Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - Denver Broncos' Unrestricted Free Agents: Who's a Priority?

Starting point is 00:00:00 NFL free agency is just under 60 days away. And the Broncos, they've got 13 unrestricted free agents. Who will they bring back? Who might they let go? This is your free agency, early overview preview on today's episode, Locked on Broncos. You are Locked on Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. What's happening in Broncos country?

Starting point is 00:00:32 Welcome into another episode of Lockdown Broncos. your daily Denver Broncos podcast, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, where you know it is your team every single day. Thanks to all the everydayers out there in Broncos country. Thanks for making us your first listen every single day all year long. Because for the true fan, there is never an offseason. We got you covered here. And obviously, there's a lot to break down on today's episode of the show.

Starting point is 00:00:55 I'm Cody Roark. Broncos beat reporter for Mile High. Sports joined, as always by Sarah Bedinger, site expert over there, predominantly orange.com. And look, we've got a lot to break down for you here today. We'll wrap up today's episode show by highlighting the Broncos players that signed future reserves contract, which player of that group could maybe help the team in 2025. We'll take a look at which pending free agents.

Starting point is 00:01:16 The Broncos may want to look at keeping. And also we'll highlight and start off today's episode show by looking over the 13 unrestricted free agents that are set to test the market or be available when the new league year rolls around in March. You'll get all that on today's episode of the show, which is brought to our friends over there at Price Picks. go to pricebix.com slash locked on NFL and use code all lowercase, locked on NFL to win $50 instantly when you play $5. Sarah, my friend, free agency, one of the funnest times of the year here.

Starting point is 00:01:46 And I always feel like we always have a debate every year. Would you rather have the NFL draft first or NFL free agency? If you flip-flop the order on that, I wonder how teams would approach maybe spending money. I think it makes things very interesting, probably never going to happen in the NFL side of things here. always a fun thing to entertain and ponder, but we do know free agency is right around the corner and the Broncos.

Starting point is 00:02:09 They have 13 players on their roster right now who are set to become unrestricted free agents. 13 players set to become unrestricted free agents and a list that the Broncos started to take care of months ago. Obviously, we've seen extensions for guys like Jonathan Cooper, Garrett Bulls, Quinn Miners. Those guys have been taken off the board, which is great news because now we don't have to go into these off-season. in episodes wondering, are the Broncos going to be able to bring back Quinn Miners? Are they going to have the franchise tag Garrett Bowles? Are they going to be able to bring back? We don't have to ask those questions.

Starting point is 00:02:43 Thankfully, George Payton in the front office took care of that. However, there are some notable players on this list of unrestricted free agents. And I'll just kind of walk through the offensive side of the ball here quickly, Cody. Quarterbacks Jared Stidham and Zach Wilson. I know we'll probably spend plenty of time chatting about those guys this office. season. They're both unrestricted free agents, which could cause some shuffling of the Broncos quarterback room. We'll see what happens there. Starting running back, Javante Williams, second round pick in 2021. He's going to be a free agent. Fullback Michael Burton of Sean Peyton favorite.

Starting point is 00:03:19 He's a free agent. Little Jordan Humphrey, another favorite of Sean Peyton's a free agent this year. And then offensive lineman Matt Pert and Quinn Bailey, both of those guys, unrestricted free agents as well. So on the offensive side of the ball, you really don't have anybody, Cody, that I would say, oh my gosh, if the Broncos lose this guy, we're in big trouble. But at the same time, you have definitely some guys. There's some key role players that you want to be able to bring back. I think the biggest one that we've got to look at here is quarterback, right? Like, is Denver going to go into the season with three QBs on their active roster here once again?

Starting point is 00:03:56 Do they want to keep that room together? Obviously, we know how close that room has gotten with Bo Nix, Jared Stidham, Zach Wilson, their wives, how close they are as well. Like these guys bonded. They did so many things together, you know, this season. And obviously seeing the continuity and obviously the camaraderie in that room, obviously is great. You love to see it.

