Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - FUTURE: Kage Casey Another SMART Denver Broncos Draft Pick as Future Looms

Starting point is 00:00:00 Denver Broncos rookie Cage Casey gives the Broncos some future options at left guard and at left tackle. You are locked on Broncos. Your daily Denver Broncos podcast. Part of the Locked on podcast network, your team every day. What's up, Broncos country? I'm Cody York. joined as always by Sarah Beninger. Today's bonus episode of the show. We are highlighting Cage Casey, one of the Broncos rookie draft selections in the 2026 NFL draft and showcasing why the Broncos continue to invest in the depth on their offensive line with guys who could potentially take over. Cage Casey could be one of those guys. Plus, we're going to kick things off by talking about why he gives the Broncos some options at two major positions, both in the short and in the long term.

Starting point is 00:00:50 Sarah, let's dive into it, Cage Casey, someone in the Broncos obviously did a lot of background work with. They met with him exclusively at the NFL Combine. They did a top 30 visit with him. They got to know a little bit more about who he is as a player. but Boise State's head coach said that the Broncos have done a lot of background work, not only just this year, but even dating back to last year. And I imagine that process came when they were scouting Ashton Genty. Yeah, no doubt.

Starting point is 00:01:17 The Broncos spent plenty of time there at Boise State scouting, obviously, Ashton Genty and others on that team. But Cage Casey, I mean, you start 41 games at the college level, Cody, at the left tackle position, you're going to draw the attention of NFL scouts, of NFL coaches and front offices all over the place. And there's no doubt that I think when you look at this guy and you watch him play, you can kind of see that, I mean, I know he's coming out of college. So take what I'm about to say the right way, everybody listening,

Starting point is 00:01:46 but that veteran way that he plays the game, right? I mean, you could see that he's very technically sound. He knows where to put his hands. Cody, I've done a lot of kind of watching just a, you know, NFL draft analysts talking about offensive linemen in general, because I'm not a former offensive lineman. I'm not an offensive line coach. I'm not, you know, I don't know exactly what to look for.

Starting point is 00:02:07 So I like to listen to people who do know what they're looking for. And the people who know what they're looking for, like Brian Baldinger over at NFL Network, he did an evaluation on Cage Casey and talked about how technically sound he is, throwing guys out of the club, recovering when he's beat to the inside, all these sorts of things. You see the athletic traits when you watch him play.

Starting point is 00:02:28 You see the ability to get hands on defenders. he just knows how to how to get to where he needs to be, how to keep defenders at bay, regardless of whether he's dealing with power, speed, you know, speed to power, all these sorts of different things. And so I think that ultimately there was a lot of good on tape at left tackle for KH Casey to just immediately say,

Starting point is 00:02:48 hey, because he has under 34 inch arms, which technically, yes, he does have under 34 inch arms. And it's not that much, you know, shorter, 33 and a quarter inch. But, you know, you automatically think those guys are going to transition into guard at the next level. But I think for Cage, Casey, there's enough out there to believe, yeah, he's got a long-term future at guard if the Broncos envisioned him there.

Starting point is 00:03:09 But he could also play tackle if that's what they want as well. I like Baldinger's recommendation too that just they should at some point during training camp, just throw him out there at left tackle. Like even if they're going to work him primarily as a left guard, we don't know yet. Like that's the one thing. We don't know right now about where he's going to play or get reps at. but if they throw them out there at left tackle, let him work against guys like Nick Benito,

Starting point is 00:03:32 Jonathan Cooper, see what he can do against those guys. Because look, I think one of the things you constantly hear about offensive tackles, guys who may not have necessarily as long as arms, that's where they run into guys that have that freakish bend or that can push their hands out in terms of extension, or if they go to try to get close and they shoot their hands, defensive guys knock their hands down and they get around and get to the quarterback, let him get better because what you can maybe lack,

Starting point is 00:03:56 I'd say, in terms of arm length, if you're athletic enough, if you're smart enough, it's always about just getting the right leverage. And never do you ever want to reach for a defensive lineman if you're going out there and kick stepping and pass protection. He does give you that type of versatility because he is athletic enough to be able to do it. Now, I would even say it left guard as well. They believe he can swing tackle and play anywhere.

