Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - How Denver Broncos DECISION With Ja'Quan McMillian Impacts Jahdae Barron

Starting point is 00:00:00 After many questions heading into the off season, the Denver Broncos are bringing back J-Quan-McMillan for the 2026 NFL season. And that answers a question about the Broncos second year cornerback is John A. Barrett. You are locked on Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your number one sports podcast network in the country. Thanks to all you every dayers out there in Broncos country. Thanks for tuning in making us your first list. However, you choose to do so, the NFL combine is over. And coming out of it, the Denver Bronco is ahead of NFL free agency, placed a second round tender on cornerback, Jekwon Macmillan.

Starting point is 00:00:49 He's going to be back in 2026. What does that mean for players like Jada Barron? A potential move to the outside could be in line for him. We'll talk about that on today's episode show. Plus, the Broncos not tendering running back to Llea McLaughlin. But that doesn't mean that his road in Denver has necessarily finished. We'll highlight all that more here on today's episode of the show. Brought to you of our friends over there at Fanduil. Fandu was giving you a way to turn that energy into even bigger

Starting point is 00:01:12 potential wins with a college basketball parlay, profit boost, head to fanduil.com to get started. I'm Cody Rourke, credential Broncos reporter from Mile High Sports. Join, as always, by Sarah bedinger, site expert over there at predominantly orange.com. Sarah, what a weekend, my man, at testing at the NFL combine. It was crazy. I know we'll focus on that on tomorrow's episode of the show for all the everydayers out there, but some news surrounding this, Bronco's team ahead of NFL free agency, which is just about a week and a half away. We're really close to the legal negotiating period. But for the Broncos, one player who was a restricted free agent,

Starting point is 00:01:46 cornerback, Jayquan Macmillan, obviously, very, very impressive player. Everydayers and the Everydair Club could check out the film breakdown. We posted on him. But they placed a second round tender on him, Sarah. And I think there's still some confusion. I think for some fans that have asked me, what does it mean if they place a second round tender on him? What does that mean for his status on the team going forward? He is on the team of 2026.

Starting point is 00:02:07 Now it guarantees that, but there are also potential contingencies that could fall into place with that. Yeah, absolutely. I think that at a basic level, what it essentially is, is a mini franchise tag. So the second round tender just means that if another team were to give an offer sheet to J-Quan Macmillan, and he would sign that and the Broncos would say, we don't want to match that, well, they would get a second round pick as compensation. It's basically a pre-agreed-upon trade, as well as a preset amount for that tender that is fully guaranteed to the player. So that's where it kind of acts like a franchise tag.

Starting point is 00:02:44 And if and when Jayquan signs this, which we assume that he's going to sign it, the Broncos will have roughly $22 million in salary cap space. We also know that the NFL salary cap is officially set at $301.2 million. So it's a small chunk of the salary cap pie overall. it's a very reasonable price to pay for somebody of J-Quan Macmillan's caliber who we just saw the big play that he made in the playoffs. But shoot, he's made a ton of big plays besides that over the last three years. And certainly you feel like this is the stepping stone on the way to a contract extension in the future. But what this does is it allows the Broncos time to get that all figured out. Because right now with NFL free agency looming, they're maybe not necessarily saying,

Starting point is 00:03:31 hey, we need to get a deal done with J-Quan because we have this RFA tender in our back pockets use. It's a reasonable price for us. It's a substantial raise for him. And it likely throws other teams off the scent that nobody's trading a second round pick for Jayquan Macmillan. At least that we don't think that's going to be the case. But if somebody wanted to that bad, they would have to sign him to a contract that the Broncos would have to be like, wow, I mean, we can't match that. And so you kind of figure it's not worth it for teams to try. There's not enough juice worth the squeeze. Well, I remember his agent as well on Friday even put something out there that if a team were to have interest in trading for him,

Starting point is 00:04:10 they would have to sign him to an extension. They said around $16 to $18 million essentially is what they'd be looking for like. I think per year or I believe that's exactly what he said. Something along those lines that it wouldn't be. It's not just going to come easy. You just don't get a trade a second round pick for him. There's contingencies attached to that. with what that would look like, the type of contract he's going to get.

