Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - EXTEND: Denver Broncos TOP Potential Extension Candidates

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Denver Broncos have a handful of players who are extension candidates will play extend or not here 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. Happy Tuesday, Broncos country. Welcome into another episode, Lockdown Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, now the number one sports podcast network in the country. And that's all thanks to all you every day is out there in Broncos country.

Starting point is 00:00:35 Thanks for tuning in, making us your first listen, however you choose to do so. I'm Cody Rourke, credential Broncos reporter for Mile High Sports.com. Join, as always, by Sarah Bedinger, the longtime site expert of their predominantly orange. com. We've got a lot to talk about here on today's episode of shows. The Broncos step back onto the practice field. We'll go over extension candidates on the offense and defensive side of the ball, including J.K. Dobbins, being an extension candidate here for the Broncos going into this offseason.

Starting point is 00:01:01 The team would like him back, but what makes sense? We'll take a look at some defensive players like J.K. Aquan Macmillan, even though he's a restricted free agent, could he get an extension? Plus, we'll also take a look at the state of the AFC after week 12. And over the weekend, the Broncos didn't get any help. But you know what? Week 13, the Broncos can continue to control their own destiny. You get all that on today's episode of show brought to you by friends over there at Fandu.

Starting point is 00:01:23 And right now, new customers can bet just $5. And if your bet wins, you'll get $300 in bonus bets you can use all throughout the app. I always like this. Look, this is the time of the year where you start. to see extensions kind of pop up. The Broncos try to get ahead of a couple of deals, especially with free agency set to loom in March. And Will Lutz, the more recent guy,

Starting point is 00:01:44 to get a contract extension, a three-year deal. Last Friday, we talked about in a breaking new short here, unlocked on Broncos. But for the offensive side of the ball, there are a handful of players who are set to become free agents. There's only a few key ones that I was looking at, Sarah, and I was thinking to myself, yeah, I can see the Broncos bringing these guys back.

Starting point is 00:02:02 Let's start off here with running back J.K. Dobbins. How do you feel about this? Because he's been such an important piece here, Denver offensively. Certainly they're going to miss him for the remainder of the season after the Liz Frank injury. But your thoughts on an extension here for JK. I think that when you look at his situation, Cody, the injury history, obviously those all stink, you know, for him. And it's just he's such a good player. When you see him out there on the field and when he's at full strength, I mean, we saw what he brings to the table over five yards to carry this season.

Starting point is 00:02:33 And we've talked about how he was maybe the most consistent. player. And maybe you don't even have to say maybe, right? I mean, the most consistent offensive player for the Denver Broncos this season. So to give him a new contract after this year, I think all of the leverage belongs to the team. I mean, it's going to be, if the Broncos want to bring him back, it's going to be completely on their terms. And I do think that J.K. Dobbins should come back. I would love to see him come back. A one year deal worth maybe a little bit more or a little bit, you know, closer to what he signed for this off season. That sounds reasonable to me, especially if he wants to be back in Denver.

Starting point is 00:03:11 You can't break the bank for a guy who simply hasn't been able to stay on the field. I mean, look, you talk about freak injuries. They happen in the NFL. It's the nature of the game. They happen to everybody, it seems like. But unfortunately, this is the latest in a long line of, you know, knee injuries, Liz Frank. I mean, at some point, you have to draw a line when you're a team and say, hey, we can't

Starting point is 00:03:34 give you past this amount because we don't know if we're going to get a full season out of you. So there is the ugly reality of it. I do think the Broncos should bring Dobbins back. But maybe I'll just say one year deal with a lot of incentives, a low base salary, things like that to protect yourself. And I also wouldn't be mad if they set their sights higher in free agency and move on as well. I will say this about JK. This is a guy who suffered some crazy injuries. Going back to high school, broken fibula, came back better than ever.

Starting point is 00:04:04 obviously had a very great career at Ohio State, had a torn ACL, has had a torn Achilles. Every time he's had one of these major injuries, sir, he has bounced back. He is still maintained being a good running back. Like that's the thing with JK that stands out to me is that injuries like that for so many guys, you typically see a drop off. JK, I don't feel like we've seen a drop off with him. And look, the Liz Frank is a little challenging. I mean, it always is, but he's got it repaired.