Starting point is 00:04:14 But part of me also wonders if Davis Webb, who's gotten some interest in some potential jobs, maybe some coordinator interviews could come up. I know his name got thrown out as a potential candidate for the New Orleans Saints, which is very interesting. Part of me wonders, could this room look entirely different if Davis Webb somehow gets a promotion elsewhere. Like would he bring a Jarrett Stidham or a Zach Wilson with him? But if you had to choose right now, if you had to say like, okay, hey, going into 2025,

Starting point is 00:04:40 if you're going to put a backup behind Bonix, if you had to choose between Jared Stidham and Zach Wilson, who would you choose in this situation? For me, I'm leaning a little bit more because of play style and traits. I'm leaning a little bit more towards Zach Wilson as the backup next year. I am as well, Cody, because I feel like in the ideal scenario, for Zach Wilson, let's say he does need to be utilized for a stretch of games, which we hope that's not the case. Like we want Bo Nix to be able to play all 17 as he did this past year.

Starting point is 00:05:11 But in the event that Zach Wilson would have to play a lot, I feel like you could get a, you know, a high compensatory pick for when he ever leaves in free agency after the fact. Like if he plays well, even if he goes out and has a great preseason in Denver this next year, and I hope he does resign. I think that the Broncos could probably get themselves in position to have a nice compensatory draft pick in a couple of years down the line because quarterbacks, they are going to make money on the open. I mean, backup quarterbacks even, they're going to make quite a bit of money. And so for Zach Wilson, who's still a younger guy, I feel like he could probably draw the most interest. Now, Jared Stittam, I think could go out right now in a situation that you said with Davis Webb to say, hey, if he goes and gets a job somewhere else,

Starting point is 00:05:57 Jared Stidham could be his guy to start for a year or two. And I think that that would be logical. It would make sense. Zach Wilson, I feel like, needs one more offseason in Denver and time under Sean Peyton to be able to increase his value, to get those millions that Peyton has talked about. They want to earn him down the line. I think he wants to stay in Denver. And I think that the feeling is mutual.

Starting point is 00:06:19 I think Sean Peyton wants to keep Zach Wilson in Denver once again. And the question is like, I mean, they could hypothetically keep both Jared Stidom and Zach. Wilson or you keep one of those guys and then you draft I don't say do you draft a guy of maybe a late run pick I don't know I don't know if you want to do that I mean you could or do you just bring in a guy as an unrestricted you know an undrafted free agent and have him be your practice squad quarterback throughout the entire season but that might be a path that Denver takes this upcoming season let's shift now to running back obviously javanti williams um the only unrestricted free agent at that position here and obviously based on javante's body of work the last couple years have

Starting point is 00:06:57 definitely been a struggle for him and not all of it's been on him. But I think as we've gone down the line, we've seen game to game, he just might not be a scheme fit necessarily for what Sean Peyton wants to do. And certainly I think his production this year after losing, you know, 10 pounds, it definitely was frustrating. There, I mean, there were a couple of games where Javante looked like Javante that we saw in college and even his rookie year. But it was just far too inconsistent of a thing to see. He might be a guy that the Broncos will let test free agency and if nothing formulates, they may be able to bring him back at a cheaper deal. But I don't think that Javante is going to be back initially here once the start a free agency

Starting point is 00:07:35 happens. And then even Michael Burton, I know he wants to come back to Denver here, but you're going to sign him to another one year deal at that point if you are bringing him back or you look at Nate Adkins at that position. I mean, I don't know what Denver's plan is here. It's very interesting to see. But like Michael Burton wouldn't be a costly move. Like that's an easy, you know, move that the Broncos can make without it.

Starting point is 00:07:56 impacting them negatively. I'm a little more curious on your thoughts on the defensive line, because that's where some of the bigger names are here for this team. Yeah, defensive linemen, DJ Jones, the biggest name on the defensive side in terms of free agency played around 38% of the snaps this past season. I think the Broncos could resign him at a very reasonable price. And if that's the case, just give him a two-year deal, bring him back into the fold, fortify your depth there, bring back that whole group. I mean, that's, that's key sometimes, is continuity, right? And so DJ plays it. He plays his role. I think you'd get him for a reasonable price. Cody Barton, Justin Sernod, Zach Cunningham at the linebacker position, which I believe

Starting point is 00:08:37 is going to get completely overhauled. And then you have Alex Singleton who, I mean, he's in the final year of his deal with very little dead money. And I wouldn't be surprised that the Broncos ask him to redo that deal in order to come back if he comes back. Cornerback special teamer, Tremont Smith, and then punter Riley Dixon. Cody, I think this is where you have a number of guys that you would say, okay, this is a situation where either we resign some of these guys or we're going into the offseason knowing we have to overhaul a little bit. I mean, we're talking about the run defense.

