Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - IMPACT: Denver Broncos WR Pat Bryant Primed For BREAKOUT After Jaylen Waddle Trade

Starting point is 00:00:00 After an impressive rookie season, Denver Broncos wide receiver, Pat Bryant, could be in line for a bigger role after the addition of Jalen Waddell. You are locked on Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. What's happening at Broncos Country? I'm Cody Work. Today show is brought to you by Fandul. During the tournament, Fandul, they're offering $300 back in bonus bets every day for 10 days. Head to Fanduil.com to get started as we recap what was an impressive rookie season.

Starting point is 00:00:34 for Broncos wide receiver, Pat Bryan. We'll talk about whether or not his concussions from last season are going to be a concern coming into his second season in the NFL, how he could take off during his second season and why that could be the case, especially after Jalen Waddle was traded to the Denver Broncos. But we're going to go through and kick things off by recapping his impressive rookie season. Now, Pat Bryant, when the initial draft pick happened,

Starting point is 00:00:58 a lot of Broncos fans didn't know who Pat Bryant was, or they weren't impressed by the pick because they just didn't know a lot about Pat. you go back and you watch the tape on him. Right after the draft, I will admit, I didn't know too much about Pat. I went through when I found the college all 22 right away. We did some breakdowns of that. And I was impressed by this guy's route running ability and his ability to just find the soft spots in zone coverage. He knew how to beat man coverage.

Starting point is 00:01:22 But everybody was attached to, well, how did he test? What was his 40-yard dash time? He ran a 4-6, 40-yard dash, and he was like, well, you ran 4-6. He's slow. I think if you watch Pat Bryant last season on tape, you say, okay, 4-6. that didn't really matter much because this is a guy he plays fast. You don't really need a 40-yard dash speed to be the end-all be-all in terms of evaluating a player.

Starting point is 00:01:44 Yes, having some top-end speed is certainly nice. But Pat, with his size and his hands, and I would say his ability and willingness to go out there and be a physical blocker, he has all the traits that you want in a selfless, team-friendly player inside that position room. And look, I think in the regular season, projecting beforehand, we're all wondering what his role was going to be because, hey, you had Cortland Sutton, Marvin Mims, Troy Franklin. How was this room going to kind of solidify itself a little bit? You brought in Evan Ingram to play tight-in, a hybrid receiver role in the off-season.

Starting point is 00:02:16 So what would that mean for a guy like Pat Bryant? It was going to be a red shirt year. No, it wasn't. And I think Broncos country, those who attended some training camp practice, has got to see some flashes from them early on. But it was the preseason where we really saw Pat thrive. And it was that game against the Arizona Cardinals in particular, one where Jared Stidham was call it was obviously the quarterback davis webb was calling the plays troy franklin pat bryan those

Starting point is 00:02:38 two guys were eating in that game and everyone was wondering okay how is it going to work in the regular season well for pat early on he wasn't necessarily featured a lot early on he wasn't targeted much in the earlier part of the season but you know one thing he did he blocked his tell off because it goes back to the senior ball when he was interviewed no block no rock he embraced that he brought it over into the nfl and he knew hey i have to continue to get better but man he put his head down he embraced that role. Week four against the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday night football. We saw Pat Bryant really step up in a big way blocking for Marvin Mims as he freed him up the sideline for a touchdown. And that is what awarded him more opportunities inside the offense and eventually

Starting point is 00:03:17 got him more targets down the stretch. And then Pat ultimately emerged to become a very important role player for Denver down the stretch. He made some clutch catches, including one on third and 11 against the Houston Texans in a game that the Bronco was won that 1815 after trailing a little bit early on here. Pat Bryant's rookie season was impressive. He finished the year, obviously, with 31 catches for 3708 yards. 22 of his 31 catches moved the chains for a first down. And I think when you look at maybe how his role can expand now that the Broncos have traded for Jalen Waddle, I think he has a chance to be a money down type of guy.

Starting point is 00:03:51 And if you look at his rookie production, you can see that the Broncos, they trusted him. Early downs didn't matter. They trusted him on third down. That was a crucial area for him. third down specifically, nine catches on 13 targets for 99 yards and nine first downs, right? So nine first downs on nine catches when you had 13 targets on third down, you move the chains. That right there shows that, hey, on third down, we can go to you. Now, when defenses are playing against Cortland and they're trying to bracket Cortland,

Starting point is 00:04:19 we saw Pat, we saw Troy Franklin also emerge in these third down situations and move the chains. Pat, very consistent, really good hands, savviness, knows how to sit against zone. knows how to beat man coverage by just being a little shifty. You know, he doesn't have breakaway speed, but he doesn't need that. And that's what the tape shows here with Pat. Let's go to first down. He had eight catches on the season on 12 targets for 110 yards. Four first downs for him on first down.