Starting point is 00:04:31 He should be good to go for next season. And if he can stay healthy, like that's the thing. Maybe, Sarah, maybe if Denver does bring him back on a one-year deal, it's kind of a, hey, this is a prove it deal. Not like you have to prove it production-wise, but just prove like the health aspect of it, then maybe that can lead to a two-year extension, maybe the next season. But I am curious what the running back, your free agency outlook is going to look like for Denver going into the next season, especially with them drafting RJ Harvey. Look, they got two guys in-house that are set to be, you know, either an unrestricted free agent or restricted free agent, Jalil McLaughlin, Tyler Badegh are also on that list. J.K. Dobbins set to be a free agent.

Starting point is 00:05:06 The only back right now that will essentially be under contract for Denver in 2026 is R.J. Harvey. Yeah, and I think that that's a good position for this team to be in, not because you're losing a bunch of guys, but because it'll really allow you to kind of take a step back and evaluate that position as a whole, right? When you look at some of next year's best available free agents, there's guys like Tyler Al Jir of the Falcons,

Starting point is 00:05:29 obviously, Brees Hall, who we've talked about in a number of trade ideas. Obviously, he didn't go anywhere, which kind of surprising, but he's not even 25 years old yet. So, Breece Hall is an interesting name. And then, of course, you could talk about the injuries once again, right? Travis E.T.N, having a great season for the Jaguars this year. And then guys like Kenneth Walker of the Seahawks, he's a free agent and a number of other players around the league that you could look at and say, that guy could make some sense for the Denver Broncos given their situation right now and could potentially be an upgrade over what they've had.

Starting point is 00:06:04 Maybe at least just the idea is an upgrade, right? When you talk about longevity or you talk about maybe a player like Alger who hasn't gotten really a chance to be the full-time back there with Bejohn Robinson in place. So there's other names out there. I think it gives the Broncos leverage. If they want to bring J.K. Dobbins and maybe draft them. I think it gives them that flexibility as well. And then there's always going to be trade in the off season, right?

Starting point is 00:06:28 You never know who's going to be on the trade block, especially when it comes to offensive skill positions. So I don't mind that situation. RJ Harvey is the only guy under contract. We can take that step back and look at this position as a whole and see what we want to do and create that vision going forward. And as always the NFL draft as well to continue to add young players, especially when you factor in.

Starting point is 00:06:50 Bonnick's still on a rookie deal. You have a lot of money allocated right now to the defense. side of the ball here. I want to go through a couple of other names, too, that are set to become unrestricted free agents here for the Broncos going into the offseason. Nate Adkins, one of those guys, and Luke Wattonberg. So, Sarah, if you had to right now extend any of those guys, who would it be? I think there's a great argument for Nate Adkins, though, once again, like Nate, unfortunately, has been banged up. I think we're going to get him back into the mix for the Broncos this week against the commanders. Sean Payton says what he does is very valuable to the team offensively and also on special

Starting point is 00:07:23 team, so there is that. But the controversial one, I feel like everyone's going to probably debate on. It's Luke Wattenberg. It's been up and down for him. There's been some really good moments from him. There's been some really bad moments from him. Is this enough for the Broncos to extend him in your opinion, based on where we're at right now post by? I don't know if he's given enough to extend him. I just think that you can upgrade there. I really do. I think that the Broncos have done a great job of developing him into a starter and somebody who is obviously a consistent enough player to be part of one of the best offensive lines in the league. But I think either you have to go for if you're going to pay somebody, big money, right?

Starting point is 00:08:02 I think you have to go after one of the top tier guys in the league like you did with Ben Powers and Mike McGlinchy in free agency. Or I think you go cost controlled at this position and maybe spend a higher draft pick on somebody. That's kind of nerve-wracking when you're talking about the guy who's snapping the ball to your quarterback. Obviously, we understand that. But if the Broncos can take Luke Wattenberg from a college tackle slash guard and make him into a consistent starting center, they did the same with Lloyd Cushingberry. I feel like they can develop somebody else into that position as well, especially when you have guys on either side like Powers and Quinn Miners who can really help that

Starting point is 00:08:41 guy and just be that sort of, you know, guiding force, if you will, having those veterans next to you to be able to grow quickly in this league. I just, I don't know that I love the idea of extending Wattenberg. I'm interested for your thoughts on this too, Cody, because obviously we've talked about the errant snaps consistently. We've talked about how Alex Forsyth might be the better option in the running game. Is Wattenberg worth, you know, eight figure average annual salary with the offensive line already being heavily invested in?

