you know, I think Dallas did more than most of these teams, right? And nobody talks about that. Why?

Because I think people kind of love to hate on the Cowboys. It's just, I mean, I don't understand the Chiefs being on the list. I don't understand the bills being on the list. I don't, the Colts, Cody, the Colts being a top 10 most improved team in the league, they got Daniel Jones to come and compete with Anthony Richardson. Wow. I don't know. I mean, I don't know if the Colts are going to be better than they were last year.

So I think that that's, it's a tough thing to, you know, it's a tough game to play this time of year. Yeah. Well, Broncos country, let us know what you think of obviously the locked on NFL scouting podcast with the draft dudes. Gil Marino, Kyle Crabs, their list of rankings where the Broncos fell. to recap here. The Broncos for Joe Marino came in at seventh in terms of the most improved offseason roster. They came in eighth for Kyle Crabs. Let us know how you feel about that on today's episode show. Make sure you comment your thoughts on where Denver should be. We are eager to see where you think they're at here, Broncos country. But we're not done yet. Mandatory minicamp begins today. And we're going to take a look at three offensive storylines here for the Broncos offense going into today's practice, including the chemistry that Bow Nix has with the Broncos wide receivers.

You're going to get that and much more on today's episode. Lockdown Broncos. Today's episode Lockdown Broncos is brought to our friends over there at Monarch Money. You're like me. You ever check your bank account and wonder, where did all my money go between all the different recurring subscriptions between dining out, online shopping, entertainment, going out and buying coffee, something that I do very, very often. It's easy to lose track.

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If you struggle with budgeting, you're going to find out exactly where you're spending too much money with that command center that Cody mentioned with Monarch money. Plus, you don't have to use a bunch of different apps. It's that all in one convenience that makes Monarch money so special. So take control of your finances with Monarch money. Use the code locked on NFL at Monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. That's monarchmoney.com code locked on NFL for half off your first year. Everybody is excited to find out more about the Denver Broncos offense as mini camp rolls along. And now we're at mandatory mini camp.

So going to be interesting to see if the intent. Ramps up. What are the biggest question marks for this Broncos team? Well, we're wondering about Bo Nix, the chemistry with his receivers. We're running, we're wondering if anybody's going to enter that running back competition, maybe a little J.K. Dobbins and a lot more. Broncos country. Thanks so much for tuning in today. We're talking Broncos mandatory mini camp. We appreciate every single one of you for rocking with us. Cody, I know you're going to be out there at practice. And every eye will be on the offensive side of the ball. Of course, I know as a defensive backs guy, you're going to. to be watching them. And we'll talk about the defense coming up here in a bit. But that offense is the unit that needs to take that step forward for the Broncos to maybe lay claim to the AFC West this year. I think that's a reasonable discussion to be had. And they won't be necessarily coming up from, hey, out of nowhere, the Broncos were good last year. And I think teams are going to be expecting them to be good. But the offense has to improve. I think one of the number one things we're watching out for is that chemistry between

Bo Nix and a group of receivers that you and I have talked about. A lot of guys are going to hit the field. It doesn't necessarily matter who's at top the depth chart. He's got to be building chemistry with a number of different guys right now. Yeah, look, not even just at a wide receiver. We're talking running back. We're talking tight end. Bo Nix is getting a lot of work with a lot of guys.

And that's one thing that I think I like about what Sean Payton does with his operation is, yeah, there will be times where Cortland Sutton's in at wide receiver. There might be a time where, during a time where Cortland is in playing X, they may throw in Courtney Jackson, an undrafted guy to play the Z position or playing the slot. Like, they want to get a lot of reps, right? And I think it's a good way for your quarterback to get chemistry with everybody. We already know he's got chemistry with Cortland Sutton.

He's got chemistry with Marvin Mims. He's got chemistry, obviously, with Devon Valey. But now it's like, can you continue to build that chemistry with rookie Pat Bryant? Can you continue to build that chemistry with some of the undrafted guys? Because, hey, you never know. This season, as we've seen historically for this Broncos team over the course of its history, there have been undrafted guys that have emerged to become maybe a favorite target. You know, maybe there's something that one guy does really well that it's the go-to.

It's the secret sauce. Remember, George Payton and Sean Payton all offseason, they've been talking about, we've got to find that secret sauce here. Could it be Evan Ingram? Could it be R.J. Harvey. Could it be an undrafted guy maybe getting in the mix a little bit? I don't know. Could it be Troy Franklin?

