Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - Denver Broncos' Troy Franklin EMERGES as WR2 Candidate | How Sean Payton Should Use Him

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Denver Broncos don't take a wide receiver in rounds one through four of the NFL draft and instead, Troy Franklin emerges as wide receiver too. That's what Broncos country sent in on today's takes on takes episode, Lockdown Broncos. You are Locked on Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast, part of the Lockedon Podcast Network, your team every day. What's happening in Brockos country? Happy Thursday. Welcome into another episode, Lockdown Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast, part of the

Starting point is 00:00:35 on podcast network where you know it is your team every day for all your Broncos news, content coverage analysis and more. This is the place to be. So thank you so much to everyone in Broncos country. All the every dayers out there for making us your first listen, however you choose to do. So if you're not yet an everydayer become one by hitting that subscriber, that follow button, wherever you get your podcast. And you'll never be out of the loop on anything that happens with your favorite team.

Starting point is 00:00:59 I'm Cody Roar, Credential Broncos reporter from Mile High Sports. It's been covering the team for seven years. joined as always by Sarah Bendinger, long-time site expert over there, predominantly orange.com. Sarah's been covering the Broncos for over 10-plus years as well for everyone out there in Broncos country. Together, we bring you the most 10-year to Broncos podcast in the entire universe. We appreciate you so much for rocking with us here, Broncos Country. Today's episode, what we got on our rundown today, we're debuting a brand new segment.

Starting point is 00:01:27 They were taking credit from, obviously, we're giving credit to the guys over there, the Lockdown NFL Scouting podcast, Kyle Crabb. Joe Marino every Thursday. They do a show called Takes on Takes where you submit your takes on the Denver Broncos and we go through and we share our take on your take. That's a new thing we're going to be doing here throughout the off season until we get into the regular season

Starting point is 00:01:47 where a crossover Thursday will commence. Sarah, look, Broncos Country, they sent us a lot of great takes and we're going to break down here on today's episode of the show. We teased it really at the opening of the show. Jason Bonnie sends in the first ever takes on takes here for Locked on Broncos. This is a bold one here.

Starting point is 00:02:05 He says the Broncos don't draft a wide receiver in rounds one through four. And Troy Franklin emerges as a legitimate wide receiver to this season. What is your take on Jason's take here? Well, I think it's an interesting take from Jason. We've seen the Broncos bring in Luther Burden and now Matthew Golden for pre-draft visits, which we know that pre-draft visits. They don't necessarily mean the Broncos are going to draft somebody in particular, but you never know.

Starting point is 00:02:32 It could mean that they are going to draft. somebody in particular. So I think it'll be fascinating to see how this one does play out during the draft, Cody, because I think you and I kind of are in agreement as we've been going through mock draft scenarios, that it feels almost like receiver is becoming more and more likely of an option there with that 20th overall pick. Or as our good friend Mike Cliss said in his latest podcast, he feels like the Broncos are poised to trade down in the first round, just getting an inkling of that at this point in time.

Starting point is 00:03:01 So if that's the case, I think all options are on the table. But I kind of, I don't disagree with this take here because, look, Troy Franklin team had a second round grade on him last year, according to Sean Peyton, right? Sean Payton said that. I'm not speculating that. And that wasn't a rumor. Like Sean said that deliberately. And then I think what's interesting is a lot is being made of the fact that Audrick Estime was benched Cody for that final game against Buffalo. So wouldn't it then mean a lot that Troy Franklin was not only actually.

Starting point is 00:03:31 for that game against Buffalo in the playoffs, but he was, like, heavily involved in the game plan on the opening drive and scored that touchdown on the deep ball from Bo Nix. So I don't know. I kind of feel like the actions the Broncos have shown us this offseason are maybe indicative that this is an accurate take. Yeah, look, I agree with Jason's take, though. I would say, like, it is a bold take.