Starting point is 00:09:12 That's a great question. And look, I think that there are valid arguments to upgrade this position because I think it's important, Sarah. I mean, what have we seen be the strength of this Broncos offense for a little bit? It has been their offensive line, you know, outside, inside. Everyone's talked about that here. If that position can be better and you're not running into those issues where I don't think it's necessarily impacted too much, like you even had like a backbreaking mistake where the ball goes over Bo Nix's head, right? But there is a timing element to it. If there is an errant snap out to the left, right, a little high or a little low, that changes the timing for Bo Nix on his dropback,

Starting point is 00:09:44 which impacts obviously the route development from the wide receivers, the protect. so on and so forth. Could you upgrade there? I know he's on IR right now. Could Nick Garzulo maybe be one of those options in-house? Look, he did very good at guard. He was going to be probably if Ben Powers, like let's say in the preseason, we're taking a look at Garzullo.

Starting point is 00:10:05 He didn't get hurt. When Ben Powers went down this season, it would have been Garzulo stepping in there at the left guard position instead of Matt Parrott. Now we found a little bit of a gem here in Denver with Alex Paucheschi, which is nice to see. That could be your potential future guy there. So maybe Garjulo's vision there could be that guard center swing addition or maybe he could be that next center kind of in the waiting here.

Starting point is 00:10:27 But it's hard to say right now, especially with him coming off of an ACL. So we'll see how Denver should approach this. I do think that they need to look at upgrading specifically at the center position here. I do think they bring back Nate Adkins here. But Broncos country, one thing we're going to continue to talk about, we're going to flip it to the defensive side of the ball, players on defense who are potential extension candidates, Jayquan Macmillan. Will it be the return of the Mac in 2026? We'll take a look at that and more here on today's

Starting point is 00:10:52 episode. Lockdown Broncos. Broncos Country. Today's episode, the show is brought to you by our friends over there at Fandul, America's number one sportsbook. The NBA season is back. The NFL season is ongoing and there's no better place to get in on the action than Fandul, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. If you missed the start of the game for a basketball game, missed the starting tip or if you want to ride the hot hand as it's going on throughout an entire game. We know in the NBA, it's a game of runs. here. Fandua has live bets on everything from who will score next to fourth quarter comebacks. Plus, you can even combine your live bets into a same game parlay for a shot at a bigger payout. For the Broncos game this week, they enter their matchup against the Washington

Starting point is 00:11:29 commanders on Sunday night football as six and a half point favorites on the road against that commander's team. It keeps every game exciting, especially when your team's making that late push. So make sure you get involved inside the Fandu at because right now Fandu is giving new customers $300 in bonus bets when your first $5 bet wins. head to Fanduil.com to sign up and play your game with Fanduil, the official sports bidding partner of the NBA. Today's show is also brought to you by friends over there at Duh. And I love the pair of Duer jeans that I have.

Starting point is 00:11:57 They're the most comfortable pair of jeans that I own. And I want you, the amazing listeners of Lockdown Broncos, to experience it as well. Duer jeans have five times the stretch of traditional denim, but it looks just like denim. It's stretchy without looking stretchy. And that, for me, is a game changer. They're anti-bacterial, which means that your jeans, they stay fresh for longer. so you can wear them more and wash them less.

Starting point is 00:12:20 Doer jeans, they feel stretchy, as I mentioned, without looking stretchy because Doer combines classic jeans wear style with the kind of comfort and performance that you get from athletic wear. So you get the best of both worlds, and you can wear them anywhere. Whether you're going out to date night, whether you're going out to the movies, what do you want to lounge around at your house, they're the most comfortable pair of jeans that you will put on. I promise you that.

Starting point is 00:12:40 Simply put, Doer makes the world's most comfortable pants without having to sacrifice style, and that's important. And you can check out Doer in store here in Denver at 2621 Larimer Street. Pick up a pair for yourself or get it for someone as an amazing holiday gift. And mention my promo code, Locked on Denver in store to get 15% off your first order. Or check them out online at shopdu, eR.com. Slash Locked on Denver for 15% off. That shopdoor.com slash locked on Denver.

Starting point is 00:13:09 You get a new contract. You get a new contract. You get a new contract. Broncos country. That's the beauty of having a quarterback on a. rookie deal is you get to pay your defense to support the guy. But are the Broncos going to be paying J-Quann Macmill and Malcolm Roach, John Franklin Myers, a lot of mouths to feed on the defensive side of the ball.