I didn't mean to exclude his name and all the guys we're talking about. Those guys have plenty of chemistry together. So for me, I look at this is like, this is very important. And as many reps as you can. And the best part about it is you get to go against a very good secondary with Pat Sartan, Riley Moss, Jekwon, Macmillan, Jada, Baron working in, Tallanoa, Hufanga, and Brandon Jones on the back end there. That to me is an exciting thing. That chemistry factor, Sarah, is very, very important.

And I'm excited to see how they continue to build that. And especially with Bow Nix and Evan Ingram, as we've seen him move really well in the, you know, the first two weeks of OTAs in which we were able to see two practices out of those six total practices that they had. That's one of them. And look, I think everyone's going to be keeping their eye this week on the running back position. Will the Broncos add? Will J.K. Dobbins at some point sign? Will we see Jada, Baron R.J. Harvey signed the rookie deals, which will allow the Broncos to make a move to bring in a guy like Dobbins. So I know the Broncos have interest in him and he still has interest in them. I think right now that's just the waiting game. That's the obstacle.

And especially with Blake Watson, you know, he's on the side field last week, Sarah, working, after we hyped him up and talked about maybe his underrated role he could have, if he's not out there, they may look to add another back and J.K. Dobbins could be the guy that comes in and that could push somebody out of the mix. Could be Watson, could be Audrake Estimates we've talked about. But that running back rotation, how guys do is going to be very important as well this week. Yeah, and you wonder how much the signing of Nick Chubb with the Houston Texans is going to push J.K. Dobbins to finally get a deal done because, I mean, it's still a month away, but, you know, as of July 22nd, the Los Angeles charters have exclusive negotiating rights.

with J.K. Dobbins. So you would think that he's going to be motivated to get a deal done sooner than later. And yeah, the Broncos, they have their own financial hurdles to overcome and things like that. But certainly somebody like Dobbins, if you want to be part of the offensive game plan, you kind of want to get out there as soon as possible. He's not really one of those players that you say, hey, yeah, this guy can come in in the middle of training camp or at the back end of training camp. He's a proven veteran.

He knows exactly what he's doing out there. He doesn't need to be out there. No, this is the installation period. This is the chemistry building period. And as we've mentioned, a lot of players that are coming back from last year. So you're joining something that's established. And so I think for J.K. Dobbins, you would want to get this done sooner than later. So that's a big storyline to be following.

But Cody, what about the fact that we, you know, the J.K. Dobbins conversation has kind of pulled away a little bit from the R.J. Harvey conversation. Right. And RJ has been out there. Sounds like he's doing great, catching passes at practice, which is a big, you know, I guess issue from last year or something that the Broncos are really needing in their running back room is somebody who can be a dynamic threat out of the backfield as a receiver. That wasn't the case for really anyone last year. So, I mean, RJ Harvey coming out there, looking good, continuing to grow and build his confidence. Because even if J.K. Dobbins comes in, we assume RJ,

is going to be one of the featured players in this offense. Yeah, Sean Payton didn't invest their premium pick just for a guy who he is really, really excited about and he has not shied away from talking about what he really likes about Harvey. Harvey's going to get a mountain load of touches this upcoming season. He could even be the starter for the Broncos. And we talked about it a little bit in yesterday's episode of the show, why really for this Broncos team, if they're going to win 10 plus more games or even 12 games this upcoming season, the running back position and the production there is going to be the most

important element of this offense outside of obviously efficient quarterback play and making sure that you get those, you know, chemistry down pat with the wide receivers and getting Evan Ingram into the fold. The running back position is going to have a major impact. And RJ Harvey is the type of guy that I think can absolutely blow the top off of what this offense can do. I think we're going to see that here early on. Now, granted, everything we're seeing right now is without pads. When the pads come on at Trenton Camp, if RJ is doing this against the defense that we know was one of the top run defenses and all the National Football League last. year, that's going to excite me a little bit. And now you're going against new additions, Drake Greenlaw and Talanoa Hufanga,

who are very good at track in the football. So if a guy like RJ Harvey is having success there and that Broncos' offensive line stays healthy the way that they have, this is going to be something I think will be a game-changing dynamic, but how can RJ continue to grow? I'm excited to see that. You mentioned him catching passes. He caught some long passes, you know, for a touchdown last week in OTA. I can't tell you what the route was.

but it was very nice to be able to see that, considering everything we've seen and heard about the Broncos running back position, RJ's looking the part here. I think that's one thing I'll keep an eye on today as I go out to practice as well, maybe seeing a little bit of a bounce back in this upcoming practice today from Caleb Loner last week he had a drop during the team period. So can he respond and have a big day to day? I'm going to keep my eye on that as kind of like this under the radar storyline to follow.

