Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - Denver Broncos Training Camp: DEEPEST EDGE Group in the NFL in 2025?

Episode Date: July 17, 2025

With Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper combining for 24 sacks last season, the Denver Broncos may have the best and deepest EDGE group in the league in 2025. 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. FanDuelRight now, new customers can get $150 in BONUS BETS when your first $5 BET WINS! Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNFL at monarchmoney.com/lockedonnfl 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.

Going into training camp, the Denver Broncos have the best outside linebacker room in the NFL in July. We'll break it all down and how 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. Broncos country was happening. Welcome into another episode, Lockdown Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast, part of the Lockdown Podcast network where it's your team every day. for all your Broncos news content coverage analysis and more.

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As always, I'm Cody Rohreric, Broncos reporter for Mile High Sports. And I'm Sarah Bedinger's site expert at predominantly orange.com. Our training camp position preview series continues here on today's in storm as we focus on edge rusher outside linebacker. We're going to go through and tell you why the Broncos right now have the best overall outside linebacker group in the league going into training camp. We'll also talk about the big time jump that Jonah Ellis and Dandre Tillman had last year and what they can do this year to be even better to fill out the overall depth at the position. And will Nick Benito get an extension before the season or during the season? the headline some of the biggest questions surrounding this position group going into 2025. Sir, I mean, look, I think it is fair to say that when you look at the Broncos outside linebacker room right now,

at least from the top four, when you talk about the starting two guys and then the guys that come in and spell those guys, I think it's safe to say you can make a strong argument. The Broncos have the best edge room right now in the National Football League. And I think they'd be hard for a lot of people to question that. I think so too. I mean, especially after the production we saw from Nick Benito and Jonathan Cooper last year, where they combined for 24 total sacks. And Nick Benito was in the mix for defensive player of the year. The first time the Broncos have had anybody with double digit sacks since 2018 when Von Miller and Bradley Chub were out there. These two guys did their thing. They became

impact players. And they grew and developed into impact players for the Denver Broncos defense. These are guys that, you know, Jonathan Cooper was kind of written off Cody as like a rotational guy only and he's developed into a full-time starter and a highly effective one at that, a second contract player with a 30 plus million dollar deal from the Broncos last year. And then Nick Bonito, who's obviously still looking to get paid, but he developed from a guy who was legitimately being questioned for his roster spot after a rookie season in which he barely contributed. People are wondering, can he even play edge in the NFL? Is he too much of a one trick pony. Is that one trick even good? While he became such an impact player last year,

Cody, that I don't think the Broncos make the playoffs without Nick Benito. His impact plays against Cleveland, Indianapolis, sacks all throughout the year, even in the year prior, getting the team, the momentum play that they needed against the Chicago Bears, right? And making that big play with the defensive score that he set up Jonathan Cooper, I believe. So you have these two guys that are working off the edge. They work well together. They're productive. together and they get after the quarterback. They hustle. They are fast. They are physical. I really like this duo. And I think they deserve the distinction of being the best, possibly in the entire NFL. 100% double digit sacks for the Broncos last year from a starting

duo of the first since Bradley Chubb and Von Miller back in 2018. The Broncos went through a six year drought without having anybody on the roster produced 10 or more sacks. They had a couple of guys do it last year, which was nice to see there. You mentioned obviously the 24 combined sacks between Cooper and Benito. When you factor in the guys behind them, Jonah Ellis and Dandre Tillman, those guys combined for 10, bringing that total between those four guys to 34.

So think about that. 34 sacks out of the 63 that the Broncos have last year came from the Broncos top four pass rushers on the outside. That to me, very impressive. That's the stuff I love to see. John Grudney would say nicey. That's got me feeling nicey at this point. Let's talk about these two guys as well,

because kind of coming into training camp, as we look at this roster, Jonah Ellis, Dondre Tillman, these guys are returning to the same spots that they had last year. It's really not even in question right now. You have your starters. You have your two main backup guys because they were so productive against the run

and in the pass rush department last year that when Benito and Cooper come off, you're not worried about whether or not Dondre Tillman or Jonah Ellers are going to make plays. They did so at a consistent rate last year. And I think they're going to get even better. better in year two. I mean, it wasn't like last year was this banner year for pass rushers amongst rookies. There wasn't anybody that had an astronomical number or anything like that, but both Dandre

Tillman and Jonah Ellis were in the top five with five sacks among rookies. So that was more than a number of guys that were drafted, obviously way ahead of Jonah Ellis, but Dundre Tillman was the afterthought, right? The UFL star, he spent three years with the Birmingham stallions, like three years with the, I didn't even know the Birmingham stallions had been a team for three years in a row, Cody. And this guy had been playing for them for that long. So he waited a ton of time for his opportunity and then cashed in when he actually got a chance to play for the Broncos. And I really like his story too. I think that he's one of the most underrated guys going into camp.

