Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - How Will Sean Payton Address Denver Broncos Coaching Changes?

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Denver Broncos retained an important member of their coaching staff, but they also lost one key member. We'll tell you how this impacts the team on offense and defense going into 2025 here on today's episode, Lockedon Broncos. You are Locked on Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast. Part of the Locked on podcast network, your team every day. What's happening in Broncos country? Welcome into another episode. Lockdown Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast. as part of the Lockdown Podcast Network,

Starting point is 00:00:34 your team every day. Thanks to all the everydayers for making us your first listen of the day every single day for your Broncos news, content coverage analysis and more. We got you covered every single day all year long because for the true fan, there is never an offseason,

Starting point is 00:00:49 and there's a lot going on with your favorite team. I'm Cody Roark, Broncos Credential Beat Reporter for Mile High Sports. Joined as always by Sarah Bedinger, site expert of their predominantly orange.com. And look, Broncos Country, here's what we're going to break down on today's episode. show. We're going to wrap things up by talking about how the Broncos can address the offensive tackle position in 2025 or do they need to in any way, shape, or form. We'll take a look at how the offensive line at specifically at tackle, how they performed last season to elevate the Broncos offense.

Starting point is 00:01:19 But more importantly, we're going to kick things off by highlighting the Broncos coaching staff, one key member staying on staff while one key member departs. That's the action. You're going to be on today's episode of show brought to my friends over there. Fandual, Super Bowl 59 is here, and there's no better way to make. make every play more exciting than with Fandu's sportsbook. New customers can bet just $5. And if you win, you'll score $200 in bonus bets. Download the app or head to fanduil.com to get started.

Starting point is 00:01:42 Sarah, my friend, you know, the coaching carousel continues to kind of swing a little bit here for the Broncos. As Sean Peyton staff has commanded a lot of interest in this offseason hiring cycle. Some departures, as we already knew, with Declan Doyle, Darren Mojee, not necessarily on Sean Payton's staff, but with the front office. But now one of Sean Payton's top trusted guys on the office. offensive side of the ball, he's headed back to the Detroit Lions. That's right. John Morton, Johnny Moe, as Sean Payton called him a number of times throughout the year. He is back in Detroit, where he was in 2022. Cody, he's been an assistant for a long,

Starting point is 00:02:17 long time, whether it's in the NFL or at the college ranks for a lot of notable coaches. And that list includes obviously Sean Payton, but also guys like Dan Campbell, Pete Carroll, Jim Harbaugh. I mean, you could go back to his time working for John Gruden back in the day as well. but he's been around the block and back a few times at both the collegiate and the NFL level. And he's got some big shoes to fill. I mean, Ben Johnson was one of the best offensive coordinators in the NFL. Tremendous personnel there in Detroit, of course. But Johnny Moe has not really been an offensive coordinator since he worked for Todd Bowles back in 2017.

Starting point is 00:02:54 So he's going from being a senior offensive assistant past game coordinator the last handful of years to now being the full-on offensive coordinator. of the absolute juggernaut that is the Detroit Lions. And that was probably a pretty coveted job. So interesting that they brought Johnny Moe back. Familiarity, of course, that is huge in the NFL, as we've discussed a number of times. But really good stuff for Morton to be able to get this gig in Detroit. And obviously, now the Broncos, they've got some more questions about their offensive staff going forward.

Starting point is 00:03:27 Yeah, and I'm very curious to see how Sean decides to go through the hiring process here. If you do it internally, imagine it's, probably going to be quick. But if you look to bring in somebody from the outside, I imagine we're going to see a little bit of what Sean said, his motto is slow to hire, quick to fire type of mentality. And we'll see how things transpire there. But obviously Johnny Moe going back.