Starting point is 00:03:53 I will say that it is a bold take by definition. And, like, if this happens, it would be great, you know, but I could tell you the Sean Peyton, he's got a lot. lot planned here for Troy Franklin. He wants Troy to play that Z role there. And obviously, Troy at six foot two, like he's got Marvin Mims like speed. Marvin ran like, I think a 4.38, 4.39, something along those lines. But then you look at what obviously, you know, Troy Franklin runs. I think it was like a 4.4.1. So like, I don't even know what the decimal thing is. I'm not going to try to do it there. But they're pretty close in speed. Like, but Troy's got six foot two size. Here's how Troy Franklin can

Starting point is 00:04:28 become wide receiver two here for the Broncos in 2025. I mean, I mean, outside of just running the deep balls there, we have got to get an emphasis from Sean Payton and this offensive staff on, let's get Troy the ball crossing the field. What are he and Bo Nix do so well at the University of Oregon together? You know, they connected to the deep ball several times, 100%. You want that in your arsenal, but it's the bread and butter plays, right? You know, you got to be able to spread it across the field.

Starting point is 00:04:52 And that's exactly what you need to do here. I'm talking about get Troy the ball on crossing patterns, get him on slant routes. You could even run him on deep comebacks. There was a play. against the Las Vegas Raiders on the road. It was like first and 25 that the Broncos had. It was like first and 20 because I think they had a penalty that backed them up. On the very next played,

Starting point is 00:05:11 Bov Nix connects on, I think, a dagger route to Troy Franklin for 26 yards to pick up the first down. More of that. And if that is what the emphasis of the Broncos offense becomes here for Troy Franklin, he can do that consistently. I think he will become wide receiver too. Now, will they not draft the receiver in rounds one through four? I mean, Sarah, I'm having such a hard time believing that to be the case when you have the ability. Like Denver's got the luxury.

Starting point is 00:05:36 They don't have a need to do it. But they've got the luxury of being able to add a wide receiver just to elevate that room. So I'm very curious to see where they go. So that's a great take sent in by our friend Jason, obviously, on the show, part of Broncos country and every day. The next one comes in from Lance Sanderson. He says the Broncos would be better off adding a defensive lineman in the first round than a running back or a tight end. given the deep classes at all three positions, adding a player to more valuable and bigger future need

Starting point is 00:06:02 as a prudent move that more people need to talk about. I would agree with Lance on this one. I think that we've seen the investment that the Broncos have had on the defensive lines there. And with some of the things coming up, contracts coming up, negotiations still to be pending. This is an area the Broncos need to preserve. And George Payton himself has said, we need to continue to invest

Starting point is 00:06:23 on this side of the ball. Do you agree with Lance's take here? Yeah, if all things are, equal and you're talking about guys who are at similar spots on the Broncos board. I think that defensive line being the more valuable position out of these three does make it a more prudent first round move. But I do find it interesting. Here's the only pushback that I'll give because I know this is a very popular take right now in Broncos country.

Starting point is 00:06:47 It's definitely been circulating out there for a while now. A lot of times folks are saying, okay, this is the deepest running back class we've seen in a long time. Don't take one in the first round. A lot of other people are saying this is the deepest defensive line class we're seeing. So definitely take one in the first round. I just think the logic there is interesting, right? Because we're saying, hey, hold off on taking a running back. It's a super deep class, but we're not saying the same about defensive line. Why is that? What if you have a preferred target at running back in the first round and you have a huge gap between, let's say, Trevion Henderson and, you know, somebody like Ali Gordon or something like.

Starting point is 00:07:26 like that. If there's a huge gap between those guys, you take the guy that you feel is going to be a better contributor because ultimately, the thing that I'm concerned about the most in this draft is supporting Bo Nicks, right? And not having him drag the team around last, like he did last year. So while I do completely agree with Lance's take here about D-Line, I think we kind of need to take into consideration as well, the fact that, hey, this is a deep class at running back. It's a deep class at tight end and it's a deep class at defensive line. There's really no reason to say, hey, screw the running backs early, screw the tight ends early, take D line.