Starting point is 00:09:09 I mean, DJ Jones is a critical piece of that. Cody Barton and Justin Sternad were your primary starters this last year at linebacker. Do you let those guys go in free agency and try to bring in just completely new blood at that position? special teams. I mean, Tremont Smith and Riley Dixon, like those are two of your core key special teams guys. I feel like the Broncos could bring back

Starting point is 00:09:30 most of these guys if they wanted to at a reasonable rate, but I also wouldn't be shocked to see them try to upgrade over many of these guys either. Yeah, no, and you mentioned like three inside off-ball linebackers at this point. Now, I think the only guys you have left, if I'm not mistaken, I think it's just

Starting point is 00:09:47 Lavelle Bailey, if I'm not mistaken. And obviously, Alex Singleton, as you mentioned. So that room will probably be, addressed here. I think if your idea, and obviously Drew Sanders, I forgot about him, I think your idea is if let's say Drew Sanders is going to be the guy of the Bronx say, hey, we're going to look in-house. We believe this guy can evolve to be the guy that we need or he's got the prototype there to play

Starting point is 00:10:08 seamlessly well next to Alex Singleton. If Singleton is back, then I think you try to bring Sternod back. He didn't get to play as much special teams this year because of his role as a starter. But man, he's been, he and Tremont Smith have been their best special teams players over the last handful of years. I think Tramano will be back in Denver. And I think that Justin will be back in Denver. And obviously, he's shown the capability of being able to start for you.

Starting point is 00:10:32 But I think that Denver is going to go in a different direction in terms of who they have envisioned as their starters for next season. They could look in the draft. They could look in free agency. But that's when I agree with you, sir, I think it will be different here this season. And I think that, you know what? I'm very curious for your thoughts on this. I think you bring Riley Dixon back because he's been probably the most consistent, steady guy that you've seen. of course there were a couple games this year where you needed him to play bigger and he didn't

Starting point is 00:10:55 Cincinnati being one of them, LA being one of them. You might want to have a little more consistency in some of those bigger moments. But I think his overall body work, he was pretty dang good this season. So I think you bring Riley Dixon back if you are the Broncos. But who are some of the restricted free agents and exclusive rights free agents? And what do those terms mean? Sir Beninger, myself, we'll break it down here on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos. Today's Lockdown Broncos podcast is brought to you by our friends over there.

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Starting point is 00:12:19 to get $50 instantly after you play your first $5 lineup. Price picks run your game. There are a number of restricted and exclusive rights, free agents on the Denver Broncos. That will be no brainers for the team to bring back. But what are those terms even mean and which players qualify for those titles? Well, we're going to break that down on today's episode at Lockdown Broncos. And we have a couple of starters in the mix there to be chatting about as well.

Starting point is 00:12:47 But Broncos Country, thanks so much for making us your first listen of the day. single day, especially those of you every dayers who rock with us all throughout the off season. Hit subscribe if you haven't done so already so that we get to the top of your YouTube algorithm or the top of your podcast feed every single day

Starting point is 00:13:02 so that you know exactly what's up with your Denver Broncos this off season. And so let's talk about this, Cody, because restricted free agents, exclusive rights, free agents, basically the long and short of it is that the Broncos will have the first right of refusal

Starting point is 00:13:18 with these free agents after free agency begins. Unrestricted free agents that hit unrestricted free agency, teams can negotiate with those guys. The Broncos have basically refusal rights on restricted and exclusive rights guys. And there's a number of notable players. And there's pre-fixed, you know, tags that you can give or tenders that you can give to these guys that are very team-friendly. Barely any of them will even count against your top, you know, 51, which is what counts. the top 51 contracts on your roster over the course of the offseason when you have 90 guys. So I know it sounds like a mouthful, but really the short version of this is,

Starting point is 00:13:58 is that anybody who's a restricted free agent or exclusive rights free agent is almost guaranteed to come back to Denver if the Broncos want them. Yeah. So who are some of those names? You mentioned a couple of guys who could be starters, key starters at that point to. Long snapper, Mitchell, Forbony. Look, and when you're not seeing or hearing your long snapper's name being called, it's a really good thing. And we haven't seen that.