Starting point is 00:13:28 Cody are going to break it all down on today's episode of the show. But want to say thank you to every single one of you, every dayers out there that makes Lockdown Broncos your first listen of the day, part of the lockdown podcast network, the number one sports podcast network out there. And Cody, speaking of number one, the Broncos. They've kind of been number one in the NFL lately, in my opinion, in terms of taking care of their guys, right? George Payton, he said it from the moment that he was hired. They want to draft and develop and get guys to second contracts.

Starting point is 00:13:59 I know that it doesn't always happen to where you're drafting and developing guys towards second contracts. But, I mean, even your free agent pickups, guys that are sort of entering that prime window of their career. We saw Zach Allen get a second contract already from the Denver Broncos. We've seen this front office dole out some big money deals to keep this defense intact. Nick Benito, Jonathan Cooper, you name it. Pat Sartan. Who's next, right? I mean, this is the question that we're all asking because Russell Wilson's deal comes off the books officially this coming off season, which is a huge benefit towards the Broncos.

Starting point is 00:14:36 So you thought they had flexibility before, man, it's about to get real. They've got the ability to re-sign these guys. So who's going to be the next one on the defense? defensive side to get a deal. I mean, it is tough when you factor in that Denver is allocating a ton of money to that defense. And certainly so. We are seeing the fruits of that labor come to fruition with how good this defensive side of the ball has been. DJ Jones got the extension of the off season.

Starting point is 00:15:01 I think when you talk about the importance of this team, man, it's that pass rush right now. That pass rush is definitely key for making things easier on your second level guys in terms of them being able to fit their run gaps in the run game for them to be able to drop back and be able to, speed up the clock of obviously quarterbacks there that allows them to get into a space where either the secondary is going to make a player or the linebackers can make a play there in coverage. PS2, as you mentioned, is locked up.

Starting point is 00:15:26 And the Broncos, the good thing about them getting some of these extensions done last year, Sarah, in comparison to how the market has changed, the Broncos are essentially getting steals of deals based on what they paid Pat Sertan, what they paid Nick Benito essentially. Because I think with those guys' performances, last year, obviously with Pat,

Starting point is 00:15:45 If he would have waited, like, and here's the thing, like, it's hard to know whether or not a corner is going to win defensive player leader. If Denver would have waited to extend Patil after this last season, he would have had his price tag would have been significantly bigger. If the Broncos would have waited to pay Nick Benito, his asking price would have shot up the charts this, you know, this upcoming off season. So Denver did a really good job of getting ahead of that. They got some very team friendly deals essentially because of that because the other teams deciding to break the bank a little bit. for me, I think there is a world that exists where you can pay John Franklin Myers here. But can you pay JFM and Malcolm Roach? This is the tough question because I think both guys are so crucial to the success of this defensive line.

Starting point is 00:16:30 They're important pieces when you factor in like if one of those guys goes down, you know those guys will step up. If DJ Jones goes down, you know Malcolm Roach is going to step up to the plate. JFM is a very, very good starter opposite of Zach Allen. if you had to choose between one or the other, like who would you choose in this situation? Because I feel like if that is something that the Broncos run into, that's going to be a tough decision.

Starting point is 00:16:53 Yeah, that is. I don't even like thinking it like that. I can't. I hate it. I hate it. Yeah. It's like,

Starting point is 00:16:59 I mean, I won't say it's like choosing which is your favorite kid because it's not like that. I mean, it's a little bit easier than that. But you get what I'm saying. And look, I think for the Broncos, you have an advantage here because I do believe that players want to be there.

Starting point is 00:17:13 I really do. I think next year you're getting that brand new facility that's a huge recruiting chip in their favor. And we haven't talked about that as much because, well, the luster of that news has kind of worn off. But you see that construction happening out there every single day. They're going to have the new facilities. They're going to have the opportunity to obviously give massive signing bonuses or roster bonus or however they want to structure it to these guys to keep them around. And the advantage of having the ownership group that the Broncos do, do allows them to keep guys like this around.

Starting point is 00:17:46 And I think they can get them at team friendly rates. Like the Nick Benito's contract, that's clear that he wants to be around Denver. Pat Sertan, he clearly wants to be in Denver. You could go up and down the entire list. None of these guys is taking an exorbitant deal that resets the market to a degree at which it cripples the team, right?