Starting point is 00:04:47 So the ability to make some plays downfield in space. I mean, a lot of his catches were 10 yards or more downfield. Second down, 14 catches on 23 targets for 169 yards, nine first downs on 14 catches on 23 targets on second down. I really think where his role can expand the season with Waddle, with Cortland, and Troy and Marvin will also factor into this situation here too. He's a yak guy.

Starting point is 00:05:13 I think that he's the guy that is going to win those one-on-one opportunities when Jalen and when Cortland are seeing that extra attention. 378 yards receiving last year, as we mentioned, 147 of his 378 yards last year. It came with yards after the catch. So when he's getting the ball in his hands in space, he's doing damage. He's making guys miss. He's fighting for extra yards.

Starting point is 00:05:36 He knows how to catch it across the middle of the field. Stop on a dime and then be able to get north-south quickly. That's what I really love to see with him. And I think now that Jalen Waddle is here and defense is going to have to change the way they play the Denver Broncos. I think that with Cortland with Jalen, let's say you go into 11 personnel and you have Cortland, you have Jalen. Now you have Pat Bryant in a specific role, right? And it could be interchangeable with Marvin and Troy, too. I don't want to exclude those guys.

Starting point is 00:06:04 But Pat, with his size and his ability to move the chains, he showcased. And even in the playoffs before he got ruled out with a concussion against the Buffalo Bills, he was off to a hot start on the Broncos first offensive series. He had three catches. And he had a couple of chain movers on that very drive right there. So there's an opportunity here for him to do even more. And I think Davis Webb is going to recognize that. but I think he's going to recognize that for all the wide receivers.

Starting point is 00:06:30 But these new additions here to the Broncos offense will give Pat, I think, more of an opportunity to have an impact this season, right? We talked about the 31 catches this past year. I think in 20, it's realistic to maybe project. Could that bump up to 40? Could that bump up to 45 catches? I think that's a realistic projection for him right now. And I think he'll probably surpass over 500 yards this up in season if he does thrive in that role.

Starting point is 00:06:56 The Broncos have a lot of mouse to feed. here in this offense and this wide receiver. So it is easy to kind of spread that production around, but how do you get a guy larger volume? I think the personnel situation that Denver had last year will be much more efficient with Davis Webb, calling the play, Sean Payton, taking that hands-off approach there.

Starting point is 00:07:14 I'm curious to see how it works out. But Pat Bryant, he benefits a lot here from the addition to the arrival of Jalen Waddle here. But Broncos Country coming up next, we're going to talk about one of the things that impacted Pat negatively in his rookie season. It was two concussions. Should Broncos country be concerned about that going into his second season?

Starting point is 00:07:31 We'll talk about that more here on today's episode of the show. Today's episode of the show is brought to you by our friends over there at Fandu. The tournament is here. One of the best times of the year. You got brackets, buzzer beaters, upsets. It's nonstop action from tip to final cut down. And right now, Fanduel, they're giving new customers a way to stay in the action all tournament long. Here is the best part.

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Starting point is 00:09:18 Indeed on this podcast. Indy.com slash podcast, terms and conditions apply need to hire. this is a job for indeed sponsored jobs. And our friends over there at five hour energy, folks, the five hour energy flavor draft is here and with over 18 different flavors to choose from, including some of the newer options that they have released like confetti craze, fruity rainbow or cotton candy, there is something for everyone. The board is set, the flavors are ready.

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Starting point is 00:10:23 but concussions have created some questions about his second season here. Real quick, thanks to all the everydayers out there in Broncos country for tuning in, making us your first listen. You want to find a way to support the show, hey, the everydayer club is a great way to do that. I'll tell you about that towards the end of today's show here, but let's get back to the topic of Pat Brian. We talked about his impressive rookie season here, but let's go into maybe some of the concerns that fans have had.

Starting point is 00:10:46 Certainly fans that I've interacted with on social media, also here on the show, they've sent in their concerns about the two concussions that Bryant suffered last season. Now, the first one came obviously in the loss that Denver had at home against the Jacksonville Jaguars. It was late. The game was already out of hand. And just one of those scary situations in the final minute where Bo Nix was trying to make a play happen through the pass to Pat. And then Pat took a shot. And this one, according to Bryant, when we've talked to him inside the locker room, said the first one was more of a precaution, right?

Starting point is 00:11:16 What happened? He was diagnosed with the concussion. It was a scary situation taken by ambulance to a hospital there. But he had told us in the locker room following when he was able to return from that, that it was more of a whiplash thing. And you can't get a concussion from whiplash because your brain can jolt from one side to the other here. But for Pat, it wasn't something that scared him or concerned him. You know, I'd talk to him in the locker room in the week and a half, two weeks after his injury.