Starting point is 00:08:04 Well, if it's a deep D line class, wouldn't you think the same logic applies? And you can get a starter caliber in the third or the fourth round. I just think it's interesting that the discourse always shifts to get the first round D linemen, even though there aren't as many guys with those first round traits. It's a deep class, very, very good class. but there's not a ton of Mason Graham's sitting there, right? It's a lot of guys that are really good. And I think there's value to that,

Starting point is 00:08:29 but I don't think it necessarily means that, hey, whoever is the top D-Lignment on the board in round one, they're automatically a better pick than whoever is there at running back or tight end. When you already have a defensive line, it's established too, John Franklin Myers, Zach Allen, DJ Jones,

Starting point is 00:08:44 Malcolm Roach, Jordan Jackson. I think, you know, spending a first round pick on a D-Lignment, I don't know if it would be the move that I would make. I would be fine looking at round three, round four if that's the case,

Starting point is 00:08:55 round one. I mean, this guy has to come in and have like a Jalen Carter type of impact in order to really justify that in my opinion. But great take sent in from our friend Lance. Next one comes in from Javier. And look, he says here, wide receiver running back tight in and first three rounds in no particular order. I'm very much in agreeance because this is kind of the message and the drum we've been beating on here on the show for the last handful of weeks.

Starting point is 00:09:18 I agree with you, Javier. I'm in the same board. And no particular order, though my preference would be wide receiver running back tight end. That would be my preferred order. Sarah, how do you feel about this? Is there a particular order of these three positions or do you agree or disagree with Javier? I agree with this take. And you know me.

Starting point is 00:09:36 I'm always about the flashy picks, right? I love the skill player picks. I love being able to immediately dream about how is this guy going to impact that because those positions will impact the team directly immediately. I think that's why it's the. attractive direction to go when you're putting together mock scenarios because you're going to get year one impact from a back. You're going to get year one impact from a receiver from a tight end. Those guys are going to play and they're going to catch passes. They're going to run the ball.

Starting point is 00:10:03 They're going to score touchdowns. Like that's what people want right now, Cody. And so taking linemen, taking those are valuable picks, obviously, but I would not be mad at any point if this is the direction the Broncos go in the top three rounds. Broncos Country. We went through three picks from the amazing members in Broncos Country. And as always, you'll always have a chance every Thursday to be featured on this as well. But what are your thoughts? What are your takes on the takes shared so far on today's episode of the show? Make sure you let us know here on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos. But Broncos Country, we're not done.

Starting point is 00:10:32 We got more of your takes coming up here in just a moment, including Riley Moss is going to have a bigger breakout season in 2025 because the Broncos secondary will be the best in the league. We'll share our thoughts on that and much more here on today's episode, Locked on Broncos. Today's episode of Lockdown Broncos is brought to you by game time. There is nothing like the energy of going to a live game, whether it's catching a last minute MLB showdown or soaking in the excitement of an NBA matchup, especially with the playoffs on deck. Finding great seats, though, at a great price. I mean, that used to be a challenge until we found out about game time, right?

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Starting point is 00:12:25 And thanks so much for all of you that make Locked on Broncos your first listen of the day every single day. If you're not already, hey, we'd really appreciate it. Take a couple seconds. Hit subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts, as well as on YouTube, and continue to help growing this community and getting the show out there to more members of Broncos country. Cody, let's break this down.

Starting point is 00:12:44 We had some great submissions for this. I love the, I love the concept of this episode. So shout out again to the locked on NFL scouting guys, Kyle and them. They do great work, obviously, and they've got great ideas. And I love that Broncos country is getting to put their spin on this because Ghost of the East brings up a really interesting take here. And I want to, I'm excited to hear your thoughts on this, especially because I know you and I are too big Riley Moss truthers. Ghost of the East is with us. And Ghost of the East says Riley Moss, Bross.

Starting point is 00:13:15 breaks out with the support over the top and good linebacker play, we have the best secondary in the league. So with that, Cody, what say you? I mean, I think the Broncos have a great chance of having one of the best secondary in the league. Look, you got the reigning, defending, undisputed defensive player of the year in Patrick Sertan. Jayquam Macmillan has been an impressive young player inside the nickel.