But as much as we love the offensive side of the ball, too, the Broncos defense. They have several storylines as well, including how to figure out what the depth at a very deep cornerback room looks like and who's going to get certain looks and opportunities to carve out a role for themselves. Sarah and I, we're going to dive deep into that here on today's episode,

Locked on Broncos. The Denver Broncos cornerback position is one of the deeper positions on this football team. You can factor in the entire secondary when you add safety into the mix here. But how the Broncos cornerback rotation looks here at mandatory minicamp, getting ready for training camp could set the table for maybe some of these established roles we may see during the regular season. If this group does in fact stay healthy, we're going to go through our three storylines defensively that we're looking forward to. But I think before we dive into the secondary in the cornerback room here, Sarah, first and foremost, we're going to get our first look at the offseason at the return of John Franklin Myers.

Obviously looking for a new contract with the Broncos was a very, very important addition for them last year during the NFL draft when Denver. traded for them. And obviously they added Savion Jones in the NFL draft. JFM has been working. He's been putting a lot of work this off season. And he's been working with coach Jordan, who obviously was a, you know, a coach on the team. Coach BT. Jordan was on the team last year in a specialized role back as well, if I'm not mistaken at this point. So a lot of the training that JFM has been doing has been along the lines of what the team also is looking for. So we're going to see JFM back here this week as the mandatory portion of the offseason program begins. That's, that's going to be nice because, hey, that defensive line's got some good size to it.

Yeah, it'll be good to have the whole band back together out there. And it should be mentioned that I guess this is pretty standard protocol over the last few years for JFM. Cody, as you mentioned before, that he doesn't necessarily go to the, you know, voluntary workouts, whether he's in Denver or New York or with the Rams or whoever it may be. So this is something that's pretty standard procedure for him, although I will say that he's been pretty vocal on Twitter X, you know, just making his comments here and there, little little subtle, you know, hints here and there. And nothing that I think has ever indicated really that he's upset in Denver by any means.

He's going to be out there, obviously, on the practice field. And that's exciting for this team because that 86% number keeps creeping back in. The continuity on the defensive line is so critical for this team. And John Franklin Myers was huge last year. for the Denver Broncos coming in as a really underrated trade acquisition, being productive as always. He seems like one of those guys that you can just kind of copy and paste his numbers every year.

He's going to get quarterback hits. He's going to get pressures. He's going to make plays in the backfield. And I think that consistency is valuable. So how valuable is it, though, to the Denver Broncos? We may be fixing to find out here in the near future. Well, I just encourage Broncos country. I think there are some fans who are on the fence about JFM, which I'm like, you shouldn't

be. You should be on the fence of, hey, JFM's a damn good player. We want him on this team. Just go to his Twitter page and look at the highlights that he shared, obviously, what Coach BT Jordan put out there of his rushes. And it'll literally show you. Drills they work on in practice, them using those things and carrying them over in games. And it's leading to production. Like you're seeing JFM's size and physicality to be able to dominate in one-on-one situations. This is a dude who constantly fights through double teams as well. He has an impact on the quarterback. He's a high pressure rate player. The Broncos love that. And I think Broncos country just got to like, yes, the guy wants to get paid. And rightfully so. Like,

wouldn't you, if you're producing, you're creating pressure and you're contributing, don't you want to get paid? Everybody else in the NFL at this position is getting paid right now. Why not at this point? I mean, JFM, I think we forget, kind of took a little bit of a pay cut when they restructured his deal coming out of the trade from New York. Now it's like, hey, I produced. I want to be able to get paid and rightly so. But I'm still trying to figure out how the Bronco is going to manage all that with Zach Allen, Nick Benito, and everybody else is coming up for a potential contract extension. It's going to be some tough moving here, though. But I think another storyline we're going to watch today is obviously the linebacker competition.

Alex Singleton did say that he'll probably start doing team drills once training camp rolls around. So I wouldn't expect to see Alex Singleton here today, tomorrow or Thursday, participate in any of the team drills, but he will participate in Indy. So he's doing stuff on the field with the helmet. But the linebacker competition with Drake Greenlaw set, return for training camp. He was on the side field last week, which is a great sign for him. Drew Sanders, Justin Sternard, other guys like, you know, Jordan Turner, Perene Reed was not present last week at OTAs for that one practice we had there. And Lavelle Bailey, a guy that we've

also talked about. How does this linebacker competition kind of play out here? That's something I'm looking forward to seeing here today. Yeah, that's exactly what's going to be on my mind and on my radar, Cody, because that's the one area of this defense that was sort of a major weakness last year. You know, Sean Payton talked after a couple of games about the coverage breakdowns, the free runners out there. That's partially the linebackers fault, right? And the Broncos were rotating so many different guys, whether it was Juan

Alexander, Zach Cunningham, you know, even Christian Welch at the beginning of the year. Then you had Justin Sternard, Alex Sangleton. I mean, all these different guys that were out there trying to sort of formulate the solution at that position. And nothing worked. And I don't know. It kind of feels like other than. Gray Greenlaw, the Broncos are just kind of running it back.