You know what actually cost him money to play in the UFL? Like in order for him to play, he'd have paid $2,500 to play in the UFL. And now it's paid off for him, happy for him. I mean, Dandre is a fun guy to, you know, to kind of get to know as well. Like, you get to talk to him in the locker room. Genuinely nice, dude. You know, some people have been following him on TikTok. You're seeing kind of a day in the life of him.

He's doing these behind the scenes stuff, which I think is really cool. I'll say this about Dandre. Like, he came into the NFL last year, and you and I were kind of debating discussing this is, well, he's kind of got like a defensive end body type, right? Is this a guy who's going to play outside linebackers going to play D&N? Dandre's leaned out a little bit. And I think he's fully ready for that, you know, full-time embracement of being an outside guy, though that's where he was at last year.

The thing I liked about Dandre that stood out on film last year was he was strong. You could see that, but he was deceptively athletic for a guy his size. And you saw that on display. Obviously for him, five sacks last season, his welcome to the NFL moment came in that big week three win the Broncos had against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers where he sacked Baker Mayfield twice. And then he came up big down the stretch. He sacked Joel Burrow, I think, once. I think he sacked Justin Herbert once, or he sacked Joe Burrell twice as well.

I can't recall exactly what it was. But this is a guy who, I mean, he flashes on tape. And then Jonah Ellis is the one. I mean, this is a guy who's consistent, high motor. You see the same exact thing from him. I'm excited about these two guys. And then they go out in the NFL draft this year, Sarah. And they didn't necessarily have to make this edition.

But they go on, they had Q Robinson out of Alabama. And Q was a guy who stood out during the offseason program. Granted, there are no pads. But Q was creating. pressure, you could see the athleticism, the explosiveness from him, and you see the underrated set of pass rush moves that he has. Now, if he can carry that over into practice, when the pads come on, the Broncos are going to have a very good five-man unit at outside linebacker. After what we saw in the Super Bowl, Philadelphia Eagles dominating the Kansas City Chiefs

offensive line with what, waves of pass rush. And I think a lot of folks, you can look back at that game, who comes to the top of your head when you think of the Philadelphia Eagles. edge rushers, right? I think that the beauty of that question is, is that you have to kind of think about it for a second. You got to like ponder who was coming off the edge for them. And I, I mean, Jalick's Hunt, Nolan Smith, all these different guys, Josh Sweat, the plenty of different players that are coming off the edge and the Broncos want to do the same thing. They want to bring waves of pass rush. I think one of the most underrated aspects of this team is not only the addition of Q Robinson and as depth for this unit.

But the potential for progression from those second year guys, like that doesn't get talked about often enough. And I think that that's an area where, man, you thought the Broncos were good last year. Just wait until Jonah Ellis and Dondray Tillman figure it out a little bit more. Just wait until you see what Q Robinson can do because he finally started to figure it out as a pass rusher last year at Alabama before his injury as well.

And then like you said, carried that over and was playing really well at practice, Even without the pads on, you can see guys have that burst. They have that bend around the edge. They have that instinct, like that instinctive way of getting to the quarterback that some guys just inherently have. Not everybody who's athletic, has long arms, you know, play to Alabama. Those guys aren't all going to be just good at the NFL level. You have to have that instinctual way of getting to the quarterback, a developed arsenal of pass rush moves. The Broncos just have so many different guys that they can advance.

Joseph better be ready to have some fun this year, Cody. And I bet he is. No, 100%. I think you're going to see that. You don't see more aggressiveness here from this Broncos defense, considering some of the additions they made at the second level, a linebacker at safety. Obviously, with a group of corners that they have,

it's going to afford the Broncos defense in Vance, Joseph to kind of unleash the hounds a little bit and to create havoc, which is the ultimate goal here for this Broncos defense. Now, while there are no evident position battles taking place here at this, position specifically. Can these Broncos players like Jonah Ellis and Dondre Tillman, can they do more with apparently more snaps heading their way? We'll dive deeper to that.