Starting point is 00:13:39 Obviously, you got Brandon Jones, who was, man, he was such a big addition for the Broncos last season. I think there were questions, obviously, about, you know, what type of impact Jones could have considering it's like you had big shoes to feel you had to replace Justin Simmons well Brandon Jones comes in he does a really good job and now you go out and you get Talanoa whofonga an NFL free agency who's going to help out in the passing game but also is going to be a big big factor in what the Broncos want to do from a blitz standpoint playing against the run he's going to factor into that drake greenlaw adding a dynamic at inside linebacker to the broncos

Starting point is 00:14:08 simply haven't had since danny travathan and obviously Brandon Marshall and that was 10 years ago at this points here. So it's been a while since that has been the case here. And I would say because you bring in guys like Talenoa, Hufanga, Dre Greenlaw, you were the best defense in the NFL in terms of pressure and sack 63 franchise record. You led that. Like Vance Joseph's defense led the NFL in those categories. And we also saw with Riley Moss, too. I mean, Sarah, I'm going to pull it up here as I'm talking to you. But if you go through like NFL pro when you go through some of the stats that they bring up, when Riley Moss was not on the field for the Broncos versus when he was on the field, it changed the dynamic of what the Broncos wanted to do defensively from a man coverage standpoint here.

Starting point is 00:14:54 According to our friends over there at NFL next gen stats, the Broncos played more man coverage on 40.7% of their dropbacks with Riley Moss on the field in 2024 compared to 31.2% with him off the field here. That just goes to show like having a player like Riley who can play man to man coverage, at an effective rate. I mean, he's, he's very fast. Like, I don't think people realize how fast Riley truly is. He can, he can play with some of the fastest guys on the field, which I think gives you a dynamic to mix and match him, you know, based on like if there's a guy who's six foot four as a wide receiver, and he's probably their best jump ball guy, you probably want to

Starting point is 00:15:31 put Pat Sertan against that guy, right? But then when you factor and you've got to play a team that has a receiver like that, plus a team that has a guy who's speedy, like the Tray Tucker's the Las Vegas Raiders. The Broncos put Riley Moss on him in both of those. matchups and he did really well playing press at the line of scrimmage and even doing some mirror tech there i agree i think they're riley moss will have an even better year this upcoming season and look you're going to have a little bit of a chance at revenge against t higgins and Cincinnati Bengals they have to come to Denver to play uh that that's one i think he's going to be eyeing for a little bit of redemption there and i think with the additions the broncos made

Starting point is 00:16:04 100 percent i believe they will have the best secondary in football next season i can't wait to see those guys playing together i can't wait to see what the vision is with talan Hufanga and Brandon Jones playing together because those guys are both effective at attacking the line of scrimmage. But yeah, it's a great point being made here about kind of just the fact that there's more support over the top and how that could help Riley Moss break out. Because when you have confidence in the guys behind you, I feel like you can be even more aggressive and utilize your instincts even more in the man coverage aspects like

Starting point is 00:16:37 Riley is so good at. Cody, Jared Langhorn also sent in that Cortland Sutton is going to catch 15 touchdowns this season. I kind of tease at the beginning of the segment that, I mean, that's nearly an average of a touchdown per game, obviously, as you play a 17 game season, Cortland has caught a lot of touchdowns over the last two years. And he's been very effective in the red zone. He's been super, super, I guess, just reliable when you chucked the ball down in that area, no matter how difficult the play is. And you kind of wish that we could see more of his involvement in between the 20s.

Starting point is 00:17:13 But Cortland is just, he's proven that he can do this year after year. He can make tough catches in the red zone. What do you think about this take of him getting 15 this coming season? I mean, that would be great, but you know what that would do? Contract negotiations, if they don't happen, you know, in a sense, like if that deal doesn't get done, like before the season or in the season, and that's the case that he has that, that's just going to elevate Cortland Sutton's price tag, significant. I mean, for Cortland, the last two years, 18 touchdowns in two seasons, hit over 1,000 yards last season.