Starting point is 00:04:32 But I found things to be very interesting about this because I think a lot of Broncos fans are running like, okay, like, what does this mean about an extension? Sarah, this really now opens up kind of the opportunity for the Broncos if they wanted to. They could find a way to extend him two to three years right now. It does sound like the plan is for him to stay in Denver for the long term right now, especially emerging as a starting player, as George Payton called him, a core player here for Denver's defense and for their team. But, I mean, obviously, let's take a look at his 20-25 season.

Starting point is 00:05:00 I mean, from a nickel position, Sarah, four sacks last season, blitzing from the nickel. He had two in one game, obviously, against Patrick Mahomes. He had one against Cam Ward. But, you know, two interceptions, nine passes, defense, two force fumbles, five TFLs, 56 combined tackles, 40 of those being solo. I mean, I put the film out there in the everyday club for Broncos fans who were interested in that. Make sure you check that out here. It's in the show notes down below.

Starting point is 00:05:26 But you see just the type of play. player he is. I mean, you see these teams trying to throw screen passes his way. And what does he do? He blows it up. He tackles the guy for a loss behind the line of scrimmage. He's a very good tackler. He's just aggressive. Like, he reminds me a lot of Chris Harris Jr. in some ways, but I'll say this, I feel like strength-wise, he's a lot stronger than Strap Harris ever was, which isn't a shot at Strap. Strap was a finesse player and was tough, strong. But I think physically, I think J-Quan obviously is a stronger player. And I think that translates well in today's game. Yeah, it absolutely does.

Starting point is 00:05:58 He is tailor-made for today's NFL to be a slot corner. And he matches up so well, like you said, with a variety of different players as a result. I love what he's brought to the table. Just, I mean, the very first opportunity that he got, we always, we often reference this on Locked on Broncos, but he gets an opportunity. I think it was the last week or one of the last week's, yeah, 22 season. He has to go up against Mike Williams, who's like, you know, seven inches taller than him or whatever and he picked it off and took it back for six.

Starting point is 00:06:29 Unfortunately, didn't get credit for it. But the point remains that this guy has that dog in him, as people like to say. And he just has that sort of mentality that I can impact the game in so many ways. I mean, you mentioned some of the moments from last season, but he sealed the deal against Patrick Mahomes and the chiefs. He sealed the victory against Cam Ward and the Titans.

Starting point is 00:06:51 And I think up until the Nick Benito had one in the postseason, I believe the J-Quan-McMillan strip sack on Cam Ward was the only strip sack the Broncos had last season up to a certain point. So it was him making play after play. Remember how big he was in helping the Broncos win in Buffalo back in 2023? I mean, there's so many moments that you can point back to and be like, dang, this Jayquan Macmillan guy, I mean, he made some huge plays. I also believe he's the only player to ever pick off and sack Patrick Mahomes in the same game. So he's got a lot of good things on his resume at this point.

Starting point is 00:07:29 And he's certainly somebody that I remember this is the mark of a great player, in my opinion, Cody. My son, who is eight years old, going to be nine later this month, he said during the playoff game after J-Quan McMillan's interception, he's like, dad, who's number 29? Like, I want that guy's jersey. Well, you know what? I think a lot of Broncos country should be thinking that way.

Starting point is 00:07:51 like J-Quan Macmillan is a Jersey guy. He is just, he does everything so well. He just embodies that excellence, that toughness. But man, yeah, getting him signed to a long-term extension now, that's where the focus really shifts. He's too good of a player for the Broncos to have just been okay with letting him go in free agency, right? And I understand everyone's like, well, you know, maybe get a,

Starting point is 00:08:12 maybe get a cop pick in the next year or something based on like where he signs, how he plays things like. I'm like, it's not worth it. Like draft picks, you know, yes, there's a lot of young talent. And we're going to approach draft pick period. I know you got a bonus episode mock draft dropping later here for Broncos country. But draft picks are gambles. They're not necessarily a guaranteed thing to pay off, right?