Much more on today's episode. Locked on Broncos. Today's show is brought to you by Fanduel. Summer sports, they're in full swing. And whether you're all about baseball under the lights, golf on the green, or high-stakes soccer action, fan duel is the best way to make every single game even more exciting. And you're already following the action. So why not make it a little more thrilling?

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And if you're new to Fandul, new customers can bet just $5 and get $150. and bonus bets if your first bet wins. So open the Fandual app today or visit Fandual.com to get started. More snaps are coming for the second year pass rushers on the Denver Broncos defense. We're going to tell you on today's episode why Jonah Ellis, Dondre Tillman, they're going to play much bigger roles than really anyone is expecting at this point for this defense here in 2025. Second year, guys, going to be taking that big jump for the Denver Broncos pass rush

and Broncos country. Thanks so much for rocking with us every single day here at lockdown Broncos. We appreciate you so much. If you haven't already done so, you know what you want to do? Go check out lockdown Broncos on TikTok. Lots of content out there for you this offseason as we ramp up towards the season. The pass rush for the Denver Broncos, Cody, we know it's all encompassing with the D line as well as the edge rushers. But I think I saw something funny.

I have to point this out earlier this off season, there was a rumor that was floating around out there about the Broncosters. Broncos should sign Zadarius Smith and Free Agency because their options behind Nick Benito and Jonathan Cooper are unproven and lackluster. I thought that was hilarious. Just the offseason. Who said that? I think it was a major outlet. I don't remember exactly which one,

but I remember it was a major outlet. Somebody's writing their offseason fodder articles and forgot to, uh, forgot to check the actual notes there, you know, forgot to check reality before. Because adding anybody to this unit, it feels like it would be ridiculous at this point, although, you know me, I've got a soft spot for

Von Miller. I know he's addressed also the idea that even von Miller thinks the Broncos edge group is too deep for anybody else to be added to it. So if that tells you anything, but these second year guys are a big reason why Cody Jonah Ellis and Dondre Tillman, they're going to be playing more snaps and it is going to likely come at the expense of those number one guys. which was interesting because Sean Payton had some very interesting offseason comments, so to speak, right? Because he mentioned something with Nick Benito. He's like, if you look at his snap count last year, it was too high. And in my head, I don't think, wait, what do you mean like it was too high?

Like, is he talking about last year? Is he talking about the reps he's getting out here while he doesn't have a new contract? Is it was he talked about that? It was kind of in reference to last year. But Sarah, I pull up our good friends over there at Pro Football Reference. Nick Benito last year appeared in 17 games. the first two weeks of the regular season. That was Baron Browning.

He played 708 total snaps, which was 61% of the Broncos defensive snaps last season. Okay, that's, I mean, that's a lot of snaps considering that you didn't start all 17 games. So maybe there's in reference to that. When you compare it to Jonathan Cooper, Jonathan Cooper played 820% of the Broncos defensive snaps, which was 71% overall snaps there in comparison, which was down by 16 compared to the year prior. Now, Jonah Ellis, as we talked about, the main rotational guy off the bench here at outside linebacker, played 38% of Denver's defensive snaps, which was 434 overall snaps. And then Dandre Tillman having the increasingly productive numbers that he did with five sacks,

despite playing 29% of Denver's defensive snaps, which was 242 total snaps overall there, though he saw 61% of the team snaps on special teams. Ellis saw 54% of special teams. Cooper saw 14% special teams and Nick Benito only saw one person on a special team snaps last season, which I imagine that was probably safe punt return there just to be safe in case the defense wanted to try to be tricky there. What do you make of this in terms of that? Because really, I look at Cooper, Benito, those are the main guys.

Ellis Tillman, those are the main two guys coming off the bench. Hugh Robinson might be a game day inactive for a good portion of the season or could rotate in depending on where the Broncos are at if they need some, you know, help there, if there's an injury at this position. But there really is no competition here. But what do we make of this snap conversation that Sean Payton was talking about? That's what I don't know. I don't know what to make of it.