Starting point is 00:14:23 I think the only time we ever seen is like when he's making a tackle, which Forbony obviously has done a tremendous job here for the Broncos in that position. So obviously he's done really well there. But when you look at in terms of exclusive rights guys, because Mitchell for Brony is the only restricted free agent right now on the Broncos going into 2025. But they have a handful of very important players and young guys. developmental players who are exclusive rights, free agents. I think first off, let's start off with outside linebacker Dondre Tillman, Sarah, who obviously came in from the UFL, who was a big, big proponent of having success there. Now, I mean, I think what we saw from him really in his rookie season in the NFL, man,

Starting point is 00:15:03 I've been so impressed by Dondre Tillman. And I think now when you factor in that Luke, Jonah Ellis at this point, we don't know just yet. It hasn't come out of the time we're sitting down and recording this. what's going on with his shoulder, but we know it looked like the shoulder that he had injured last year when he got hit this year by Dion Dawkins on a pole play. And obviously, he got ruled out of the game very quickly.

Starting point is 00:15:27 So could be something that maybe requires surgery. And if that's the case, like that's going to put his timeline to be a little bit off going into OTAs and things like that. If it's the same injury to the same shoulder and if it requires surgery, that creates some questions. So I think that Dandre Tillman coming back is paramount here for the Broncos. he's one of those guys.

Starting point is 00:15:46 Your thoughts here on tight-end Lucas Crowe, who's also an exclusive rights-free agent. I would bring Lucas back for the 90-man roster, Cody, and see what he can do once again this year. I know Sean Payton kind of alluded in his press conference on Monday, or excuse me, on Wednesday that, hey, there might be some guys on this roster who could be Joker-type players. I think Lucas Crowell, if you're really stretching it,

Starting point is 00:16:08 I think he would probably be one of those guys with his athleticism there at the tight-end position. So he's got to be one of the, of those in-house guys that you say, hey, if he can take another step forward, may not be the best player on the field, as we heard joked about from Sean Payton after the offseason activities, the off-season program. But look, Lucas is worth bringing back. I think would you go down this list, though, Cody, probably the biggest name is Jayquan Macmillan, the slot. Yeah. Who's a starter on your team. The fact that the Broncos have gotten two really good years out of him,

Starting point is 00:16:43 And he developed for a year prior to that. And he's now just an exclusive rights free agent, which means that next year he'll be a restricted. You've got two more years of team control on J-Quann Macmillan. It's huge for the Broncos to have that in their back pocket right now. Yeah. And look, he's had last year, he had a tremendous year. I thought this year he had a good year as well playing inside the nickel. He saw, I think, a little bit more targets and volume this year.

Starting point is 00:17:06 But I think the Broncos' primary issue in terms of the coverage was really at inside linebacker. You know, there were times where J-MAC, you know, when you have teams, like, J-MACs almost, he's just like maybe an inch taller than me. Like, we're almost in the same percentile in terms of height. He's obviously way more athletic than I ever was. But you look at like some of the guys he also had to face when you move, like some teams move their best player into the slot. And like sometimes you have to stay like, you know, he has to go against Drake London from time to time. You know, you're going to give up some catches playing in that position. It's the hardest position right now to play in football is inside the nickel.

Starting point is 00:17:39 But the Broncos have on tape, like this guy, and you've seen several key, third down, past breakups from him. You're like, this guy is too good to let out of your building. And I know that the Broncos, I don't think they're going to let him out of the building. But if anything, like, because you mentioned that cost control that the team really kind of has on him, like he's playing well. But at this point, it's almost like the team is going to put him in a position where it's like, all right, now this year in 2025, you have two really good years of play, right?