Starting point is 00:03:45 He's a Michigan guy. So he goes back home there to Michigan to a call place here for Dan Campbell. And that juggernaut, as you mentioned, of a Detroit Lions offense, man, electrifying the playmakers they got. I'm excited to see what Johnny Moe is going to get out of those guys here now that he's going to be calling the plays for the Lions. But did, you know, some good news, right? Obviously, after you lose a guy like that, it's like, all right, hey,

Starting point is 00:04:05 our focus shifts on who replaces him. The Broncos don't have to worry about that with one of their top defensive assistant coaches, Jim Leonard, who had, you know, offers and he had interest from three other NFL teams for vacant defensive coordinator jobs. He has opted to remain with the Denver Broncos. And I can't help, but look at this and feel like, okay, am I reading something on the tea leaves here? What's the main reason he turned down the opportunity to maybe have some

Starting point is 00:04:31 DC jobs this year to stay in Denver. I mean, obviously you get to work with Patrick Sertan, the best cornerback and all a football. Certainly that's an appealing factor. But we all know, Jim Leonard has been a name. It's been talked about for quite some time as a future defensive coordinator to watch. Part of me is wondering, does this mean that he's eyeing whenever if Vince Joseph gets

Starting point is 00:04:50 another head coaching job, does this mean that Jim Leonard is just going to be the coach and waiting here? That to me, I think, is an interesting theory we should talk about. I kind of feel like that's exactly what it means, right? And I don't know that for a fact. And neither of us do at this point. But I mean, you kind of figure that like that was one of the things they talked about when they brought Jim Leonard in because the only reason that he wasn't coaching in a prominent role back in 2023 when he was a consultant at Illinois is because he had the surgery that kind of kept him limited on the sidelines, things like that. It was just a year, not necessarily a year off for him, right?

Starting point is 00:05:26 But of course, it was a year of kind of just waiting and seeing. and even with the year away from being the Wisconsin defensive coordinator after there was questions, like would he be their head coach? Should have been. State Readers, too. Yeah, he should have been the Wisconsin head coach. And so you're talking about fending off, I guess, offers at every level, right? I mean, there was rumors recently about Notre Dame, the Indianapolis Colts, a number of different things regarding Jim Leonard.

Starting point is 00:05:54 So he's a coveted guy. You can't help but think next off season. Vance Joseph, get a head coach gig. Broncos get those two third round picks. Jim Leonard slides in as, you know, he was past game coordinator, secondary coach this year, and he'll do so in 2025.

Starting point is 00:06:10 Again, maybe he can be that defensive coordinator and just kind of seamlessly help you transition away from Vance Joseph in 2026. Well, and I'm also looking at it as well because as we're sitting down talking about this, the only job that is open right now was the New Orleans Saints. And there could be a chance.

Starting point is 00:06:26 Maybe they express interesting interview and Vance for that job. And I feel like Vance would be a good fit, actually, for the Saints. And so does Jim Letter know something that we don't know yet, right? Is there been something like a dominole that has yet to fall that is potentially coming down the pipe here? I know this. Look, there are a lot of Broncos fans there.

Starting point is 00:06:45 They're like, oh, yeah, they should move on from Van Choseph. I think that's silly. I think it's ridiculous. Sure, Vance, his first in, his head coach didn't work out well. And certainly his start to 2023 was not ideal. but what he has done to transform and change and turn around that defense has been incredible. And I'll tell you this, as someone who's in the locker room and talks to players and ask defensive players, a lot of questions throughout the year, these guys, they love Vance Joseph.

Starting point is 00:07:11 They would, I mean, they would do anything for Vance at this point. And I think when you have that type of guy in the locker room where players like, hey, this is our guy, like we're going to go to bat for him no matter what. It's also empowering to the coach. I think it gives the coach more power to have confidence himself because if you've ever been a play caller, there's times they're like, am I putting these guys in the right position?

Starting point is 00:07:32 Am I making the right calls? Or, oh, we didn't see that on film. We didn't see that this week. And that came up, how do we adjust to it? Like, it is tough being a play caller. And Vance at the NFL level, what he's able to do this year was very impressive.