Starting point is 00:08:30 We all understand that. Whereas you have an unproven player who literally, Sarah, in that 2020 season, was an undrafted rookie, just wait, you know, was waiting for his opportunity, got it against Mike Williams at the time where Mike Williams was one of the peak players, peak receivers in terms of one of the best jumpball guys in the NFL. And this was before he was, you know, he suffered a need. injury, so to speak, and he just shut him down. He locked him down. You know, you mentioned the game

Starting point is 00:08:55 against Mahomes and the Chiefs this year. They did that without Pat Certain. He was arguably the most important player there. I would say that defensively, do you need a clutch player? It's Jemak. Jemak is the Broncos clutch player on defense. And Vance Joseph believes in him. He's got a really established role. And that's not a shot against Rookie Jada. Barron, it's just, hey, right now, Jayquan's just the best player. And there's nothing wrong with that. But that also leads us to our next conversation here because coming out of the news about the second round tender, Jayquan's agent actually mentions something along the lines of what I think the Broncos have indicated.

Starting point is 00:09:27 The plan is for Jaudey Barron. We'll discuss what that is here on today's episode of the show. Today's episode of the show is brought to you of our friends over there at Fanduil in college basketball. It's nonstop big games, tight spreads, momentum swings every single night from early tip-ops to late night West Coast shootouts. There's always action on the board. And now Fandu, they're giving you a way to turn that energy into an even bigger potential

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Starting point is 00:11:35 Jade might be moving back to the outside. What does that mean for him for Riley Moss? We're going to talk about that on today's episode of the show about Broncos country. Thanks once again to all of you every dayers out there that make us. your first listen of the day. If you haven't already done so, Cody and I want to invite you to join the Every Day or All Access Club where the off season does not exist.

Starting point is 00:11:55 Free agency is here and so are we. We're going to be here every single day, bonus episodes, regular episodes, all of it. And you can get one month free for the Everyday or All Access Club with the code free agency, no spaces in that code. And it's now through March 15th. So during free agency, you can go ad free.

Starting point is 00:12:15 You can keep the conversation with other Broncos, going Broncos fans going on Discord. And if you join today, you're going to get that. So free agency is the code, all caps, one word. Check that out at lockdownbroncos. Dot supercast.com today. We appreciate you supporting the show in that way. Cody, let's talk about this because you and I mentioned,

Starting point is 00:12:34 I mean, we're trying to, the depth chart is always like a game of Sudoku. And you want to figure out a way to fill out the board. You want to figure out a way to like have this perfect grid or whatever. But man, there are going to be. roster casualties for player development. I mean, it just, it happens all over the place in the NFL. The Broncos aren't exempt. Riley Moss, he might, I don't know if he communicated, like,

Starting point is 00:12:59 if he's going to communicate with George Peyton, Sean Peyton after hearing this, but the report that came out that was written by Luca Evans talking to Jayquan Macmillan's agent, kind of makes it sound like Jadae is going to be taking the outside corner job potentially from Riley Moss. because we know Pat Sartan ain't losing his job. So I'm interested your thoughts on this because it seems like things behind the scenes might be a bit more straightforward than what we perceive to be a big time competition coming up this season. Yeah, I felt like JMAX agent, the comments that he had were certainly interesting about

Starting point is 00:13:34 indicating that, hey, like Jadae or going into second year, he's going to be an outside guy. And everyone's like, wait, what does that mean? Like, okay, like we already knew too. and you and I have had discussions here on the show saying like if jquan returns and obviously it's not an indication that you know the bronco is going to move on from any of their corners but what does it mean for jade baron does it mean that the bronco was made a mistake in drafting him it's trying to figure out what that vision looks like and sarah sometimes i forget that during the by week vance joseph won on peter shriger's podcast and one of the things that he talked about with baron was you know we've created these situations where he fails in practice so he doesn't fail on game days doesn't fail out of there on Sundays, but then even mentioned that the long-term vision for him is on the outside. I forgot about that until just kind of going through this whole saga of trying to piece the timeline together with J-Mac and where the Broncos are out with him. And you and I have had these discussions, what could that potentially look like?