Starting point is 00:18:07 And you have obviously your rookie year that you came in. you played the last game, you went up against Michael and it's great. That was one game. But now you got two years of good play on tape. We need you to prove that here in the third year before we look at maybe giving you a contract extension. I don't think he hits a restricted free agency next year, even though it's cost controlled. I think Denver finds a way to reward him this season with maybe an in-season contract extension. I think his body work has definitely shown he deserves that.

Starting point is 00:18:34 But he might be probably on this list. I would say he and Dandre Tillman, in my opinion, are probably the two. most important players. And then also we talk about D-Line depth, the guy who's also taken a step forward in his development, Jordan Jackson, exclusive rights guy, another guy that's in a position, I think, to maybe earn some money here going into next season.

Starting point is 00:18:51 I think you find a way to bring him back. I thought he was good in the rotation at defensive end, you know, whenever Zach Allen had to come off the field, which wasn't much. But there were times when Jordan Jackson was on the field, his pass rush was much improved. I think he's going to get even better going forward. I do too.

Starting point is 00:19:07 I mean, he played a significant role as well, 310 snaps, which was 27% of the defensive snaps this past year. So for anybody that's like, man, that guy's a lot in a role player. It's a lot. That's a lot of snaps. And so he played quite a bit. And I think the Broncos will want him. I think Cody, just like with the offensive line, I don't know if it works exactly the same.

Starting point is 00:19:27 But I mean, I feel like you want to have some continuity there on the defensive front. And you can have that if you're the Denver Broncos. And so because of the price to bring these guys back and it's not prohibitive by any means like it's it's less than a million to bring most of your exclusive rights free agents back and so you're going to get these guys back because you need to have your roster rounded out with depth players like this especially guys that you've been developing so devon key another guy cody who's an exclusive rights free agent i think it's kind of just a no brainer to throw him back into the mix this off season and see if he can make progress to see if he can compete for a roster spot this

Starting point is 00:20:06 year. So I would say bringing most of these guys back is probably in the cards for the Denver Broncos in 2025. I really like Devin Key and I love J.L. Skinner has those two deep options like right behind PJ Locke, Brandon Jones. I thought those guys took tremendous steps forward. And look, I think you know, as we get into our future reserve country, I think some of those guys will have some competition. Maybe a couple of players that are listed on that roster. Something we'll highlight here in just a minute on the show. But yeah, no, I'm in agree with you. I don't think that there's a guy on your RFA or your ERFA list. You're like, ah, we'll let's. them go elsewhere. I think that you realistically, as you now are the process of building your

Starting point is 00:20:40 50-man roster, these guys were already on your 53. So it doesn't really impact that. I think you bring all of these guys back. I'm swiping right on that. We'll obviously play a little bit of a free-density game down the line here as we look at maybe where the team's needs are and what kind of comes out based in the vibes, the rumor mill, the tea leaves and all that. You'll get that. But the Broncos, they also added 14 players to futures reserve contract list as they build up towards their 90-man roster, which players of that bunch could have the best chance to see time on the field. In 2025, we'll break that down and much more here on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos. Today's episode of Lockdown Broncos is brought to you by our friends over there at Intuit TurboTax.

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Starting point is 00:22:24 The Broncos, they signed 14 players to future reserve contracts. And I think it's always fun to maybe look at players who have high tag developmental traits that could maybe impact the roster going into 2025. We'll break all that down here on today's episode show. Thanks once again to everyone in Broncos country, all the every dayers for making us your first listen of the day, every single day.

Starting point is 00:22:44 Make sure you, if you're not in every day or already, you become one. So you never miss out on what's going on with your favorite team every single day all you're on because for the true fan, you can finish it for me. There's never an off season. All right, Sarah,

Starting point is 00:22:56 let's get into our conversation here, my friend. Obviously, at the end of the year, you're always waiting and you're wondering, okay, what are the futures reserved contract situations going to look, like usually teams will make it, you know, a handful of their practice squad players, but you're also going to see a handful of other players who are set to become free agents from other teams, you know, in terms of practice squad stuff, like really you can negotiate.