Starting point is 00:07:44 Obviously, a franchise record for Denver, 63 sacks. And I want to highlight there, a couple of sacks against Josh Allen, who is the least sack quarterback in all the NFL this year. To me, there's a foundation that's being built. And obviously, I think some improvement at some personnel positions,

Starting point is 00:08:00 which obviously is we get into our defensive previews here in the next week or so, we'll highlight some of those. I think Denver's defense is going to be drastically better and won't have some of those dip-offs that we saw in those final four to six games of the regular season. That was a frustrating part, absolutely. But Vance Joseph, very important right now to Sean Payton and this Broncos organization, in my opinion. Yeah, it's easy to kind of forget how things went well during the season

Starting point is 00:08:25 because of how poorly they ended, right? And we're talking about a team that led the NFL in Sacks, talking about a Denver Broncos defense that saw a number of young players emerge at every level of the field. And, you know, Jonathan Cooper getting an extension. Pat Sertan, potentially winning defensive player of the year. Riley Moss emerging as a starter opposite PS2. Brandon Jones having the best year of his career. Nick Benito, best year of his career. Zach Allen, best year of his career.

Starting point is 00:08:52 John Franklin Myers, best year of his career. Let's go. We can keep going up and down the list if you want. Broncos country, but I mean, it's, the proof is in the pudding. Like, these guys had great seasons. No, it didn't end the way that we wanted. And yes, it was a little concerning what VJ said about, man, I, I guess, you know, like now that all this stuff is out there, warts and all, like teams are basically taking advantage. I mean, he wasn't that nonchalant about it, but that's kind of what he said, right? And that was a little bit of a concerning comment.

Starting point is 00:09:19 But at the same time, like the Broncos struggle with injuries at the second level of the defense, Alex Singleton going down early in the year. I think we saw the effects of that as the season went along. And then PJ Locke at the safety position, Cody, I think was, you know, we had some communication errors down the stretch of the season. He was heard a little bit. Brandon Jones was heard a little bit as well. The Levi Wallace debacle against obviously the Cleveland Browns.

Starting point is 00:09:44 There's a number of things, but at the same time, you've got to look at the whole of the season, which is that you had one of the best years that you've had in recent memory for the Denver Broncos defensively. and now you have a chance to build on that. I don't think it's an indictment on Vince Joseph at this team, kind of had a breakdown at the end of the year. You just got to keep building on that side of the ball. And you look,

Starting point is 00:10:03 you even saw a small sample size of really impressive play from Chris Abrams Drain, a rookie quarterback from Missou, and obviously excited to see a little bit more of him. I do have an issue with Vance being snubbed from the Associated Press' assistant coach of the year award. Look, there are a lot of offensive guys on that, right? Ben Johnson's there.

Starting point is 00:10:20 You know, Aaron Glenn's there. Those guys are deserving. Vic Vanjo's on there. I also felt like Vance had a really good case, considering where they were versus who they became this year. I mean, you even had guys like John Gruden calling the defense, really the anonymous crush. He's offering to pay $20 per player that someone can name on the defense.

Starting point is 00:10:37 And one of the guys, I think over there at Barstall was like, Pat Sertan, Nick Benito. That was it. He's like $20. There he go. Like nobody knew. Like there weren't a lot of big names. And Pastor Tan was the only first round pick that was on this defense.

Starting point is 00:10:50 So to see them do what they've done is a testament to the. coaching staff, and I'll tell you, players, like I mentioned, I'll reiterate it. They love VJ. And yeah, he'll be back here in 2025 more than likely. But good news that Jim Leonard is staying on because you want continuity within your secondary for guys that are developing. Even some of these young guys like Chris Abrams, Drain, Riley Moss continually, J-Quan-McMillan. It's an exciting thing here for the Broncos. But, you know, one thing we are going to continue and get to here on today's episode, show Broncos Country, our offensive position recap is going to continue.

Starting point is 00:11:21 We're going to take a look at the offensive. tackle position. What happened with that position and why did it take a next step forward here for Bo Nix and this Broncos offense? We'll highlight that and much more on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos. Today's Lockdown Broncos podcast is brought to by friends over there at Fanduil and Super Bowl 59 is here one game, two teams, endless possibilities. And there's no better way to make every play more exciting than Fandu's sportsbook, whether it's predicting the first touchdown of the game, calling who the MVP is going to be, or even betting on what the coin toss is going to be if it's going to be heads or tails. Fandu will makes it easy to get in on the action