Starting point is 00:18:07 So these guys have already taken the team friendly deals to allow the front office to keep John Franklin Myers, to keep Malcolm Roach, the Broncos have one of the top, I think it's top 10 or top 12 overall cap space already. And that's without any restructures. That's without any roster cuts. That's without any of it. So you can free up plenty of space. Do a short term deal with these guys. Give JFM another two year deal. Give Malcolm Roach a three year deal. This is a window of time that you're in. There's no reason to not do that unless you're saying, hey, we legitimately are going to allocate so much money to other positions in free agency on front-loaded deals. There's no good reason why you can't structure these things to keep these guys around. The Broncos don't live in a world where they can't keep everybody right now.

Starting point is 00:18:58 And every team has a chance to do that when your quarterback is on a rookie deal. They'd be foolish not to take advantage of it. And I also think the locker room culture, you're going to have guys that maybe want to stay and play there, right? if Denver's become in that place you want to go, because you see it. And obviously, the NFLPA puts out those report cards every year. Like Bronco's ownership is one of the highest graded elements right now in the NFL. I think they were fourth overall in the voting because, I mean, everyone had the same grade, essentially.

Starting point is 00:19:25 But there's a commitment to winning. There's a commitment to the on the field, off the field stuff here. I'm not saying that these guys would take a pay cut, so to speak. But I'm saying that if they were to get paid something that was fair to stay part of this, I think that guys like JFM, I think. guys like Malcolm Roach would take that here. Let's play a little bit of a quick game here, rapid fire. You know, in this generation, there's a lot of swipe left, swipe right type of move.

Starting point is 00:19:50 Swipe left means no. Swipe right means yes. I'm going to go through some Broncos upcoming defensive free agents, who you think that they should bring back. You tell me if you're going to swipe left or swipe right. JFM. I'm sorry. Whatever you got to explain.

Starting point is 00:20:04 Wait, wait, wait, wait. Swipe right is, yes. Bring back. Swipe left is nah. All right. Okay, okay. Yeah, so we're swiping right on JFM to bring him back. I'm understanding that right.

Starting point is 00:20:15 Okay, right. I'm swiping right. Sarah's never been on the dating apps, folks. And that's good. Sarah's been obviously with his wife since high school. So you're living the dream for so many people right here, my friend. We locked it in back in 2005. I swiped right back then on AIM Instant Messenger, baby.

Starting point is 00:20:32 Man, that's a throwback. You're aging us here. Malcolm Roach here. I'm swiping right. I'm keeping it. I would. PJ Locke. I'll say swipe left because I think PJ deserves another opportunity to start, Cody,

Starting point is 00:20:45 and I don't think he's going to get that in Denver. Okay. Jayquan MacMillan. He's a restricted free agent. It's a little different. Teams got some control in that. But let's swipe right on Jayquan Macmill and he's earned it. Okay.

Starting point is 00:20:56 These two guys are exclusive rights, free agents. It's easier for the team to retain him. Devon Key. Swipe right. Special teams. He's got to be back, right? I'm with you. Dondrey Tillman.

Starting point is 00:21:06 Oh, I'm swiping right. 100%. Rotational. special teams. Look, yeah, that's the situation the Broncos are in, right? You get these guys on team-friendly deals or you have the restricted free agent, which is less than $6 million for J-Quann-McMillan. That's a fraction of the salary cap high. Bring these guys back. Don't miss your window right here. Stay competitive after this season. I love it. Broncos country, make sure you let us know your thoughts who you're swiping left on, who you're swiping right on here in terms of

Starting point is 00:21:33 Broncos' upcoming defensive free agents. But coming up next, Sarah and I, we're going to talk about the state of the AFC after week 12. And unfortunately, the Broncos, nobody did them any favors this past week. And we're going to take a look at what the outlook looks like, biggest games this week that Broncos fans need to pay attention to. You're going to get that on today's episode of the show. Today's show was brought to you by friends over there at Peloton. Look, folks, it's time to break through the busiest time of the year with a brand new Peloton cross-training,

Starting point is 00:21:58 Tread Plus that's powered by Peloton IQ. It's Peloton's most elevated technology and equipment yet that gives you real-time guidance. and it gives you endless ways to move, whether you want to work out by yourself or if you want to work out with your favorite, Alex Toussaint. He always gets me fired up to tackle the day. And the thing I like about Peloton, it helps me achieve more in less times. They have features that help you plan, stay motivated, track your progress. And Peloton IQ also provides personalized workout plans and recommendations. That's something that I use right now during the busiest time of the year covering the NFL. They plan my workouts for me based on my mood, my vision, my vision.