Starting point is 00:17:46 If Cortland has 15 touchdowns this upcoming season, I mean, that's huge, right? And it kind of fits into what I've been saying. I personally believe Cortland's best football is still yet to be played. We're going to see that in the next two to three years. If he's still on the roster, I think he's going to play his best football of his career, almost a touchdown a game. That would almost have to equate to that. And there's been times where we've seen Cortland catch two touchdowns in a game. So I mean, I think if Evan Ingram, the addition pans out there, these other wide receivers take a step forward and defenses say, hey, like we got to worry about this guy, this guy and this guy.

Starting point is 00:18:17 Kind of like a pick your poison approach. If the Broncos' offense can get to that point with these guys, I could see it happening. But man, it's going to be tough. I would say, even if he doesn't get 15, I still think he gets double digits. I think that'll be a safe, safe take to kind of land on right here. But that's a great question sent in, obviously from our friend Jared Langhorne. The next one comes in from Cake J1. He says, A.T. Perry finally arrives.

Starting point is 00:18:41 And Sarah, very interesting here because I didn't know this previously until I was looking at it. But his history has a lot to do with already being tied to the Denver Broncos because back in August 30th, 2022, he was traded by the Steelers as a 2023, six-round pick, 195th overall to the Broncos for 2023, 7th round pick, which ended up being Corey Trice and Malik Reid for the Steelers. Then on April 29th to 23, when the Broncos essentially made the trade for Adam Troutman, traded by the Broncos is a 2023, 6th round pick to the Saints for the 23rd, seventh round pick, which led to Alex Forsyth being selected and obviously Adam Troutman being acquired.

Starting point is 00:19:26 So his career has some Broncos ties to it, according to our friends over there, Pro football reference. But obviously our friend, Kate J.1 says 8. T. Perry finally arrives. What does this look like considering we talked about Cortland, Troy Franklin, Devon Valle, Marvin Mims? Well, I think it's really fascinating because A.T. Perry's arrival could come at the expense of Cortland Sutton, right? I mean, I'm not saying they can't both play and play effective roles, but we know Devon Velae is going to play. We feel like Troy Franklin is going to get an uptick in targets this year. Marvin Mims, hopefully you continue to see him getting involved.

Starting point is 00:20:01 if A.T. Perry is playing a bigger role this year, and it's not just as a rotational guy, then I feel like that would mean that the Broncos potentially decided, hey, we're not going to resign Cortland. We might even consider trading him during the draft. And I don't know that that's really a realistic possibility. But I mean, if A.T. Perry, maybe he's going to come in and provide you like he did with the Saints as a rookie where he came in had, I think, four touchdowns, average like 20 yards a catch or something crazy. I mean, he could do that. But, What would his, you know, what does his arrival look like? And speaking of the interesting ties that bind Cody, I didn't know that about A.T. Perry being, you know, selected with a pick that previously was owned by the Denver Broncos.

Starting point is 00:20:44 You know who else was previously selected with a pick that was owned originally by the Denver Broncos was Drey Greenlaw, the linebacker. And I think that was the Dakota Watson trade away back when the Broncos made one of the weirdest trades I've ever seen, which everyone felt like was kind of, you know, hey, we're making up for just, you know, you didn't want to get rid of Rich Scangarello. Here you go. Here's a draft pick for Dakota Watson kind of a thing. But interestingly enough, that pick that was sent to the 49ers was used on Dre Greenlaw, who is now in Denver. The deep history of the National Football League never ceases to amaze me here. Broncos, contrary your thoughts here on A.T. Perry, his arrival, who would be kind of the odd man out if he did arrive and kicked down the door here for the Broncos in 2025?

Starting point is 00:21:28 Make sure you let's know here on today's episode. Lockdown Broncos. We still got some more of your takes to react to, including the Broncos, having a running back who's already on the roster, rushing for 100 yards, but also having a rookie this season rush for over a thousand. We'll share our thoughts on that, much more here on today's episode, Locked on Broncos. The fourth quarter action of today's episode, Locked on Broncos is here, and we're continuing to give our takes on your takes that you sent in here every Thursday on the Locked-on Broncos podcast.

