Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - IMPACT: How Que Robinson Can Help Denver Broncos As A Rookie

Episode Date: May 7, 2025

How can rookie outside linebacker Que Robinson help the Denver Broncos as a rookie? With Nik Bonitto, Zach Allen, Jonah Elliss and Dondrea Tillman rounding out the rotation at outside linebacker, Robi...nson's instant path to playing time begins with special teams. How can his role there help him transition eventually into playing snaps for the Broncos defense? Cody Roark is a credentialed beat reporter for Mile High Sports and covers the Broncos daily in person. Sayre Bedinger is the site expert for Predominantly Orange. Both bring Broncos Country the most in-depth and objective coverage of the Denver Broncos. WANT MORE DAILY DENVER BRONCOS CONTENT?For all of the latest Denver Broncos news today -- Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOBroncos?sid=YouTube Locked On NFL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft & More🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNFL Follow on Twitter: @CodyRoarkNFL and @SayreBedingerFollow the show on Twitter: @LockedOnBroncos Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!UpworkVisit Upwork.com right now and post your job for free to connect with top talent and grow your business today! Skylight CalendarRight now, Skylight is offering our listeners $30 off their 15 inch Calendars by going to Skylightcal.com/NFL. Amazon Fire TV Stick 4kDid you know your Fire TV is also an Xbox? Turn any TV into your gaming and entertainment hub with Fire TV Stick 4K devices — no console required. Head to Amazon.com/firetvlockedon to get started. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription and compatible controller required. GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNBA for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime. Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNFL at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. FanDuelRight now, new customers can get TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in BONUS BETS when your first FIVE DOLLAR BET WINS! Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of the NBA. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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Starting point is 00:00:00 The Denver Broncos pass rush rotation is already set, but we'll tell you how Q Robinson can have an impact as a rookie for the Broncos this upcoming season on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos. You are Locked on Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast, part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. Broncos country, what's happening? Welcome into another episode. Lockdown Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network where you know what is your team every day. for all your Broncos news, content coverage, analysis, and more. This is the place to be a special shout out out there to all the everydayers in Broncos country. Thanks for tuning in making us your first listen. However, you choose to do so. And if you're not yet in everydayer, become one, it's really easy.
Starting point is 00:00:49 All you have to do is hit that subscribe or that follow button wherever you get your podcast. And you'll never miss out on what's going on with your favorite team every single day all year long. As always, I'm your host, Cody Rourke, Broncos reporter for Mile High Sports. And I'm Sarah Bedinger, side expert, predominantly. prominently orange.com. And here's what you can expect on today's lineup for Lockdown Broncos. We're going to go through Q Robinson, one of the Broncos, Day 3 additions. Any 2020-Four 2025 NFL draft going through his impact,
Starting point is 00:01:19 why the Broncos added him to the special teams equation, where he fits in the pass rush rotation. That's already set right now with Nick Benito and Jonathan Cooper and a couple of other guys right behind them. But we'll also dive deep into how he can get onto the field here. in 2025. And we're also going to talk about is his experience and his injury history, a little bit of a concern here.
Starting point is 00:01:41 You get all that much more on lockdown Broncos. Today shows brought to you by friends over there at Fandu. And as you all know, what Fandu is America's number one sportsbook. And right now new customers can get $200 in bonus bets when your first $5 bet wins. Sir, Q Robinson, look, you know, I think the meat and potatoes portion of the Broncos 2025 NFL draft class really comes from the guy we talked about. yesterday in Savion Jones at LSU.
Starting point is 00:02:06 And I think it continues on here with Q Robinson, an edge rush outside linebacker out of Alabama. The Broncos adding depth to that position. But primarily you have to ask yourselves, was this a reason that the Broncos add him to the mix so he could play on defense? Or is this a special team's move for now with the possibility and maybe moving up in a few years?