Starting point is 00:14:30 I did a bonus episode on it. And it seems like that may play out, but it almost makes it seem like George Payton or the Broncos, whoever J-Max agent talked to basically indicated that, hey, J-Max, that's spot on the slot. That's his. That's his spot. it's not in question right now. Now the rookie who's going to be a second year player,

Starting point is 00:14:47 he's going to play on the outside. Now that doesn't mean that he's going to instantly jump Riley Moss in that spot. I think it does set up a cornerback competition between those guys. And I would even throw the third name in there and Chris Abrams drain. I'm very curious for your thoughts on this too because like for Jaaday, like where I struggle with maybe the idea of the outside is just knowing that I think Sean prefers taller corners on the outside, right? That's typical in today's game.

Starting point is 00:15:13 But I don't think if I think of a guy can play, you can't hold that against him. Look, I wasn't the tallest corner. I was a 5-10 corner, you know, and I could play outside. I could play inside the slot. But, I mean, it's different at the NFL. I didn't play in the NFL. I played in the 80s. But like for a guy like Jadee versus a guy like Riley Moss, Riley's tall.

Starting point is 00:15:32 Riley's fast. Riley has the physicality and the tools. Like right now on paper, at least in the offseason, Jada is going to have to have a great offseason in my opinion, or to just upend Riley. How do you see this competition potentially playing out if it is, in fact, Barron moving outside? Well, I think it's going to end with somebody getting traded.

Starting point is 00:15:51 I mean, that's the only reasonable outcome here, isn't it? Because Riley's entering a contract year. So to me, that's where I would say, hey, right before the start of the season or maybe during the season, like he could get traded for somebody if Jada is able to take that job, which I think in the long term is probably, the best case for the Broncos because if you take a guy in the first round, he's got to play. I mean, that's the, that was the frustrating part about Jaaday's rookie season is not only, not only did he not really play all that much, but then you saw other guys around him that

Starting point is 00:16:25 were drafted by other teams playing well and making an impact. And when you take somebody in the first round, I get that it's not always going to be year one impact. Sean Payton talks about there's different visions for different players that, you know, year one, year two, year three. but also, Jadae was a bit older coming in as a rookie. So the fact that he didn't play very much as a rookie was disappointing. And we all thought he's going to be the starting slot corner. Like J-Quain-McMillan had some penalties back in 2024.

Starting point is 00:16:55 And we remember that. Like he struggled a little bit at the very least. And there was some questions about is he going to keep his job? Like now you've got a first rounder out there. And that didn't turn out to be anything. I mean, he responded actually the opposite as a point. to laying down and laying the first rounder take his job. He's like, no, you're going to have to play him somewhere else because I'm going to play that

Starting point is 00:17:16 good. But Riley, there's a question mark because the penalties and the big plays that he allowed. And now we have a two-year sample. So the pressure is on big time for Riley Moss to step up this offseat. Yeah, and I'm very curious to see how it'll play out in camp because, you know, if there is a true legitimate competition, I don't know if they're going to come out and tell us that, right? I think we could assume, though, that there's going to be one.

Starting point is 00:17:39 it's all about the consistency, stacking days, and it's not just going to be practice. You know, Sean has historically said how these guys play in practice. That certainly factors into their evaluation. But it is, it's more so like, hey, you have a joint practice with another team? How do you compete against other people, right? How do you play in the actual games? Because practice for so many guys can be a lot different than the games. You know, Riley, I think despite some of his struggles in terms of the penalties and things like that,

Starting point is 00:18:07 Riley's been a good player for you. But you're at this point now from a roster standpoint where, and you mentioned this too, like player development, it could lead to roster casualties in terms of like, hey, like, we had this plan, but this guy came out of nowhere. It happens all the time. And there's nothing wrong with that. That doesn't mean that you were wrong in your process, so to speak. I still think the drafting baron in the first round, I think for people's like, wait, why did they do this?