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Starting point is 00:12:41 him to continue to protect him from defenders, especially in the AFC West, which is kind of loaded up with the pass rushers. So we're going to talk about the offensive tackle position for Denver. Do they have the right pieces in place to potentially build for the few? future beyond these veterans that they've got, or do they need to add to that position? We're going to break that down on today's episode, Locked on Broncos. Hey, thanks so much to every single one of you out there that makes Lockdown Broncos, your first listen of the day every single day. Cody and I, we got you every single day here in the off season, no matter what goes down

Starting point is 00:13:13 with the Denver Broncos, whether it's coaches leaving, coaches coming back, free agency, senior bowl stuff that will be potentially talking about here in the next couple of weeks. We got you covered. So tune in, subscribe if you haven't done so already. Let's talk about the offensive tackle position in 2024. Really good year, I think, for both Garrett Bulls and Mike McGlinchie. Started off with a bit of a concern, obviously, with Quinn Bailey going down with a scary injury at training camp. And of course, we knew he was supposed to be that sixth offensive linemen out there for the Broncos.

Starting point is 00:13:46 But Matt paired to the former third round pick of the New York Giants stepped in capability for the Broncos in that role this past season. So we really saw three guys out there, Cody, primarily for the Broncos at offensive tackle. My perception was they played really well over the entirety of the season. What did you see from those guys? And do you think that there was an area that maybe that was stood out to you upon your film watches that was kind of maybe a weakness or more so than others? Well, you know, I'd say there weren't a lot of weaknesses necessarily. I think penalties from time to time, like you would get a false start here and there, maybe a holding call. I know Gary got called for an unnecessary roughness play on one, just, you know,

Starting point is 00:14:26 because the guy was holding on the boneicks a little extra long and he didn't like that. So, I mean, I've been on the record saying, I was cool with that penalty because, hey, like, get off my quarterback. That's how I was as a player. I was like, you don't mess with my guys. I'll take a 15-yard penalty just to, you know, send a message there. I actually felt like there were four good offensive tackles in terms of displayed play this here. And I think it was the stretching which Alex Paucheski had to step in for Mike

Starting point is 00:14:51 McGlenshy after McGlenshey went on IR with that MCL injury. I was so impressed with obviously, Alex Paucheschi. And it was to the point, you and I were even having conversations that, okay, hey, let's look to 2025 real quick in the regular season. If the Broncos don't re-sign Garrett Bowles, could they move Mike McGlinchie to left tackle and put Alex Paucegates? Those were the conversations that we were having here. Well, obviously, it changed a little bit. The Broncos, they extended Garrett Bowles. He's going to be at the left tackle position for at least the next three to four years at that point. And then Mike McGlenshy, who obviously they signed as their big time free agency signing just a couple of years ago.

Starting point is 00:15:28 He's continuing to progress. And I thought he was a big proponent of it, obviously willing to meet with the media anytime. Paucheschi impressed me. Matt Parrott, look, I came away impressed with Matt Parrott in terms of the rotational role that he played there a couple of times where he had to get some actual snaps at left tackle and also at right tackle, while also being that jumbo reporting as eligible guy, considering he had a brutal preseason. That was the thing. Like you and I were very,

Starting point is 00:15:53 I think very critical of parrot for how he played and performed in the preseason. And also Broncos country as well, but this is a player. I think he took that feedback. And one thing he said in the regular season that stood out to me was, you know, Zach Streth really just kind of like, you know,

Starting point is 00:16:08 you're trying to reassemble something, right? Or remodel it. You tear it down, you strip it down, and then you build it back up. That's what he said that Zach Streif and the staff did with him. And I think it paid off for him. So I came away very impressed with the veteran presence of him there. To your point, Quinn Bailey is a free agent.

Starting point is 00:16:24 What's going to happen in terms are they going to bring him back or not? Like when you look at offensive tackle now, Sarah, we were in the regular season thinking, okay, hey, this is probably going to be the biggest question mark of the off season if they don't do anything with it in season. Now this is the one position that really doesn't have a question mark to it. I think they're too deep behind the two starters. I think is pretty solid and it's not even factoring in Frank Crumb, who has an undrafted a rookie free agent. Yeah, and we got to see every single one of those guys dressed for the Broncos this year,

Starting point is 00:16:53 besides Quinn Bailey, obviously, and get on the field a little bit because there was a time that Chrome, I remember he had to run on the field as well with all the injuries. It's easy to forget, too, because of how early that happened in the season, that McGlinchie went on injured reserve for a bit, and Palchowski held it down for as much as he did, like you said, playing really well and even sparking that discussion. but probably the biggest story from this entire year at tackle is the fact that the Broncos gave Garrett Bulls a contract extension in the season to hopefully see him retire a Denver Bronco. Like we were talking about it at the time. When's the last time we saw a player just spend their entire career with the Denver Broncos?