Starting point is 00:23:17 I think you can bring someone on a future contract that really right after the season ends. I think it's different for the practice squad than a standard of free agency. So the Broncos, they brought back 14 of their 16 practice squad type players here. Some very interesting names, I think, that we'll go through here. And I think, you know, some names that they didn't, you know, sign and bring back here. But let's take a look real quick. And obviously, there were 17 of them because they had the international player designation for obviously tight-end Thomas Yasmin. That will now, I think, go away unless they have to apply for it.

Starting point is 00:23:49 Again, I'm not sure how that works. That's definitely something I, it's a little foreign to me. But, man, a handful of players. The Broncos are bringing back here in 2025 that were on their practice squad on scouting for a majority of the season. We talk so much about player development. That's a huge emphasis for the organization. So with that said, Sarah, like, of all the players that were brought back, who are you most excited to maybe see a little bit more of?

Starting point is 00:24:13 Well, I think everybody in Broncos country, Cody, is excited to see A.T. Perry. I'm sure a lot of the listeners are as well. I probably averaged at least a comment per week about A. Yes, we do. On the show. So for those of you that are clamoring for A.T. Perry, look, just get ready for June, July, and August next year when he's going to have his chance. chance to really audition for this team. I'm excited to see him, Cody. I really am. I mean,

Starting point is 00:24:39 a six foot five receiver that can run a four four in the 40 yard dash and had four touchdowns in his rookie year. Like, let's get that guy some, some opportunities to go make plays on the football. He's probably the one that I would be most excited about. And I'm guessing that most of Broncos country would agree. Actually, I kind of want to see what Thomas Yasmin could do. I want to see what he can do out there, man. I mean, he made some plays at Utah. that you're kind of like, okay, like this guy can, he's got some wheels. He can scoot a little bit. And so let's get him the ball a few times as well and see if he can make plays. It's always going to be the playmakers for me, Cody.

Starting point is 00:25:16 When we're talking about who we're most excited for, maybe some guys off the edge as well. But I think what's cool is that a number of these players that we see getting reserved future contracts from the Broncos, like Reese Taylor, Kedron Smith, Nick Garjulo, Matt Henningson, Tanner McAllister, Calvin Throck, Morton. These guys were promoted to the 53-man roster, even if only briefly at times this past season. Yeah, and I think that's very important to know. Look, in the last segment, you and I were talking about Devin Key being an exclusive rights-free agent. I, you know, I talked about how I liked the depth there between J.L. Skinner, Devin Key behind Brandon Jones, P.J. Locke. But I mean, I think we also have to have the conversation here. Like Tanner McAllister got promoted to the 53-man roster to play some special teams. And I thought he did really, really well when he was in on special teams for Denver.

Starting point is 00:26:04 But also this is where Keedron Smith, who really was kind of that undrafted guy. Everyone was like, wait, who's who's, who's, who's, who's Kedron Smith? Like this guy's making plays here left and right. He made the 53 man roster after the preseason because he had a stellar preseason for the Broncos, played special teams, came up against the run, had several interceptions in the preseason campaign there. And it's like, all right, Denver's got some talented players there. And so for me, I agree with you on A.T. Perry. Like I said, he was a fun player to watch and practice, you know, an individual.

Starting point is 00:26:34 Jewel drills, they do routes on air in certain situations there. And you can just tell, like, he tracks the football really well. You mentioned his six foot five size, his speed and, and explosiveness is definitely visible. And I know a lot of fans are like, how come we didn't see him in the regular season? Look, Denver's got other guys in that position right now. You're not going to rob Paul to pay Peter necessarily there. And I thought, like, you know, once they released Josh Reynolds, I was thinking, okay, hey, maybe we could see AT Perry.

Starting point is 00:26:59 There's a plan. And also kind of, we asked that question, like, how come we didn't get to see much of Lucas Crowell last year down the street? stretch we did, but then we started thinking to ourselves, oh, okay, like there is a reason. Like, you, you got to factor in the rest of your roster there as it stands before you can just, you know, put another guy in there. You have a rotation. You have a pecking order.