And I don't know if that's the right strategy. So we really need to hear some good positive updates about that line. I know there's no pads on it that you can only see so much out there. But even just to know that this coaching staff is confident in the guys that they have and to have that clear direction. Yeah, there is competition, but it's these guys that are really fighting for those spots. You really want to hear the offseason hype train get going for somebody like a Drew Sanders. And that's, I mean, even without pads, that would just be nice. You know, and I know you asked a great question.

We got a great answer from Sean about the vision for him position-wise. Is he progressing? Is he a factor in the starting rotation? I think that's going to be fascinating to find out. Well, I'll say how we can evaluate the linebackers during this period where there's no pads. Like against the run, we can't, right? Against the pass, absolutely we can in terms of those guys, if they're playing man, who's matching up on a running back?

Are they getting out to the appropriate spot if it's zone coverage? are they getting depth on their dropbacks? And are they locating receivers crossing into their area? Like is their reaction time? Are they moving quickly enough? Are guys getting in front of them or behind them? Those are things that we'll evaluate. I'll keep my eyes on it.

Obviously, you'll get a bonus episode. Broncos country of lockdown Broncos is a way to react to practice. We set the table for the next day. It's going to be a fun week here on the lockdown Broncos podcast. I'm in agreeance with you here. Let's get to the cornerback position here because this is another storyline here, sorting it out. Do the Broncos need to necessarily sort out this room right now?

Now because the way I see it's there, it's already set in stone in terms of their key guys. Like I'm seeing a lot of Jada, Day, Barron, PS2, Riley Moss, and J-Quan-McMillan. There's times where we're seeing all those guys on the field at the same time, which to me, like if I could quote John Gruden, nicy. That's got me feeling nicey at this point. And then there's times where we're seeing Jadae working with PS2 and Riley Moss. And then there's times we're seeing J-Quah Macmill and working with PS2 and Riley. Then there's times where we're seeing PS2, J-Mac, and Jada working in.

So they're getting a lot of reps. And obviously, he's picking up his role defensively very well. It's one thing that Sean Payton raved about. And then Chris Abrams-drains had a really good offseason as well. So those guys, in my opinion, if they keep five, it's set. Those are the five guys at this point. Great Burger Place, by the way. But those five guys at Corner really have it solidified there, which kind of puts

to Marie Mathis, Quentin Newsom, some of the other guys on the outsides. but those guys could be practice squad candidates if the team really wants them back. This is where I don't know if we're going to get any clarity on this position, but I feel like me personally, Sarah, I would say that this cornerback room is set, barring any injuries. Those are going to be the top five guys. Do you think there's any sort of issue with, you know, when to put those guys on the same field or, you know, on the field at the same time,

rather, you know, is that an issue? Is it a who's going to be out there in the base defense? Who's going to be out there in nickel? who's going to be out there and dime because right now there's conversations amongst Broncos fans about, hey, Riley Moss, his job is not safe. I know you and I kind of agree on where I know. I don't know. I don't understand that discussion and I don't know where it's coming from.

Maybe it's just those last couple of games after he came back from injury, but there's discussion about is it going to be. And we've seen some of the comments on our show as well about people factoring, well, Chris Abrams Drain should be playing over Riley Moss. and it should be Chris Abrams, Drain, Pat Sartan, and, you know, Jayquan Macmillan with Barron and Moss on the sideline. Like, that's a, it's really an interesting discussion point. So that's where I'm wondering, okay, now that you've added Barron to the mix, is it a clear pecking order of PS2, Riley Moss? And then Barron is the third guy who's, he's going to be the first one in if somebody gets hurt.