Starting point is 00:17:34 I mean, Garrett Bulls could be the first in quite some time. Most of these guys, they get either cut or traded for at least a year at the end. and I don't know, we'll see with Bulls. He's got a rare type of situation here that he stuck with the team through, I mean, obviously the downtimes and things like that. And, you know, you saw that payoff this year. He was so excited about making the playoffs, the dude dyed his hair blonde. And we never got a chance to chat about that, Cody, because, I mean, Garrett was just so pumped that he, I don't know if he just didn't know what else to do.

Starting point is 00:18:03 He's like, I got to do something. Like, I got to dye my hair blonde, you know, we're going to go for it. So, but I love the mentality that he and other leaders like Cortland Sutton took, Mike McGlenshy, you can tell that they've built this rapport with Bo Nix as they live to protect the guy. And that was something that I think Bulls said when he was first drafted. He's like, I'm going to protect my quarterback like I protect my wife. So it doesn't surprise me that he would be getting penalized if somebody's holding on to the quarterback too long or hitting him late.

Starting point is 00:18:33 But I think those guys are tone setters for this entire offensive line, even if they're not the best players in the O line. Quinn Miner is probably the best, but these guys are good. And they provide exactly what you need protection for your quarterback. Well, and another thing, too, remember when Russell Wilson came over, Garris said you're never going to have to worry about being in your back. Little did we know it wasn't going to be because of the offensive line. You know, obviously there were some offensive sacks given up by the O line,

Starting point is 00:18:59 but the drastic difference between, you know, Bo Nicks, the amount of sacks he took versus what Russell Wilson took in 2023 is very astounding when you look at that. So, I mean, Garrett, you know, a guy who came in and, you know, first round expectation at one point was labeled a bus. The team didn't pick up his fifth year option. And then all of a sudden, you know, he goes out and he balls out, gets rewarded with the contract extension. And then now he's got to, what was it? So he had his rookie deal. This is third contract essentially with the Broncos.

Starting point is 00:19:25 To your point, that is so rare. And it's a testament to how hard Garrett has worked and how much he has drastically improved on a year to year basis. And also looking at it too, you and I were talking about free agency. if the Broncos weren't going to bring Garrett back, there weren't a lot of good options out there that you're going to feel comfortable plugging in to protect your second year quarterback, let alone you're not going to go out there

Starting point is 00:19:45 and draft an offensive tackle this year because you're going to put a rookie on Bo Nix's blindside. That right there is not the ideal situation either. So Denver, they're like, this was a need for us. We took care of it. And now they've got flexibility here going into free agency with a lot of salary cap space, some potential extensions already coming for a couple of other players.

Starting point is 00:20:04 there could be some restructuring done. There could be some cap casualties. Obviously, as free agency comes around, we're going to get to that point. We're going to obviously break it all down. We don't even know what the NFL salary cap is going to be just yet. I imagine that will probably be announced the week of the Super Bowl. So next week, essentially, probably the radio role build up to it. But, man, I was so impressed with how much they took a step forward this season.

Starting point is 00:20:27 And you need to continue to see that from a glinchy. You need to continue to see that from obviously Garrett Bulls. But how does this impact maybe the prospects of, of guys like Alex Paucheski down the road in terms of his development. Frank Crumb, who's obviously very sizable at tackle. They see some things that maybe like we don't see just yet because they've been around him more. They obviously get access to full practices in the regular season. Media doesn't get to attend the full practices.

Starting point is 00:20:50 So there is little things that they see. And as we've heard Sean Payton, George Payton talk about player development is essential for them going forward. So we'll see maybe what kind of questions this creates in the future. But as right now in the media future, the Broncos do not have it. any questions at offensive tackle. But the only question they have is, do they bring back a couple of their free agents? We'll look at whether or not the Broncos should bring back Quinn Bailey and or Matt Perrett here on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos.