I'm interested to find out what they're going to do as far as getting these guys more involved, meaning the second year players, because if they do feel like Benito's playing too much, which it's believable based on the fact that DJ Jones was playing 54, 55% of the snap. I know it's a different position, maybe comparing apples to oranges here, but this is the example that I can think of. He was playing 54, 55% of the snaps. And then he backed off to 40% in 2024. And then the Broncos gave him a $13 million a year contract with 26 million guaranteed. So all of us are seeing, oh, wow, DJ Jones took a huge step back in snaps played. Like, there's no way the Broncos are going to bring him back, yada, yada. And then all of a

sudden they're like, no, actually 26 million guaranteed for a guy that played 40% of the snaps last year. So I feel like they think that they can maximize every snap that these guys are all playing. And I don't know if, correct me if I'm wrong on this, Cody. I don't really know if it's about the chess match aspect. I think it's all, I think it's way more about keeping these guys fresh and bringing a consistently, all right, if you're, if you're using it like a, you know, a health bar in a video game or something. When the health bar starts to go down at all, you pull that guy out and you put the guy with the full health bar in and then you just keep on swapping it out and just torturing

opposing offensive tackles. Yeah, I could see that being the strategy, right? You mentioned it past rush and waves. Well, you don't want these guys playing almost every single snap, especially because if these guys are playing, I mean, we'll go back to Jonathan Cooper. The fact he played 71% of the snaps, that's a lot. You know, that's a lot of wear and tear, you know, 700 and eight snaps. you know, for a guy who didn't start every game last year in Benito,

that's a lot of snaps. And down the stretch last year, what was the biggest issue for the Broncos? They couldn't get off the field. And so that led to some games, I think, against Cleveland. They, they were on the field for 75 to 80 something defensive plays.

That's way too much for anybody. And you factor in the Iron Man that you have there in Zach Allen. It's we want to, you know, we want to protect these guys because all of that physical wear and tear certainly does add up. And of course, these guys are taking care of their bodies,

but that's not always a guarantee. guarantee that, you know, hey, even if you're taking care of your body, that wear and terror can catch up to you at some point, and that can impact you. So I think the idea is keeping these guys and also making sure that they are protecting essentially their investments in these guys and bringing that past Russian waves, which I think is a good move for them to do. But, you know, I think when people heard Sean Payton saying, and I thought this initially when he said it as well, is we got to watch his snaps. I was like, wait, why? Like, why would you want to watch the snaps of your best player. Well, I think if you're going to pay him, you want to keep that investment

protected. I can understand it from that standpoint as we look at this overall unit. Kind of going to that point now, we've talked about the top four guys. And I kind of alluded to maybe how I feel where Q Robbins is going to factor into the mix there. Do you see a situation where obviously I think he's going to make the 53, but do you see a situation where the Broncos have five outside linebackers active on the game day roster? That to me is where I find it a little bit difficult to envision that. Yeah, I think it's all about how much he makes an impact on special teams right away, because the Broncos loves his special teams work at Alabama.

I mean, he did plenty of that, and he was really good at it. And I wouldn't be surprised if they felt like he was maybe the best special teamer in this year's draft class. Now, does that translate immediately to the NFL? Not always. But if it does, then I think he will play, in which case, you know, then you could start to dream up the idea of getting him out there for. a handful of snaps each week, depending on the situation.

You and I talked about that earlier this offseason, like, what is the role for Q Robinson going to look like this year? What's the ideal scenario for him? And obviously, the Broncos want him to continue to develop, but the preseason will probably tell us exactly what we're wondering, when he's out there for extensive snaps, both defensively and on special teams, I think we're going to get a really clear idea. Okay, this is what this guy brings to the table. every time he's lining up off the edge, he's affecting the quarterback.

So you have to have that guy available. And the benefit is, is that he can be a core four guy for you on special teams. And I know it feels kind of wrong to really kind of exclude these guys in the entire show we've done so far. The Broncos do have two other pass rushers at this position. Johnny Walker, Jr. who has an undrafted guy out of my alma mater, muzoo. And then you have Andrew Farmer who was on it last year. I mean, I don't see any of these guys right now.

competing for a spot on the 53. Certainly, no one's going to uproot Q Robinson or Dondray Tillman or Jonah Ellis at this point. So for me, it's like if we're talking about a position battle, maybe Andrew Farmer versus Johnny Walker Jr. For a practice squad spot at this point, I mean, I don't know. We'll see how things kind of play out here as training camp and the preseason go on here. But really the biggest storyline is the overall depth of this room right now for the Broncos going into training camp. And speaking of that depth and what the outlook of this position looks like,

One of the biggest questions surrounding it is, will Nick Benito get a contract extension before the season during the season or the Broncos maybe have to wait until the offseason next year to be able to do that? We'll share our thoughts on that and more on today's episode, Locked on Broncos. Will Nick Benito get paid the big bucks before the season during the season, or will the team have to wait for the off season? There are a handful of options here and the approach could be risky for the Broncos and also risky for Benito himself. We'll go through all that here on today.

episode of the show. Sarah is we get through our positional questions here. The biggest one at outside linebacker is payday that is looming here for Nick Benito. And I think the more we sit here and we talk about it, we look at Benito, what he was able to do in the last two seasons. There's been this narrative, I think I've seen on social media. I've seen some fans comment this. And I disagree with it that he's got to prove himself this year.