Starting point is 00:02:28 I think he's going to play some defense right away, Cody. I really do. And maybe that's just my optimistic. outlook at this point in time. Of course, there's no reason not to be optimistic about these rookies. But you look at last year's snap counts off the edge for the Denver Broncos, 820 snaps for Jonathan Cooper, which was 71%. 708 snaps for Nick Benito, which was 61.3%. And Jonah Ellis, surprisingly, Cody, he got 434 snaps, almost 38% there for the Denver Broncos. And then Dandre Tillman played 242 snaps at 21%.
Starting point is 00:03:04 Barron Browning still accounted for 146 snaps. And then obviously late in the season, we saw Drew Sanders get out there for a handful of snaps. So the Broncos rotated guys a lot. And I think when you even look at those numbers there for guys like Cooper and Benito, they played a little bit more than the typical full-time guys. I mean, over 70%. Right.
Starting point is 00:03:25 So we're talking about guys that are not rotating a ton. And yet the Broncos are still getting. everybody on the field for a significant amount of snaps. So I feel like there's a lot to go around. And because of that, I wouldn't be shocked to see Q Robinson really have a big role in this unit in 2025. You know, I wouldn't be surprised if that's the case. I just have a hard time seeing that right now with just how the pass rush rotation is already set, right?
Starting point is 00:03:51 You mentioned it. Nick Benito, Jonathan Cooper, those are your two starters. Jonah Ellis played a lot last year. And they're going to expect to play him a little bit more because he's a third round pick for Denver. Dondre Tillman, I expect an increase in snaps here. The only way I can honestly see Q Robinson getting on the field defensively is if there is an injury at that position. And we understand there's been times where that position group has certainly been banged up. I mean, the Broncos Baron Browning early on in the season last year had an injury a week two against
Starting point is 00:04:19 the Steelers. And that's how we ended up seeing Nick Benito get more of an opportunity to start. And then really he ran away with that role. Even when Baron Browning came back from his injury and then Denver traded Browning away to the Arizona Cardinals. And he got an extension there in Arizona happy for Barron. But for a guy like Q Robinson, I could see him cutting his teeth a little bit more on special teams. Now, look, if Dondre Tillman played 21 or 29 percent of the snaps last year, if those guys are healthy unless Q Robinson comes in and training camp in the preseason and beats Dondre Tillman out essentially, you know, which, you know, it's always a possibility.
Starting point is 00:04:55 Drafted versus undrafted. But Dandre Tillman's story, it's pretty exciting. We mentioned there the amount of pressures and the amount of sacks that he had, despite the limited amount of snaps he played in totality over the course of 12 games throughout the season for him, I think is something that not sleep on here. I did see something interesting, though, on film here from Q Robinson that maybe gives credence to how the Broncos can maybe be a little creative with him at times. Though I think the offseason additions of Dre Greenland, Talanoa, Hufong, I think it makes this a little bit challenging. But, you know, when they were playing
Starting point is 00:05:27 Missou this past season, he lined up as a stack linebacker. So, you know, there was times where he's playing outside as an edge rusher. But then certain formations that come out by Missouri, they'd have three down linemen and then three linebackers. And he kind of played stacked up as when they had a sniffer in the backfield there from Missouri. So part of me is wondering here, he's got the athleticism. He's six foot five, I believe around 220 pounds, if I'm not mistaken.
Starting point is 00:05:52 He moves well. He's good at keeping edge contain. could they maybe use him as a spy in certain situations? I mean, I think there's a possibility that they could, but then you also have to ask yourself, we talked about Ja de Baron and how he can play. Like Denver's got creativity with how they can maneuver and deploy guys. My honest opinion here, I'm curious for yours.
Starting point is 00:06:12 I know you've shared that you think he's going to play right away as a rookie can have a role. It's certainly a possibility, but is he more so in a position like Wesley Woodier was in, essentially before he became a household starter, down the road. I mean, it took him playing special teams being a special team's ace for a handful of years in Denver before he became a starter at linebacker and then a captain eventually there of Denver's defense. I'm curious for your thoughts on that. I think the biggest difference to me with this guy, Q Robinson and somebody like Wesley Woodyard is that Wesley had to work from being an undrafted free agent.