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Starting point is 00:22:12 The fourth quarter action of today's episode, Lockdown Broncos is here. And thanks once again to all the everydayers out there in Broncos country. Thanks once again for making your boys. Cody and Sarah, your first listen of the day every single day. Make sure you subscribe or follow wherever you get your podcasts or also on YouTube. We appreciate you so much. Broncos country is the offseason continues. There's going to be a lot of shuffling.

Starting point is 00:22:33 There's going to be some moves. be made. There's going to be a lot of speculation, but that's what makes it fun. So make sure you never miss out on the conversation here in the off season, becoming every day or if you're not one already as is. All right. So we talked about it in the last segment, how the Broncos answered their offensive tackle question really in 2024. So what does that mean for the positional outlook here in 2025? There's a multitude of options, right? Because in the NFL, you're always looking to get better, whether that's, okay, we believe in the developmental traits of players that we have on the roster that they have, that they're making progress with,

Starting point is 00:23:07 or, okay, it's not working out. We need to bring in another prospect to be able to do it. You know, in a year where the Broncos have their left tackle, their right tackle situation cleared up for the long-term future here, Sarah, makes you wonder if you're going to ask the question here, do the Broncos draft an offensive tackle at all in this year's NFL draft? Not saying early, but do you maybe go out and you get a guy that you feel like, hey, in a few years, if you want to move on from one of these guys, you have a guy who's ready to rock and roll.

Starting point is 00:23:36 I think that's going to be a fascinating thing to see because they still haven't drafted an offensive tackle since 2017 when they selected Bowls in the first round. That's the last time the Broncos selected a true offensive tackle in the NFL draft, period. And so I think the question becomes very fascinating because you do have the presence of Alex Palchewski, who we also saw him get a look at guard. during the season as well when Quinn Miners went down. So you have Palcheschi who played both right guard and right tackle. And then you have Frank Crum.

Starting point is 00:24:09 And I don't know what the projection on Crum is. Could he come in and play left tackle for you if need be? Could he be that sixth guy? Like, could we see Crum become the guy that is, you know, what Matt Parrott and Quinn Bailey have been the last couple of years? You've got two guys that you really believed in. Like the Broncos gave both Palchewski and Crum bonuses that are indicative that they had draftable.

Starting point is 00:24:30 grades on them. So just because they didn't necessarily use a selection on them doesn't necessarily mean they don't think highly of them. They do. They paid them quite a bit to come to Denver as opposed to elsewhere. So there is value to that. And the fact that they've been with the team now crumb this past year and Palschewski the last two years, I think gives them an edge over the rookie class. And unless there's a guy that maybe falls to your selection at some point that you're saying, hey, just like last year when we took Jonah Ellis, Troy Franklin, all these guys, a couple a round beyond where we had them projected. Unless you get a value like that in this year's draft,

Starting point is 00:25:05 I could see the streak extending another year where the Broncos don't take a tackle in this year's class. Yeah, if I had to give a prediction here today, I don't think they draft a single offensive tackle, but probably look to bring in an offensive tackle and undrafted a rookie frequency for the third year in a row, which is something that they have done here. Let's play a little game, though,

Starting point is 00:25:23 because obviously as we talked about the Broncos, they have two free agents here at this position, veteran Matt Pert and obviously veteran Quinn Bailey, who Quinn has made tremendous progress in his recovery coming off of the fractured ankle. I mean, Sarah being there, like I saw it. I heard it. And it was one of the worst things. I had my binoculars because you're on the hill and you're looking down.

Starting point is 00:25:44 Seeing that and just seeing how the player's reaction was, that was brutal. But this is a guy who tackled his recovery, you know, relatively well. You know, he was on one of those things where, you know, after you have surgery for a while, you got like a little, you put your knee on it. It's like a little scooter that you scoot with. And then he got back to walking. So he's walking. He's ramping things up.