And then Macmillan is clearly the dime guy. Is that the way that you see it right now? or do you think Chris Abrams Drain is up in the mix there? Where do you see it at right now? I think Abrams Drain is in the mix if there's an injury to Riley Moss or pass or tan. I think strictly, I think Abrams Drain can play inside, but I think the vision for him is an outside corner. That's where I think that the Broncos have,

just based on what we saw from last year when he did play, they didn't really move him inside. They kept him outside there. That was his thing. He can play man to man there. I think that's perfectly fine for him to that be his vision for maybe where his trajectory is. But right now, like, people are so caught up on the Riley Moss Cincinnati Bengals game. It kind of blows in my mind a little bit. Like, yeah, you know, it was Riley's first game back

from the knee injury. And was Riley full speed in that game? No, but, you know, Riley, he gave up a couple of touchdowns. But people are acting like he just absolutely got torch where it's like there was 10, 15 yards of separation from T. Higgins and him, no, like every catch that T. Higgins really had, Riley Moss was still right there. It's just about trying to be able to make a play and finish. That's what sours me about cornerback dialogue, right? As a DB guy myself, the context of it is frustrating because people use that Cincinnati game. And then they go, they apply that to obviously the Kansas City game, which chief starters didn't

play. Riley didn't give up anything in that game. Riley played well. Riley played well in the Buffalo Bills game in the playoffs. Like Riley didn't get torched or burnt on any big plays there. Did a really good job. He had a nice, I think past breakup against Keon Coleman on an outside release or even Khalil Shakur.

So for me, it's just like people have soured on Riley Moss for the wrong reasons. This is nuts to me. So unless there's an injury, I think Abrams drain ran out of the vision for him. Key depth piece, but he's getting a lot of work on special teams as a gunner, Sarah. And I guarantee you he's going to be probably a starting gunner alongside Trent Sherfield this year. So that's where I think Abrams drain role as a year two player is compared to everything else right now. Yeah, I'm fascinated for that to unfold. And I agree with you completely.

I think that's, it's well said with the whole Riley Moss discussion. I think that's one of those that, a Broncos country is going to want to follow on TikTok because that, that rant that you just had is going to make it to the TikTok because I think people need to start talking a different narrative about Riley Moss and the way that he played last year. If it was any other position that was that played that well as a second year guy and had a, you know, slip up here and there.

I mean, we would be talking about, man, this guy's going to bust through in year three because he was so good for the majority of last year. Do you remember the conversation we had in the Vegas game when he got injured? And did you see like the games afterward? We could go through all the post game shows. Everyone in the comments saying, oh my gosh, I can't believe we lost Riley Moss. Like, oh, we need him back like ASAP. He's got to play.

And then all of a sudden, the narrative after a Cincinnati game, just completely change it. Like, don't be victims of the moment. Just take a deep breath. Riley is good. Riley is good. He looks good this offseason. He's fast as heck. like he's valuable to his defense and say,

like for Broncos fans that are advocating, like, oh, trade Riley Mossaway or, or, you know, he doesn't need to be on the team. That's so, that's dumb. Safety. But think about it. If he, if someone gets hurt, the Broncos are back kind of in a position where like, ah, you know, we don't know where we're at depth wise.

Like, we got guys we think can play. They're not in a position where they have a Levi Wallace on the roster right now, but you have young guys, right? And some young guys could make some mistakes as well. But you're an injury away from just also being, like, ah, you know, we're going to miss this guy. You're going to feel that impact. So just, just wild to me, man.

Yeah, it really is. I mean, all the discourse, it's very much an offseason time right now, right? You're kind of exploring almost too many options, sort of creating this need that's not necessarily even there. So that's where I tend to agree with you and say, look back at the way you felt about Riley Moss right when he got hurt against the Raiders and how devastated we were. to have that injury happen at the time. That's the player that we're expecting to come back,

is the guy that we were all just sick to our stomachs to lose amidst a playoff race. So I think that's going to be a fun offseason storyline to monitor. Is Sean Payton going to scoff at the idea of Riley missing out on playing time? Somebody will bring it up to him eventually, Cody, and it's going to be interesting to hear his response to that. Sean loves Riley. I mean, go go watch Kay Adams interview last year about, Riley. He doesn't hide it. He sits there and he's like, the starting corner job wasn't even

announced yet. And he's like, oh, yeah, we love, we love Riley. So one of Sean Payton's guy. He's in the circle of trust there. Brockos country is always you're in our circle of trust. We love and appreciate you. Thanks for tuning into today's episode of the show. If you're in every day or make sure you come back tomorrow. We're going to have bonus content as well, following all the recap from today's OTA practice, previews of tomorrow's, recap's of tomorrow's. You couldn't get a lot here this week at Lockdown, Broncos. Then I'm off to my wedding for next week. So there's a lot of fun stuff that we got in store for you this week here. Locked on Broncos.

Thanks for tuning in, making us part of your day every single day. Broncos country, we'll see you next time.