I felt like he proved himself in back-to-back years when he wasn't really the primary starter in 2023. He took over the starting job, two games into the season in 2024. And man, he became such an important part of the Broncos defense where, you know, passer tan was the defensive player of the year. But Nick Benito was getting vote consideration for DPOI as well, which is huge. So obviously right there, Nick has bragging rights for like, I want to get paid. We don't know what that range looks like necessarily. But there's kind of this risky line that he and the Broncos are playing right now because think of it this way. If Nick Benito gets off, if the Broncos don't pay him, let's say before the season starts,

if Nick Benito gets off to a red hot start in the first five weeks of the season, you know what that does for Nick? It's great for Nick. It drives the price up for him going into the off season and it makes it more difficult for the Broncos, right? Or the Broncos say, you know, hey, maybe Nick doesn't get off to the fast start in the first handful of weeks. That gives us a little bit of leverage. I don't like it being like the leverage game when it's the organization

against the player. I'm all in favor of the player having to leverage against the organization because at the end of the day, these players are what makes the team as successful and fun to watch at the end of the day. Where do you land on this? Because this is a tricky situation. It really is because there's not necessarily like a clear, when you look at the contracts that have been signed for other top edge guys in the NFL, it's such a wide like range, right?

You have Miles Garrett, who is nobody's going to be breaking. his number, not, not Nick Benito. Okay, let's just talk. The Miles Garrett contract impacts a player like Nick Benito, but it doesn't like change the negotiations because Benito's not on that level at this point, right? I mean, Miles Garrett getting 40 million a year, even guys like DeNeal Hunter at 35.6 million per year, Max Crosby at 35.5 million.

Nick Bosa at 34. Like that conversation has to be, if that conversation being out the window, has halted any sort of negotiations, Cody, then I think the Broncos will wait until after this year. And I, and I think the franchise tag could be in play if, if Benito wants to be up there. But then you have players like Josh Sweat. He signed with the Cardinals this office. He's got 19.1 million per year. Greg Rousseau, who's similar age. You know, I know he's a different type of player, but he got 20 million per year with 54 million guaranteed from Buffalo. And then there's other players like, you know, Bradley Chub at 18.16 million per year, Khalil Mac at 18 million.

So there's such a wide range. And we're talking about 40 million per year at the top and then other really good players who have been playing at a high level for even longer than Nick Benito are getting paid 17, 18, 19 million per year. So yeah, that does complicate. It's not just a, let's slap a 20 million per year on this one and be done with it because Benito might be wanting to get above those guys. So that's where I think I don't know where I draw the line if I'm the Denver Broncos. Well, and the tough part about it is too, is like when you talk about Miles Garrett, you talk about Max Crosby and some of the other guys that you mentioned, those guys are more, they're not really edge rushers that are more so dominant outside defensive ends that,

you know, defensive schemes are a lot different than what Denver plays, where Benito, I feel like has more of an impact dropping back into coverage in the past catching game, right? You see that athleticism. You saw the pick six. I mean, one of them they called a fumble recovery for a touchdown even though he intercepted a pass attempt that let's be the NFL they want to get into the semantics about that that's where i think it's just so difficult whereas like right now i'm looking at it and i don't want to certainly speak for nick and put them put the price on him but i would say like if josh sweat who just won a super bowl with the philadelphia eagles got that i think i would be fair i think 20 to 22 22.2

point five million a year for Nick Benito. I think that's a fair price because also that's what's going to be like the $23 to $25 million per year is going to be the market for a guy like Zach Allen who plays defensive end in a three four scheme. So for me, I think if you want to be able to keep this nucleus together, I think that's probably going to be the price tag. And certainly the Broncos are going to have more financial flexibility from a salary cap standpoint coming into 2026 is off season because all that Russell Wilson dead cap money is going to be off the table there. You do have flexibility with maybe being able to convert a couple of early contract extensions into signing bonus like Pat Sertan, Quinn Miners, Jonathan Cooper.