Starting point is 00:04:18 Like we've seen the Broncos prioritize that swing guard, swing tackle type of players, or if you can play guard and center, there's more value in, I think, how Denver evaluates draft prospects now on the offensive line because of that. Versus there are some guys that only specializes like this guy's only a tackle. This guy's not a guard. This guy's only a guard. He's not a center. They look at everything here.

Starting point is 00:04:41 And so I think for Cage Casey, the fact that he can play multiple positions, he's a guy that is viewed that can play left side. He can play right side. He can even play center. That's what the Broncos have said they view with a player like him. And you know why? It's because of his athletic skill set. It's because of how smart he is.

Starting point is 00:04:57 it's because of the strength that he certainly does have. You can make up for a lot in other areas that you may be lacking otherwise. And that's why he got drafted. And the good news about this, Sarah, he didn't get drafted to come in and be a starter year one. It may not even be the vision for him even in year two, but they think, hey, let's see what this guy can do. We think he can become a starter.

Starting point is 00:05:17 We're going to see if he can. And that's what this process about training camp, preseason, and roster development as a depth option, that's where we're going to find out. Yeah. And how do you know if a player is, is smart or paired or how do you judge that from an offensive line? Well, one way to do it, Cody, is to see how many penalties they've had over the course of their play.

Starting point is 00:05:37 41 games. Listen to this. Cage Casey, only three penalties in 41 games. And we're talking about probably upwards of at least 3,000 snaps in 4. I mean, close to that problem. You know, when it comes to, so three penalties and only two of them were procedural. And they were both false starts. So this guy, the next time he gets called.

Starting point is 00:05:56 for holding. It'll be the first time since at least school, you know? So that's crazy to me. Two false start penalties and an unsportsman like conduct, only two procedural penalties in 41 games at the collegiate level. I mean, regardless of who Boise State

Starting point is 00:06:13 plays and how much you want to dock somebody for a level of competition compared to, you know, bigger conferences, things like that, that's pretty crazy for somebody to be that technically sound and for somebody who's known for, you know, their strong hands, like getting hands on a defender finishing blocks, like to not be called

Starting point is 00:06:32 for holding. I mean, that's, I don't know. Cody is one of the, probably the coolest stats of anybody in this Broncos draft class is the fact that two procedural penalties in 41 games, that's, that's bordering on the insanity. I wonder what the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty was. I wonder if it was more of a, was it excessive celebration? Because, I mean, when, when they had Ashton Genty, they were averaging 240 rushing yards per game on the ground.

Starting point is 00:06:56 They were dominating and manhandling folks. I mean, now offensive line did really, really good in that regard. And also, he's a player throughout his career. He hasn't allowed a lot of sacks either. I think 2024, I think he only allowed one sack. I don't even think he allowed one last season in terms of all the snaps city, who's one of the highest graded offensive linemen in the country in terms of pressures allowed, sacks allowed.

Starting point is 00:07:18 So that's obviously something that is important. But, you know, what else is important? showcasing that you're willing to invest in the trenches, both in the present and the long term. And that's exactly what the Denver Broncos have done. Today's episode, Lockdown Broncos is brought to you by Indeed. Workplace chaos, deadlines, stacking up, inbox overflowing, and that one position that you have to fill is still sitting open.

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Starting point is 00:10:20 have invested in. And that's overall numbers of games played. Thank you once again, Broncos' country for tuning and making us your first list. And Sarah, I wanted to bring this up as we were talking about Cage early on here in the show. But we talk about depth and obviously tomorrow's show a lockdown Broncos. We dive into the Broncos offensive line returning the same starters. We also highlight the depth additions they have made on the offensive line, including Casey, but what it means for a potential future starting offensive line unit. To me, they like Alex Pauchesky a lot. They like Frank Crum a lot. And it's obvious they really

Starting point is 00:10:51 like Cage Casey considering the amount of background work they put on him for the last two seasons. You know what they all have in common? A large number of games played at the college level. Let's go to Frank Crumb. Frank had 54 total games played throughout his career. Cage Casey, 46 total games. That's a lot. But then there's Alex Paucheski, 64 total games played throughout his career.