Starting point is 00:18:32 Like, this guy was drafted to replace this guy and it didn't work out. That's not an indication that Barron just didn't play well or was bad. it rose the level of play for another guy. So I still think the future is bright with Barron. And I think that there's still some roles that they can define them, especially even when they go dime, he'll probably still slide to that slot position there in those packages. But I see multiple corners playing next year opposite of PS2, Sarah.

Starting point is 00:18:58 I just think at today's game with all the wide receivers, all the skill players that are now coming out, obviously in this year's NFL draft as well, it's going to be a premium to get your base defense now being nickel, be in dime personnel depending on what type of offense you're going against. You're seeing this emphasis on we need more skill players to counter the skill players on the other side of the ball. So I think there's value to be had there. But certainly it does raise the question like very similar circumstance like where Bradley Chubb was at.

Starting point is 00:19:24 Bradley was in the last year of his deal in season, right? And maybe this does lead to an in season trade. Maybe not even before the season. Depends on what happens around the league. But it was basically Bradley gets traded, gets a new contract extension. If that were the beat of case hypothetically with Riley, he would only get traded if that other team would be willing to work on an extension right then and there for him versus them renting him for half a season, so to speak. That's a big risk for a lot of NFL teams.

Starting point is 00:19:49 So this is a storyline. I think that we absolutely continue to have to follow here. Well, obviously, be monitoring the T leaves. We know the Broncos won't be stepping on the field for any football stuff until June. So a little bit later than normal because of how late, how far they made it into the postseason. So we still have a few months of just playing the guessing game. but the NFL draft free agency, the Broncos approach will tell us a lot about how the team plans to maneuver here going forward. But Broncos' country, let's know your thoughts here on what JMAX agents said about Jada Baron and where the Broncos may have plans for him on the outside.

Starting point is 00:20:19 Let's know your thoughts here on today's episode of show. We appreciate you so much here. But Broncos country, coming up next, we're going to talk about the Broncos not tendering running back Jullum McLaughlin. Does that mean that his time in Denver has ended? That's not necessarily the case. We'll discuss here on today's episode of the show. Broncos Country. Today's episode is brought to you by our friends over there at Game Time. We live in a world where we can stream anything. We can order food in minutes and carry supercomputers in our pockets and somehow buying tickets to a live game still feels complicated between the hidden fees, the jumping prices and the endless steps.

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Starting point is 00:21:39 We know that J-Quahman-Mack-Millin will be back with the Broncos in 2026 after receiving a second round tender. But Denver did not tender running back Jolil McLaughlin. What does that mean for a guy who's been so good behind the scenes here for the Broncos as they maybe look to revamp that running back room, especially for what we saw in the NFL combine in terms of testing this past weekend with the running backs? It makes it easier for Sean Payton and them to evaluate their options here. But I want to say thank you once again to everyone in Broncos country, all the every dayers. Thanks for taking time out of your day to rock with us.

Starting point is 00:22:07 We got you covered every single day all year long. A regular episode every day plus bonus episodes every day that you get. You're never going to miss out on what's going on. You want more Broncos content. You got it. Locked on Broncos brings that to the table here. Sarah, look, coming out of Friday, obviously with JMAX news of him getting the tender, it was announced by ESPN's Jeremy Fowler that the Broncos were not going to tender Jelil McLaughlin.