You do have flexibility there. Though I think the Broncos did something this offseason with Cooper's deal, if I'm not mistaken, that actually gave them a little bit of reprieve. I can't remember where it was, but you have that and you want to be able to keep these guys in the mix here. I don't want the Broncos, and I know this has also been talked about, like the emergence of John Drey Tillman and Jonah Ellis, you've had Broncos fans saying, oh, yeah, let Nick Bonito get traded. I'm like, no, like, just because you have other younger guys stepping up doesn't mean

you trade one of your better players. I've never been a big fan of that you always want to have the best players on the field possible. To me, I'm so against the idea of even entertaining the thought of a Nick Benito trade at this point. Well, and it goes against really what George Payton has been all about. And what he said he was going to be about when he when he got to Denver. He wants to draft and develop and get these guys to second contracts in Denver. He wants to. He wants to. take care of his own guys. That's his philosophy. That's what he did when they were, you know, he was together with Rick Spielman in Minneapolis and that's what he's done so far in Denver, right? I mean, what indication have we seen from George Payton that would give us any idea

that he would trade Nick Benito, right? He gave Pat Sertan a contract, he gave Quinn Miners a contract, gave Jonathan Cooper a contract, he even gave Garrett Bulls another contract. I mean, he's keeping guys in-house. That's been the theme. he gave when he first got here he gave core players and patrick core players absolutely you and nick benito if anyone is a core player right up a premier position off the edge of course everybody wants to see him do it again that like this is the nuance of the discussion that's like it's so stupid to me cody it's like well he's got to go out there and do it again it's like well but two years ago you said you know we're talking about cutting him from the team because he wasn't producing then he has a solid

year in his second NFL season with eight sacks. And then he emerges as a defensive player of the year candidate in year three, or like you said, wasn't even a starter at the beginning of the year and emerges as an impact player every single week. Well, most of his sacks came when the team was leading. Why do you think the team was leading in those games? Because Nick Benito and Jonathan Cooper were making plays off the edge. Why do you think they held those leads, those big leads?

Why do I think those leads got bigger late in games? I am convinced that people don't actually watch the Broncos play football, Cody. And I think that's the frustrating part. Go watch this guy play. We all saw the impact. We all saw what he can do as a big play threat and not just as a past rusher, but literally dropping into coverage. This is the part of the conversation with giving him a contract that drives me nuts.

I feel you. I mean, it's always about moving the goalpost. What have we been asking for for the Broncos to have as an outside lineback? or since Von Miller. You want a guy who can close out games for you. Sill it. Be clutch. Nick Benito did that several times last year and essentially saved the Broncos playoff

hopes because of that. So I don't want to hear it. I'm with you there. It does get frustrating because I also think it kind of breeds this level of entitlement in a sense like, ah, you know, we got a luxury of riches. We can trade this guy just because we have these younger guys stepping up. Well, I mean, kind of look at the situation.

that have kind of unfolded over time here. I mean, you've had other guys that you've tried to place, you know, in place of where Von Miller was at and they couldn't live up to the bill there because they simply just weren't ready for that workload. I don't think you could ever expect to say, hey, we're going to throw Jonah Ellis in for Nick Benito and Jonah's going to produce.

We're going to give Jonah all the reps and all the volume of what Nick Benito is going to get. I don't think, no disrespect to Jonah. I think he's got a high motor, but I don't think you're going to get the same production if you put Jonah Ellis, if you swap those guys and their roles, essentially. I don't think that would be the case. So that's kind of where I'm out with it.

Broncos country. You want to know your thoughts as well because this is something I think will take long. If I have to give a training camp prediction here, I think the Broncos are more than likely at the franchise tag Nick Benito in the offseason. And then those negotiations will play out where I do think a deal will be agreed upon. If they can find a way to get done earlier, great. But we want to know your predictions here on when you think Nick Benito will get a contract extension in your thoughts. on the Broncos outside linebacker room, do you agree with Sarah and I that it is the most loaded position group right now in the NFL from a starting and depth standpoint?

Make sure you drop your thoughts here on lockdown Broncos wherever you get your podcast. But for all you every dayers out there, here's what you can expect on tomorrow's episode of the show. Sarah is going to break down the Broncos offensive line, the interior and the offensive tackle group, the storylines and the biggest questions at those positions. You'll get all that on tomorrow's episode, Lockdown Broncos. Thank you.