Starting point is 00:27:18 Little Jordan Humphrey's unrestricted. So now, because of that, this is where I think A.T. Perry could maybe come into the mix. You know, he could be a player that's in-house that could have a big impact for the Broncos. I know we're looking at maybe some free agent wide receivers for Denver. There'll be a T. Higgins episode. You know, here in the near future, don't worry, Broncos country will highlight the pros and cons of that. There's the NFL draft where obviously they can maybe look at that as well. But ideally, it's like, can you look at maybe the guys that you have in-house as well?

Starting point is 00:27:46 Because there is the rookie learning curve. So I'm with you there. The only one that I would say I'm not like, I always wonder about this one is Michael Bandy coming back. Look, and it's not, Michael Bandy is a guy that when I talk to players are like, this is a guy who's consistently helping us on the scout team. I just think that when you look at his size, yes, he's speedy, he can run really good routes, but when you look at his size,

Starting point is 00:28:09 it's like, what is that offering to the Broncos right now? Is it going to offer you something on your active roster? I don't think it will when you have guys like Marvin Mims. They're not even the same stratosphere on that. So this one is a very interesting one. But then you look at the names that they didn't bring back. They're only three. And one of them was a fan favorite that people kept asking about every week.

Starting point is 00:28:27 Tide in Donald Parham Jr., who signed to the practice squad. I think, you know, before, right after roster cuts happened right before week one, David Seals the fifth, which was a little surprising to me, an offensive tackle camp Fleming. Yeah, I don't, I don't know why we never saw par him throughout the course of the season. I mean, there must be something there that we'll never know about. And in terms of whatever he was doing, I mean, he knew the offense. Like, he played for Joe Lombardi when he was with the Chargers.

Starting point is 00:28:53 And so you would think that picking up the offense would have been easy for him, considering the Broncos, you know, cut Greg Dulcich in the middle. of the year. Like, I don't know. I don't blame him for leaving in all honesty. And I don't know what the Broncos side of that story is either. And like I said, we may never know. But in terms of David Sills, the fifth and Cam Fleming and Parham leaving Cody, I think that's probably for the best for all those guys. And I'm with you on Michael Bandy. And with all due respect to him, it's kind of like having me on the team in a way. Like, I'm sure Michael's a way better athlete than I'll ever be. But it's like, why has he not been promoted the last two years? Like, he's providing.

Starting point is 00:29:30 maybe some intangible value to the team. But even on a 90-man roster, your spots are precious. And I think for the Broncos, you know, there's just got to be some value in going out there and taking some risks on guys who could potentially be diamonds in the rough. Like that's one of the things that you're looking for with reserve future contracts is not just back end of the roster guys, not just developmental guys, but let's go find a diamond in the rough. Let's go find somebody who could potentially make this team and make an impact next year.

Starting point is 00:29:59 not that they have to do that for every single move, but I would love to see the Broncos do a little bit more digging for those diamonds in the rough a little bit. Yeah, and I think that's fair. I mean, so with that said, with all these names that we mentioned, let's look at one on offense, look at one at defense, we'll play a little bit of game here. Broncos country, you're more and welcome to join along.

Starting point is 00:30:16 You can send your responses in on social media or you can comment on YouTube. If you're watching the show there, choose one player on offense and one player on defense that you feel like could step foot onto the field in the regular season in 2025. That's a good one. I think I'm going to go with the low-hanging fruit offensively and say A.T. Perry, right? I think you and I would probably agree on that. Defensively, I could see it being a pass rusher, Cody.

Starting point is 00:30:43 I mean, I don't know anything about K.J. C.J. C. Lloyd or Andrew Farmer, but those guys have got some athletic traits. And that is typically a position where you can see guys make the team after a great offseason and preseason. So I might go with one of those two guys. Okay. I mean, I'm with you on AT Perry. You know, I would be, that's one where I would say like, but I'm not going to take yours just because you had that as well. Like, we agree on AT Perry. If I had to choose maybe go, you know, another name here, I would probably look at, you know, an offensive line. And Calvin Throckmorton or Nick Garjulo in terms of depth there.