Starting point is 00:22:31 and Fowler's language said he is set to be a free agent, which is true, right? They're not tendering him, which opens him up instead of being, what was it, an exclusive rights free agent? I think he was that or he was restricted one or the other. Instead of them having to worry about that, them not tendering him allows him to negotiate with other teams, but that doesn't mean that he won't necessarily return to Denver. Let's talk about this. Yeah, absolutely. So Jalil was another restricted free agent going into this offseason and the tender prices,

Starting point is 00:23:00 is just prohibitive in terms of, like, let's just give a four example. I believe the lowest tender for a restricted free agent this year was somewhere around the 3.5 million range or something like that. Well, that's what the Broncos paid for J.K. Dobbins essentially last year. So there's just no way that your third or fourth, I guess in this case, running back on the death chart is going to get the same amount of money as they just paid to the starter last year, especially when you're going into an offseason where you kind of want to, want to revamp that position. So it's just he's going to come back if he does at a minimum

Starting point is 00:23:36 deal, like the veteran minimum, come compete, you know, come continue to do what you've been doing in terms of setting the example, getting here, the first one here, the last one to leave sort of thing. That's what Julele McLaughlin does. That's who he is. That's how he kind of got noticed in the first place, right? So, but the restricted free agent tender is just prohibitive in terms of that price tag. You're not paying that for somebody who may not make your team, especially when it's a fully guaranteed contract for that player. So it just didn't make sense for the Broncos. I don't even know how much sense it really makes to bring him back at the lower price.

Starting point is 00:24:10 The same could be said of Tyler Badegh, who's an exclusive rights free agent. So it just feels like, hey, it might be the right timing for both sides to be moving on. I wouldn't be surprised if Jalil waits it out through free agency, see what the Broncos do and make a decision from there. Yeah. And it wouldn't shock me, though, if some team comes out and says, hey, we want to grab you. It would not shock me in the slightest if the San Francisco 49ers, Kyle Shanahan somehow swooped him up or the Los Angeles Chargers because Mike McGannia likes

Starting point is 00:24:38 some of those faster running backs. You could see Jalilil here inside the AFC West if the Broncos do not, in fact, bring him back. I know that they would like to, but they're going to have to essentially compete for his services. And I guarantee if there's a team out there that's want to offer him a little bit more, Jolil is going to end up elsewhere. Now, obviously, shout out to our good friend, Luca Evans of the Denver Post. He did also bring up the, the, the fact that some of the rumblings out of the NFL combine suggested that the Broncos have interest in bringing Tyler Badee back. I'm kind of on the boat now.

Starting point is 00:25:08 And you know how like it comes across as like I don't like Badee. I like Badee a lot. Like he and I both went to Mizzou. We had some of the same professors. I've had really great conversations with him. But in terms of like where the roster is at from a roster building standpoint, the Broncos have to improve this area. Like unless Denver saying, you know what, we like Badee and pass protection, but we're

Starting point is 00:25:29 to give him the ball a lot more. He's got explosiveness to him, Sarah. And it's like the Broncos, that's the thing that frustrated me about his role specifically is that they were not running him. He was in there for pass protection and screen passes. And he was essentially a decoy. That defense is knew exactly what was going on. If they actually gave him the ball, maybe we would see something from that. But like right now, I view that role in the lens of last year saying, in my opinion, it's just not worth it. Especially when the Broncos right now have Cody Schrader and Deuce Fawn signed a futures contract. Okay, there's two backs right there on top RJ Harvey, there's three. Well, you could bring a guy back at free agency. There's four.

Starting point is 00:26:02 You could draft guy in the NFL draft. There's five guys essentially that you're going to have to work with right there. So bringing all these same names back, I think it just muddies the water a little bit in comparison. And I'll be very curious to check out your bonus mock draft a little bit later on. I want to see if you end up grabbing one of these backs that, I mean, I think it was the fastest 40-yard dash times between all backs and NFL Combine history, which collectively is pretty dang crazy. So stay tuned for Sarah's bonus episode later on. for that. I just want to know your thoughts here. When it comes to Jalil Tyler Badegh, are you turning the page or are you

Starting point is 00:26:35 leaving the light on, so to speak? I would be turning the page. I really feel like it's in the Broncos best interest not to tempt themselves to run it back with everybody, right? I think that you have to consider the fact that yes, this was a great team last year. The Broncos were awesome. And they won 14 games, a 15th in the playoffs. They were a good team. but there's clear areas where the talent on the roster needs to be upgraded. And if you tempt yourself to run it back with the same guys and eliminate the possibility

Starting point is 00:27:10 of upgrading talent in the process, well, then I've got a bit of a problem with that. And that opens up and invites a lot more criticism. If you bring these same guys back after saying, shoot, like we can't figure it out, we can't figure it out, we can't figure it out. And then you keep on, what do they say, right? insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. So whereas I get it, you watch Javante Williams leave and have success. And now you're thinking to yourself, wait, so was it us or wasn't him?