Starting point is 00:11:14 It seems like as we look at maybe the NFL draft is getting to a point where there aren't as many blue chip offensive linemen going in round one. And if they are, typically they're gone pretty early. Denver has seemingly struck gold with their player development system by going out there and investing in these guys who have so much experience at the college level thinking that translates well to the NFL level versus maybe some guys that don't necessarily have as many games played and maybe going round one. I think the Broncos, what we're saying they emphasize is that your offensive linemen play the game from the neck up, right? I mean, that's one of the most primary concerns for anybody. I mean, Alex Palchuski, not blowing anybody away with his Rass score or anything like that, Cody. I think that was probably part of the reason why he went undrafted when he did. But on the other side of that, you know, coin is Frank Crum, who did blow everybody away with his Rast score going into the draft.

Starting point is 00:12:07 And he still didn't get picked. So it just goes to show that, look, you identify players who you feel can be good fits, but you have enough of a body of work to analyze to look at and say, hey, we know exactly what this guy brings to the table. we know what we might have to tweak if he gets to us, if we can get him in the undrafted free agent market or in the later rounds. It's Cage Casey represents the most substantial investment draft-wise that George Payton has made since his first draft with the team. Quinn Miners, I think was the 98th overall pick.

Starting point is 00:12:39 So Cage Casey's only, what, 13 picks after that. And that's a huge deal because the Broncos don't really spend a ton of high draft capital here. And that's largely due to the fact, number one, they haven't. really had a lot of high draft capital since George Payton came aboard, but also they've, I mean, they feel confident in their ability to develop these guys. And so, and I think at this point, Cody, I think they're proven right. They've done a great job with, you know, Palchowski has proven he can start. Frank Crum has improved. I mean, Alex Forsyth on the interior, he's started games for

Starting point is 00:13:11 this team. Obviously, Quinn Miners has developed into one of the best guards in football. So the, Luke Wattenberg, fifth round pick from 2022. I mean, so their, their track record, is pretty darn good at this point when it comes to bringing guys in via the draft or undrafted free agency, which is what gets me so excited about a fourth round pick. I know everybody could sit there and say, well, let's pump the brakes a little bit. H. Casey was a fourth round pick. Like, it's not that big of a deal. Day three guys are kind of lottery tickets anyway. And that stuff is true. But at the same time, I mean, that was their third pick in this draft. And so I think that they prioritize this guy, they targeted him, and they believe in what he brings to the table.

Starting point is 00:13:54 They've said it. They think that he has starting caliber abilities at the guard position, even center, and we know what he can do at tackle already. Well, you mentioned Luke Wattenberg. I think a great example was Luke. I mean, unfortunately for Luke, he came into his first year in the NFL. He had to play under Nathaniel Hackett and Butchbury, unfortunately. Wouldn't wish that upon anybody at this point. But, you know, he made it through it because they, I remember. remember asking Nathaniel Hackett because they threw Wattenberg out there. I think it was at right tackle during a game. I think it was against the Tennessee Titans and the poor guy just got

Starting point is 00:14:27 absolutely dominated left and right. It was to the point I asked Nathaniel Hackett like, how do you, how do you help a young guy like that not lose his confidence, especially when he's played out of position? And Hackett told me straight out as a coach, we've got to do a better job of putting him in a position to succeed. We did not do that. And so, But it would have been easy for Sean to come in and say, you know what? We're not going to like, man, his tape at right tackle awful. But then they saw him play some guard and say, you know what? There might be something here.