Starting point is 00:21:59 We appreciate you so much, Broncos country, all the everydayers first listeners out there. Thank you so much for making us exactly what this show is. You are a big reason for the success of the show, and we're so grateful to spend every single day with all of you in Broncos country here. React into more of your takes on today's takes on takes episode. Sarah, our next one comes in from Broncos Watch 6. And they say the Broncos will have a 100-yard rushing game from someone already on the roster, as well as a rookie running back having 1,000 yards rushing on the season.

Starting point is 00:22:31 I mean, it's been 35, 36 games since the Broncos have had a 100-yard rusher on the team dating back to Latavius Murray and the Jerry Rosberg days. Hard to envision until we actually see it. But that combined with the fact that the Broncos have a rookie running back hitting over 1,000 yards rushing. How do you feel about this? Is this going to happen in your opinion? Is it realistic or not? Well, I mean, I think that one of them for sure is realistic to happen. I think that you could have somebody, I mean, maybe.

Starting point is 00:23:01 Maybe I guess if one is realistic, then why not both, right? I don't know. I guess I think that's a great kind of dilemma to have right there because, look, when you think about who could run for 100 yards on the roster currently, I don't think there's any shortage of players because Tyler Badegh got pretty close last year. I think he got 80 something and Jalil McLaughlin got pretty close. I think Audrick Estime would have probably had 100 yards rushing against Kansas City

Starting point is 00:23:27 had he been utilized the entire game. so very interesting that this, I mean, I think there's a number of guys who could do it. And when it comes to a running back running for a thousand yards, I think it's important to keep in mind, Alvin Camara, who is considered one of the best jokers that Sean Payton has ever had, he's still not run for a thousand yards in a season. He definitely racks up over a thousand yards from scrimmage, but he's never been a thousand yard running back or at the, you know, I guess on the ground, rushing yards on the ground. So that is fascinating to me.

Starting point is 00:24:00 And if you're splitting carries pretty evenly, that could be tough for the Broncos to do. Yeah, unless the Broncos change their dynamic, say, we're just going to run the ball all year long, which doesn't make sense considering you got a quarterback who, you know, can run with, you know, himself is an effective thrower, as an accurate thrower and is only going to continue to grow here. I think it's unlikely the Broncos have a rookie running back run for a thousand yards. But I do see the Broncos breaking that streak of games where they haven't had a, 100-yard rusher. I think it does happen this upcoming season. I agree with that. It would just be so hard here, Broncos watch six to be able to have both of those things occur in the same season when really that has kind of been the obstacle the Broncos have had in the last, I don't know how many handful of years. So love it, though. Love it. It's a bold take. And, you know, if it happens,

Starting point is 00:24:48 we'll circle back and say, hey, you know what, Broncos watch six. He said it early on in the off season and it came to fruition. He's putting it out there in the universe. Our last one's going to come in from Clint Brady and he says the Broncos take the ASC West for the first time in 10 years. Sarah, I think there's probably more momentum right now for the Broncos to capitalize on this window that could be open for them with the Kansas City Chiefs still obviously at the top right now. They're going to be the favor until someone knocks them off. But I think the Broncos have the best chance right now than they ever have in the last 10 years to reclaim the division.

Starting point is 00:25:23 I agree. I think they are going to take it. I know we did an episode on this last week. where do you stand on this? Yes, I agree with this wholeheartedly. I think that if there's a year to really manifest it, realistically speaking, I think this is the year to do it, right? I mean, in previous years,

Starting point is 00:25:38 we've kind of had to talk ourselves into it and talk ourselves into the idea of the Broncos, hopefully being good with, you know, these additions that will hopefully work out. But now we have proof of concept. This team won 10 games last year, and they stunk in one score games, right? They were, I think, 1 and 6 in close games or tight games, one and six and one score games, which means that that pendulum could flip at any time. And they were dominant against lesser opponents.