Starting point is 00:11:43 You know, he wanted to go out there and play. He said, I'm ready to go. But you have to follow the NFL's concoct. protocol. And so he was really limited and restricted. And from what he was able to do in terms of a preparation standpoint, after that, he felt like he was good to go, but it's not his call in terms of returning. So that was an obstacle he dealt with. Now, when he returned from the concussion, it was obviously a great sight to kind of see for him to come back. Then he suffered a hamstring injury. And then he suffered another concussion. It was in the Bronco's playoff game against the Buffalo

Starting point is 00:12:12 bills. I mentioned it earlier. He got off to a hot start in that game initially on Denver's first offensive drive. He had, I believe it was three catches, a couple of chain movers right there on that first initial drive. And then all of a sudden, it was, it was weird because he catches a pass. He's getting wrapped up by a defender. It doesn't look like much. And then all of a sudden, he's coming off the field because the NFL, they have independent neural consultants that look at everything. And obviously with Pat, more recently having a concussion, they identified that as something they needed to take a look at. So they pulled him into the blue medical tent. and then from the blue medical tit, he went back into the locker room,

Starting point is 00:12:49 and then they ruled him out of the game. Pat tweeted during the game, or not tweeted, he Instagramed during the game that he's spinning. Like, he's all good to go. Like, he's ready to spin it up next week in the AFC championship game after Denver won it, right? And he was able to return that week. We were all surprised because the NFL, as we mentioned,

Starting point is 00:13:08 concussion protocol, the player could feel great. The NFL, then the independent neuroconsultant has to clear that player. we didn't think that Pat was going to play in the AFC championship game. And he ended up doing that. He cleared all the hurdles of protocol. And he was cleared by the consultant and he was able to play. And then he suffered a hamstring injury once again in that game and left that in the AFC championship game.

Starting point is 00:13:32 So fans have expressed like whether or not there's some concern about the concussions. And one thing I know about Pat is he will be wearing the guardian cap helmet going forward, at least for the time being. That's something that could be a permanent thing for him for the duration. of his NFL career. The NFL is always evolving helmet technology on a year-to-year basis. So they may even create something where it's inside. And he doesn't necessarily have to have the guardian cap on.

Starting point is 00:13:56 I know the NFL is playing around with some things like that. But right now, I don't think that there is any concern with Pat going into this upcoming season. Surely, you know, if there is an instance where he takes a shot to the head, they're all going to have this profile of saying, hey, like, we just got to, we've got to protect him. We've got to make sure he's okay. Because sometimes in these situations, as someone who's dealt with multiple concussions of football, sometimes we don't know what's best for us in that situation.

Starting point is 00:14:21 Pat's a competitive, wants to play no matter what, may think he's good, but they have protocol that they must follow. They have tests that they run on players that determine whether or not they are good to either stay in a game or they have to come out of the game. And usually they get it right most of the time here. So I know Pat is not concerned. If you've been following him this offseason, you know, he's been training, but he's also been having fun as he should, where he's doing backflips off of boats into the ocean.

Starting point is 00:14:49 So he's having fun doing all that stuff. But I would not be concerned about his long-term health right now. I don't think the concussions are going to be something that impacts him negatively coming into the season, though I think the Broncos are going to be very smart anytime the situation like that may occur or he takes a hard shot. You just have to at this point to protect a young player. And Pat obviously knows his limitations, but the Broncos are going to do whatever they can to protect him from himself in those situations.

Starting point is 00:15:17 So I'm not too worried Broncos country about it. I think it is a valid question to have coming to the season. But no limitations here for Pat. He should be ready to rock and roll. I mean, if the Broncos are playing right now, he'd be strapping up. He's ready to go. But they are going to continue to monitor things and do expect him to wear that guardian cap. I think at least for this season, we'll see how things progress down the line here.

Starting point is 00:15:37 But with that said, Broncos country, that'll wrap up today's bonus episode, locked on Broncos. If you missed today's earlier episode, we talked through our Broncos country mailbag where we talked about how Bo Nix could have his best season yet the Broncos clean up one specific area of the offense that impacted them negatively in 2025. But also in the meantime, make sure if you haven't done so already you want to find a way to support the show. Guess what? The best way to do that, join the Every Day Club. You already listen to the show every day, but join the Everyday Air Club where you get access to an ad-free version of the show. Plus, you get to join a community of other members in Broncos country on Discord where you can chat with them. So make sure if you want to check that out, go to lockdownbroncos.supercast.com. And the link is also in the show notes down below. We'll be back tomorrow for another episode, Lockdown Broncos.

Starting point is 00:16:20 Broncos country. See you then.

Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - IMPACT: Denver Broncos WR Pat Bryant Primed For BREAKOUT After Jaylen Waddle Trade

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