Starting point is 00:15:00 It's trusting your talent evaluators. It's trusting your scouts. It's trusting George Payton. That's what Sean did when he came in and now look at Luke Wattenberg. You know, for as much I think as at times we've griped about Luke on several plays, he got a contract extension and he's played relatively well for the most part. We haven't noticed any glaring issues, and we hope that he can continue to get better as time goes on. But it just goes to show how important it is to not only, you don't want to draft right away for a guy who's just going to come in and start right away.

Starting point is 00:15:29 You need to find guys that could potentially sit for a little bit. And then financially, as we've seen in this business, that could come in and maybe upend someone who is a starter. Luke Wattenberg is a great example of that happening. Cage Casey could be the next example of that. I hope we get to see during this, let's see, I mean, training camp, preseason, when there's, you know, live bullets flying, right? When the pads are on, I hope we get to see a group that includes, I'm trying to think of all the different pieces because I didn't, this was unscripted as far as everybody else out there listening. Okay, so left tackle, Frank Crum, left guard, Cage Casey, center could be either Forsyth or Wattenberg. And then right guard, you know, it could be Quinn Miner still or whoever.

Starting point is 00:16:15 then at right tackle, Alex Palchowski. So as you're kind of piecing together, what could be the backup offensive line, I can't wait to see what those guys do together because ultimately that could be our glimpse of the future, right? I mean, in many ways because at left tackle, I mean, I don't know how soon Garrett Bowles is, it looks like he could keep playing for a while. Yeah. I'm not trying to end his career prematurely, but at left tackle, Frank Crum seems to have the

Starting point is 00:16:40 skills to be able to play there. At the right side, I mean, Alex Palchewski could be the starter. as soon as 2027. I mean, I don't think that's a hot take. Left guard, Cage Casey, could be the starter as soon as 2027. So I would be very interested to see. We know vets get days off here and there, you know, that stuff happens. So, hey, who fills in?

Starting point is 00:17:02 Who fills in? Watch that stuff and see the Broncos are going to try to get those little glimpses of the future on practice tape to be able to see. Okay, how does Cage Casey look next to Garrett Bowles? How does Palteski look out there with the rest of these guys? We know we've seen it a little bit, but that's what I can't wait to see. From this pick alone, I think you can kind of start to see, all right, the future is sort of being assembled right in front of our very eyes. What I would even say, too, even for right guard, maybe Nick Garjulo instead of like Quinn Miners, like seeing what that that lineup of Crum, Casey, Forsyth, and then you get to Garjulo and then Paucheschi, I would love to see that. I felt like when Garzullo was playing this past preseason,

Starting point is 00:17:46 I thought I was so impressed with him. I was thinking to myself like, hey, this guy's going to be one of those two deep guys that is going to be the key backup to one of the starters. Like the Broncos really liked Garzullo. So that to me, you know, when he went down with that injury, that was tough. So I'm curious to see where he's at in his recovery amongst all things.

Starting point is 00:18:03 But it's clear that the offensive line is a huge priority for this team in terms of not only bringing the same unit back, but also we need to keep an eye on the potential future, because you're one injury away from saying, hey, our whole lineup could change. We don't want there to be a drop off, especially with Bo Nix. So let's figure out if we got the guys that it doesn't matter who goes down.

Starting point is 00:18:22 We have guys that can come in and plug in and play right away, and our production's not going to dip because they got that experience and that development inside of the offensive line. I'm curious to see how it all goes down here, Broncos Country. You know what thing that we're going to do. We're going to have you covered every step of the way. Broncos rookie minicamp is also this week. We get access to one practice.

Starting point is 00:18:40 We don't know which one it is just yet, but you know that your boys, Sarah Bedinger, Cody, we got you covered every single day here. Locked on Broncos. We appreciate you so much for tuning in, making us your first listen part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, the number one sports podcast network in the country. And of course, where you know, it is your team every day.

Starting point is 00:18:56 We'll see you tomorrow as we dive deep into three things the Broncos have done to support Bow Nix as he goes into his third season in the NFL.

Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - FUTURE: Kage Casey Another SMART Denver Broncos Draft Pick as Future Looms

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