Starting point is 00:22:36 vibe and also my favorite instructors. So make sure you check it out and use it because it also helps you correct your form in real time. And it maximizes your reps. It counts your reps so that you can do it smarter, safer, and more efficient. Let yourself run, lift, flex, push, and go. Explore the new Peloton, cross-training, tread plus at one peloton.com. The AFC let the Denver Broncos down during a week 12 here. But you know what?

Starting point is 00:23:02 The Broncos, they get to open up against the Washington commanders as they begin a second half push here at 9 and 2. Sarah, I was watching the games. It was nice to just kind of sit back on a Sunday and not have to worry about being at a stadium, not have to worry about, you know, writing post-game stories. Just relax and watch some football, watch some red zone. I tell you what, it was really disappointing to see some of the results that obviously happened throughout the week.

Starting point is 00:23:26 I think as everyone in Broncos country was hoping that the Colts would beat the Chiefs. And I think we do have to say, you never root for the Chiefs no matter what. Broncos Country doesn't matter. you do not root for the cheese. And I think as we saw from the Colts on Sunday, you know that they're going to drop a game or two down the stretch. So if you were ruined for Kansas City, boom, turn in your fan card. Anyways, on top of that, Sarah, what was your thoughts on week 12?

Starting point is 00:23:47 Because right now it's the New England Patriots who obviously won. They improved the 10 and 2. Denver's at the second seat right now at 9 and 2. The Colts stay at the third seat at 8 and 3. The Ravens leaped over the Steelers here at 6 and 5, despite the start that the Ravens certainly had there. The chart are sitting there at 7 and 4. Jaguars at 7 and 4 and the bills at 7 and 4.

Starting point is 00:24:07 So three teams still ahead of Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, who unfortunately got the victory on Sunday. Yeah, I'm with you on that one, Cody. I know a lot of Broncos country was saying you're selfish if you're rooting for the Colts to win or the chiefs to win, excuse me, because you want the number one seed. I think you want to eliminate the chiefs as quickly as possible. We want them out of the playoffs. And it speaks to a number of different teams right now in the wildcard.

Starting point is 00:24:34 situation, why it is so important for the Broncos also, on the other hand, to get that number one seed because if you're the number two seed right now, or even the number three seed, you're looking at playing the bills or the Ravens or the Chiefs. Like that's going to be your first round draw. So what we're looking at right now is an added importance for the Broncos to keep pace with the New England Patriots who play Monday night against the Giants in week 13, which I think is an opportunity for a little upset situation. I'm calling my shot now a week out on that one, potentially, because I think the Giants have played three straight one score games against really good teams in the league.

Starting point is 00:25:14 And they feel like they're on the cusp of that interim head coach breakout, right? Mike Kafka is doing a good job there. So we're rooting hard for the Giants this week. And I, yeah, I mean, you look at the rest of the AFC. Okay, the Colts losing. That was a win-win for the Broncos no matter what. Who cares, right? The outcome, you can't root for the chiefs,

Starting point is 00:25:35 but ultimately either outcome is beneficial to you. The Patriots winning is much more annoying because now they've got the first team to 10 wins in the NFL this season. And, I mean, they play the Giants this week. So they should win that game, right? I think when you look at the rest of the AFC, however, the Broncos are in a really, really good spot. I don't think anybody in the AFC South is going to challenge for the number one seed. Don't think anybody in the AFC North obviously is going to challenge for that.

Starting point is 00:26:02 one seed. So it's really a two-man race between the Broncos and the Patriots right now. I just, you need the Patriots to slip up here at some point. They almost did, though, against Cincinnati. And, you know, that was a game. They didn't have Jamar Chase. T. Higgins obviously got hurt during the game there. And it was just in inopportune times, the Bengals couldn't come up big, you know. So I'd say, you know, New England, they're obviously taking care of business.

Starting point is 00:26:27 I think even if the Broncos and the Patriots were to hypothetically win out, the Broncos at the end of the year would essentially have the tiebreaker to move up to that number one seat. So you have to hope the New England slips up here at some point. But I'll say this, the playoff race or the players that are not in the playoff race if things were to begin today, it is very interesting just because three teams are in the hunt. Kansas City still at six and five. They survive. They're hanging in another week.