Starting point is 00:31:15 That might be something we see there. I would love to see Thomas Yasmin, maybe get an opportunity at that tight end position. We'll see what they, you know, decide to do in the offseason. Defensively, though, if I had to pick one name, I would go with K.J. C. Cloid here. And he was a guy for the Bronco who was really kind of under the radar. Like I didn't, I don't remember ever hearing about them signing him to the practice squad. That's one of those names. But he was a special teams like scout team player of the week in terms of practice,

Starting point is 00:31:43 practice squad player the week scout team player the week for them. And he's a player that, you know, talking to a couple of Broncos players in locker room, a couple of starters. They said that he's a guy that does have some promise to him. He has some traits and he works really hard. He was a name that late. on in the year you started to hear a little bit about. And guys, veteran guys in a locker, we're like, hey, this guy, like, you know,

Starting point is 00:32:05 hey, he's got something to him. He might be one of those under the radar gen. So like maybe, Sarah, we're talking about KJ. Coyd in the preseason here or in training camp once July and August rolls around. So I would go with an offensive line, I mean, either Calvin Throckburn or Nick Arjulow, and I'd go with KJ Coyd at this point. Broncos country, feel free to send yours into us here on Locke on Broncos. but that'll wrap up today's episode show.

Starting point is 00:32:29 Real quick, though, Sarah, let's do this. Let's go through. Obviously, there are NFL divisional games here this week. Texans, Chiefs, that's going to be one of them, Bill's Ravens, then you've got Eagles, Rams, and then you've got Lions Commanders. Let's go through and let's give our picks here real quick. You go, you pick the games first, and I'll share my results with you afterward. Well, I'm taking the Chiefs against the Texans.

Starting point is 00:32:52 And I'll take the, do I want to go the Bills or do I want to go the Ravens? That's the toughest game to pick, I think, right now. I'll take, I'll take Buffalo playing at home. I'll say they keep their streak alive here, Cody. Okay. I'm taking the Eagles. I hate that it's Eagles Rams because I would love to see both. I would love to see that be the NFC championship.

Starting point is 00:33:12 It's going to be a great game, but I'll take the Eagles in that game. And then I've been kind of disrespecting the Lions inadvertently. I know that the Lions have a lot of injuries, but I'm going to take the Lions at home. So I'm going, I'm going straight across the board home teams this weekend, Cody. I would love to see the commanders pull off an upset, but, man, I don't know. I don't know if there's, I don't know what upsets to really go for besides maybe the Ravens on the row, but I'm interested to hear what you think. Yeah, look, I, you know, I think as much as everyone would love to see the chiefs bounced out.

Starting point is 00:33:40 I don't think the Texans will have, will be able to compete. I mean, the chiefs are fully healthy. Maybe the draw will be like, hey, Kansas City, the starters have had three weeks of rest, essentially. Is there rust associated with that? Obviously, there's been times this year where, hey, they've been a lot of one-score games here, Kansas City has. Unfortunately, I'm going to go with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Starting point is 00:33:57 year in that game. I'm going to go with the Ravens finally getting over the hump there. They're going to beat Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills. That's going to be a tough game, though. But I think the neutralizing factor of having Derek Henry there, that's going to be big for them. I got the Lions winning. I know David Montgomery, I think, is going to be back. So he and Jemir Gibbs together. That's going to be a nice little combo to watch there. But they are a team that I could see maybe falling, like being susceptible to maybe being upset a little bit, you know, in terms by the commanders. And obviously, Jane Daniels, they're playing fantastic football. right now. I am going to go with an up say here. I think the Rams are going to beat the Eagles

Starting point is 00:34:30 this weekend. I think Matthew Stafford, Sean McVeigh, they're on a little bit of a under the radar revenge tour, so to speak. And right now, Stafford and them, they're playing their best football. They're as relatively healthy as they can be. So I got the Rams over the Eagles. And with that said, Broncos country, that'll wrap up today show. Sarah and I will be back on Monday. We're going to begin our overall season review. We're going to take a look at every position on the Broncos' offensive side of the ball. We're going to look at what we saw from that room, where they can grow. If there's any free agents, do you sign them? Do you bring them back? And what is what should they do to address that either in free agency or the draft? We're going to begin that on Monday.

Starting point is 00:35:05 We're to start with quarterback position here on lockdown Broncos. We'll see you then.

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