Starting point is 00:26:03 I think he'll be ready to rock and roll by the time the OTAs comes around. If the team finds a way to resign him, knowing just what Sean Payton has expressed about how he's felt about, a guy like Quinn Bailey and just the work like Quinn's been on this team really since 2019 as well. We talk about longstanding guys like, what is it? He might be, it goes, it probably goes Garrett Bulls. It goes Cortland Sutton. And it might go Quinn Bailey.

Starting point is 00:26:27 after this point. Who else was here in 2019 that's still on the roster? Do you know off the top of your head? I can't think off the top of my head, to be honest with you. I mean, yeah, to go back that far, I would have to be somebody that was potentially drafted that year or signed an undrafted free agency. I mean, because you look at up and down the roster, like those classes from 2019 and 2020, they're virtually gone, right? I mean, for the most. Justinana, I think, was the only guy. He's a free agent. So Quinn Bailey and Sternad, are the third and fourth longest standing players on the team, which is crazy to think about. Let's play a game here, though.

Starting point is 00:27:04 You know, what do the kids do these days? Like, I met my, I met my fiance on a dating app, right? So you had to swipe in order to, you know, do that. I swipe right on her. So, like, if we're going to play this hypothetical game of bring a guy back or let him go to free agency and go elsewhere, when it comes to Matt Parr, are you swiping right? Which means that you're bringing them back or you're swiping left. I know you're never on the dating apps here because you and your wife have been

Starting point is 00:27:26 together forever. And so are you swiping left or right when it comes to Matt Parrott? I know. Me and my wife have been together since before apps were even the thing. I'm pretty sure. So that's kind of crazy to think about. But I'd be swiping yourself really well right there. Yeah, exactly. I'd be swiping right, I think, to bring him back, right? I mean, he was the guy who played for you this past year. He knows the offense well. I don't necessarily think he's going to be getting opportunities to start elsewhere. I don't, I mean, I don't know that for a fact, but kind of feel like he's got a good gig with the Denver Broncos. And so I'd be trying to bring him back, Cody, and have him compete for that spot again,

Starting point is 00:28:04 have him compete to be maybe one of your top swing guys. But to know that he can go out there in those jumbo packages, I think I'd be swiping right to bring Matt Parrott back. I think you bring him back. I think you bring Quinn Bailey back. And I think essentially you let those two guys compete at training camp for that jumbo offensive linemen package job. Or also, you don't, if you want to just have depth in terms of numbers at that position,

Starting point is 00:28:25 you have the guys that can play swing, right? As we saw Pauchesky playing tackle and also playing guard, paired could also play guard and tackle as well, right? So Quinn Bailey can play guard and tackle. So the more functionality you have in terms of guys being able to plug in place here, the more value I think you have to a team, especially in today's NFL where you know, you only see a few guys really specialize that I'm just going to play this.

Starting point is 00:28:49 Like look at what Joe Tooney did for the Kansas City Chiefs this year. He's playing guard and then he had to move to tackle with some the injuries and some of the issues that they had there. And he still won an all pro. Like, that right there is impressive. There aren't a lot of players like that. And look, I think Quinn Miners could play tackle if you really wanted him to. I think he could play center. But man, this guy's a guard. He dominates people. And now we'll see. But you need to have good options behind you in the event of an injury. Look, in the Broncos offensive lines there,

Starting point is 00:29:14 for the most part, stayed healthy this season. McGlinchie was the one guy who had a little bit of a stint on IR. Luke Wattenberg, also a stint on IR. That's going to make things, you know, interesting about our conversation we're going to have coming up on tomorrow's episode of the show here. But for the most part, that continuity in the offensive line, I felt like it was big for the offense, was big for Bo Nix, but it could always improve, right? And so while we had no big questions here for the offensive tackle position here for this team going into 2025, really what we're going to talk about on tomorrow's episode of Lockdown Broncos, when we focus on the interior offensive line, we're going to look at guard, we're going to look at

Starting point is 00:29:50 center, we're going to look at what we learn from those positions in 2024. we're going to analyze the biggest questions. And one of them being, will Luke Wattenberg be the starting center in 2025? Or will he have competition? We'll break all that down and much more on tomorrow's brand new episode. Lockdown Broncos. Broncos country. We'll see you then.

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