Starting point is 00:26:54 The Houston Texans is six and five because of where things are at in their division. That could get very interesting against obviously the Indianapolis Colts. it's a cold start to drop some games. And Texans continue to win some games there, obviously, with the defense at their playing. Pittsburgh's kind of dropped off a little bit, which is certainly, you know, hey, could Mike Tomlin end up having his first losing season? Maybe, maybe not.

Starting point is 00:27:13 Depends on the second half stretch here. But you've got three teams at the five, six, and seven seed that each have the same record with the chargers, the bishops, the boughs, and the Jaguars is seven and four. The Broncos will play the Chargers one more time. The Broncos will play the Jacksonville Jaguars here in a few weeks. Denver has a chance to go up here, Sarah. And like this is where we said, okay, hey, Denver, nine and two in the first half part of the season. Them playing that way is impressive, right?

Starting point is 00:27:37 And Sean, we always talked about Sean's record in October, but can Sean have a good record in November? Can Sean, I mean, so far he has, can Sean have a good record in December here? Can this Broncos team where I'd say December is the most meaningful football you have to play? That's the challenge here. We didn't see Denver necessarily rise up to the occasion to that last season. And for me, I want to see them tackle that and overcome that here in this stretch. Absolutely. And that's why maybe the by week did come at the perfect time.

Starting point is 00:28:05 We discussed that last week a little bit as well where, hey, it could have come earlier based on the way that we saw the team play against teams like Las Vegas and things like that. But ultimately, the by week did come at the perfect time for this Broncos team to sort of reset, get guys back healthy and make that kind of a run in the second half because what we saw last year in December was a bit of that war on attrition breaking down this Broncos team. They should have beat the Chargers in Los Angeles last year. And they couldn't do it because, well, they just had what Sean Payton said, way too many free runners, right? You couldn't beat Cincinnati because obviously,

Starting point is 00:28:42 you couldn't stop their offense enough. I know they did a couple of fourth downs early on in that game, but ultimately Joe Burrow and T. Higgins, they were having their way throughout the course of that game, making one ridiculous throw and catch after another. You just, couldn't stop them and Mike Gisicki, right? And the breakdowns were all because of the same couple of reasons. Your linebacker in your safety position, now you are fortified at those positions with a fully healthy safety group with Tala Noah Hufanga playing at an all pro level. Drey Greenlaw is back.

Starting point is 00:29:14 He's healthy. Drew Sanders could be back adding depth to that position as well. Alex Singleton coming back. Look, this is the perfect opportunity for the Broncos to prove why it's so important. important to have depth all of your roster and the training south that they do, getting these guys back out under the field and proving that they are not just the best team in the NFL, but also the healthiest team when it matters the most. And I feel like this year, one of the takeaways I had from Sunday's games,

Starting point is 00:29:40 just sitting back and just observing this season, this feels like a good year for football, just for the league in general, because there's not this one or two clear cut. These teams are better than everybody and it's not even close. These are the two favorites to go to the Super Bowl, whereas right now the NFL feels wide open, which is perfect for the Denver Broncos, the position that they're in because they haven't even played their best on the offensive side just yet.

Starting point is 00:30:02 And man, I tell you what, if they can, they can click on offense. This is going to be a scary, scary team. This is a team that you're not going to want to play. And certainly, I think they're already fan bases talking about, you don't want to have to travel to Denver in the first or the second round of the playoffs. Like that's just a hard place to play.

Starting point is 00:30:17 You don't want to do it. I like that. The mile high advantage could be back here. And it's up to the Broncos to maintain that if they want to host. a home playoff game in January here. But with that, San Braco's country, that'll wrap up today's episode of the show. We appreciate you for Rocking with us.

Starting point is 00:30:30 Tomorrow's episode, you're going to get Sarah and myself. We heard from Sean Payton on Monday for the first time, and we'll talk about and reflect on what he said the Broncos have to do in the second half stretch of the schedule to achieve the goals that they want. You're going to hear from Sean Payton. And more plus, we've got a Broncos squad show tomorrow as well. Stay tuned, stay locked in here. I'm a locked on Broncos podcast.

Starting point is 00:30:50 We'll see you tomorrow.

Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - EXTEND: Denver Broncos TOP Potential Extension Candidates

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.