Starting point is 00:27:41 Because we said it was him. And then he goes out and has a great season. Is the same true for somebody like Jalil McLaughlin? I don't necessarily think so. I think you can upgrade the talent, reset the clock, get some fresh blood in there, and work with somebody new. I would say for the last three years, you know, since Sean, 2023, 2024, last season, they have run it back with these guys.

Starting point is 00:28:06 Jolil and Badeh have been on the Broncos roster for the last three years. So is it going to make this magical jump in year four? I think for Jalil, you got to just get him more touches. That was an issue last year was the consistency. He was by far the most effective rusher down the stretch in terms of productions. He was averaging almost five yards of carry, but he would get two carries, come off the field and never see a touch. for the rest of the half or the rest of a game in some situations there.

Starting point is 00:28:29 And to me it's like that was that was an internal problem. How much of this changes with Davis Webb now is the play caller? I don't know. I imagine we'll see more run-pass balance, but it's going to be with the same group. I don't know if that's going to be the case, especially, you know, I think with free agency heating up where it also the rumor came out that if Brise Hall did hit free agency,

Starting point is 00:28:49 he would have strong interest in coming to Denver. Like that was something that came out there. So that obviously changes things. That does in fact happen, which I mean, the New York Jets are probably going to try to, what is it? I think it's in the next two days or so. They'll probably have to place that franchise or that transition tag on him, so to speak. I'm very curiously how it all plays out. So there was that, but then all the testing from all the running backs in this year's combine.

Starting point is 00:29:13 And I understand testing is not the end-all, B-all, but the athleticism, the speed and the physicality and the size of some of these guys. To see the numbers that we saw put up, it's how does that translate on the football field? That's where Sean is known for. That's what George Payton is known for. So do the Broncos go the free agency route with RJ Harvey and adding it running back? I think that's the best plan. Where do you stand? I do too.

Starting point is 00:29:36 I think that double dipping as a talented position groups in both free agency and the draft is the best way to go. You and I talked about it. It's not just about upgrading starters. You know, it's not just saying, hey, let's wash our hands of Jolilil McLaughlin and Adam Trotman and Alex Singleton and Justin Sernat. and all these guys, it's not just washing your hands of those guys. It's upgrading the depth behind everybody because when you needed players to step up at running back this year, well, you didn't have them because you cut Adrick Estimate.

Starting point is 00:30:06 You didn't have guys at linebacker because you haven't drafted anybody in recent years other than Drew Sanders, who hasn't been able to get on the field. So it just, it's really frustrating the idea that this team would continually just, it's like being in a hamster wheel and being stuck in there. And I think you just can't, you can't just run it back. You have to upgrade at least the depth, if not go after new starters at these positions. Wow. Brockins country, make sure you share your thoughts with us here on today's episode of the show.

Starting point is 00:30:36 We appreciate you so much, Barack and with us. That'll do it for today's episode. Make sure you check out Sarah's bonus mock draft Monday episode that's going to hit later on here. And we'll see where he goes and takes your Broncos after the NFL Combine. Make sure you share your mock results with us as well. But tomorrow's episode of the show, Sarah and I, we are going to sit down. We are going to react to some of the craziness over the weekend, specifically the testing at the NFL combine with tight ends and running backs and linebackers,

Starting point is 00:31:02 which happened to be the three biggest needs for the Broncos this offseason, who turned heads, who landed on our radar. We'll go through all that and more on tomorrow's episode of the show.

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