Starting point is 00:26:04 Like, I don't know why you get criticized for that, which it's so weird to me. The Broncos beat, I don't know, eight, nine teams by nine or more points. So that's, that's crazy that you would get criticized for that. But they are, there's proof now that this team can play with the best of the best.

Starting point is 00:26:20 They didn't beat all the best of the best, but they should have beat Kansas City on the road. They played tough against other teams throughout the course of the season. Should have beat the Chargers, could have easily beat the Bengals. I mean, there's a lot of teams on that list that I think you could look at and say, hey, the Broncos, they're ready to start competing in bigger games and winning these bigger games. Find ways to close out. Find ways to win.

Starting point is 00:26:44 And Kansas City, it feels like they played with a lot of house money last year. They got pretty dang lucky. Felt like they got a lot of Mulligans, felt like they got a lot of lucky breaks at the end of games. That's not to say they're not good. it is to say that the opportunity to kick down that door is now. Well, and my question here is this kind of shaping up for Kansas City to kind of be the last ride, you know, Travis Kelsey obviously decided not to retire, decided to return to the mix here. Obviously, the Chiefs, they lost the Andre Hopkins and Free Agency to the Baltimore Ravens.

Starting point is 00:27:13 You know, they're hoping, obviously, guys, they can get some guys back where she rice. They're really just trying to figure things out there. I know they, if I'm not mistaken, I think they lost Noah Gray as well, who was kind of this backup fringe receiver tight end for them. I just think that the window is right now for Denver to strike. And obviously, I think we've got to give a little bit of acknowledgement here to the Chargers, because the Chargers, I think, you know, as long as hard balls are coaching, if this was Brandon Staley still coaching the Chargers, then I would say,

Starting point is 00:27:40 all right, hey, Denver, they've got it. They're in that clear driver's position right now. The Chargers are going to be the wild card here. But I think the AFCUS is going to be the most competitive it has been in 10 years. And I think it's going to make for some very, very good competition down the the line, especially as you look to make the push for the postseason, the Broncos. So, I mean, they were one of three teams in AFC West to make the playoffs last year. Now can they do it to where Sean Payton has emphasized, we got to win our division.

Starting point is 00:28:07 We need to have a home playoff game. If that's the case, the Broncos have a chance to go on a run here, Sarah, especially in this window that you have. And if Bowdox continues to play well, and they have that foundation, then the pieces around him, I guarantee you this Broncos team, they're going to be a team that when you go through and you look at the calendar, you look at the schedule, like, God, we've got to play the Broncos. I think that is where the team is starting to shift a little bit of their direction.

Starting point is 00:28:30 But this is all on paper, you know, they've got to go out there and they've got to do it. Last year, okay, 10 and 7 was great. You beat eight or nine teams by nine points or more. Can you beat those teams that maybe you lost one score possessions by? Can you find a way to get over the hump in that regard? If the Broncos can showcase that they can win those types of games there, like against the Bengals, against the chargers, against the chiefs, I guarantee you this perception of this team from a now,

Starting point is 00:28:53 national scale is going to change and more people are going to be saying, hey, the Denver Broncos, they're going to be in a position to reclaim the throne of the AFC West. I agree with it. I think that this is the year it's going to happen. And obviously, this is a moment for us, too. Like when we're talking about this, this has a chance to be screen grabbed, recorded, thrown out there for, you know, bulletin board material, old takes exposed. That's part of the game, man.

Starting point is 00:29:14 That's why we play. It's why we do it. We enjoy it there. In Broncos country, we really appreciated you sending in all of your takes here every Thursday. We're going to put a prompt out there on social media. and also on the lockdown Broncos YouTube community page where you have a chance to send your takes in

Starting point is 00:29:29 and we'll give our takes on yours. Thank you so much to everyone in Broncos, who participated tomorrow's episode of the show here. We're going to take a little bit of a deeper dive here on the Broncos roster and look at a couple of positions they could show up before the NFL draft gets here. We'll break that down much more on tomorrow's episode of the show.

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