Starting point is 00:06:47 He had to prove himself on special teams in order to crack that defensive rotation where he played obviously really well for a number of years, for both the Broncos and obviously the Tennessee Titans, this guy is a fourth round pick. And that's not to say that, oh, well, you know, he's going to just instantly get on the field. But I think because the Broncos are going to rely on him to play so much special
Starting point is 00:07:07 teams early on, he's going to be on the active game day roster. And because of that, if you're dressed, hey, you might as well go out there, mess around and make a few plays on defense too. It might be situational.
Starting point is 00:07:19 It might be dependent on the opponent. It might be dependent upon the score at the time, right? Maybe, maybe in order for him to get out there defensively, the Broncos will have to be up by two scores, right? Because if you're trailing or if you are trying to get back into a game or if you're trying to hold on to a tight lead, you're not necessarily going to throw your fourth round rookie out there
Starting point is 00:07:38 on a key third down when you have those aforementioned guys like Cooper, Bonito, even Ellis, and maybe even Tillman. I think he could steal some snaps from Tillman, but at the same time, it could be a bit of a reset at this position, right? Not to say, well, you're going to open up competition at the top, but I think when you have a group of five guys that in May, you can say, hey, we're going to go into the season. These five guys, not only we know they're going to be on the roster,
Starting point is 00:08:06 assuming they're all healthy, but they're all going to dress on game days because Jonah Ellis and Dondre Tullman finished top seven last year on the team and special team snaps. These guys are going to dress and they are going to play. So because you're going to have the all five of them out there already, my thought is like, throw the guy out there. there. Like you said, as a QB spy, let him be a pressure player from the stack linebacker position, throw him out there off the edge on a third and 15 when you're up by 10 points. I would, I'm, I'm going to say
Starting point is 00:08:34 this. I'll set the over under for snaps this season for him, 99.5. I think it's fair for people to say, I think he's going to play less than 100 defensive snaps. I think I could see that. That's a very possible outcome. But I'm going to say, I'm going to hit the over on 99 and a half. I think he's going to play more than 100 snaps this season defensively for. the Broncos. Well, one thing I would say that Nick Sabit even proclaimed about a guy like Q Robinson was he really was a special team's ace over there at Alabama. A little funny note, you know, he's got one career punt return for three yards. Now, I think that was more so he wasn't lined up back as a punt returner, but somehow he ended up with the football and had a three yard return. So, hey, maybe a return dynamic is possible here for Q Robinson. And look, I also want to say, too, like even if, let's say he plays under 99 snaps or doesn't play hardly any snaps at all, right? We've seen the Broncos, at least who's Sean Payton. There's been times he's redshirted guys. J.L. Skinner is a great example of that.
Starting point is 00:09:29 Even if that's the case, I think we have to set the expectation here for Broncos fans. They're like, well, why do they spend a draft pick on this guy if he didn't get on the field? Well, I think a lot of it is, what do we hear them talk about so much? Player development. That's going to be key. But look, I think the Broncos can very much go into the season with flexibility. He'll be on the 53-man roster. But I think one of the bigger things we'll take a look at here is, is he a game day inactive?
Starting point is 00:09:53 Or is he active? And if so, is he playing special team snap? So much of where we're going to find out a little bit more about Q Robinson. I think sometimes when we have, obviously, training camp, you're going to see some practices. If I'm not mistaken, I think the Bronco is going to have joint training camp practices with somebody this year. But it's not going to be in Denver, I believe. I believe they're going to be on the road. I don't know the dates or the times or who that is exactly.
Starting point is 00:10:14 I think I heard something about that. But also, you're going to see it in the preseason. What can this guy do? And if this is a guy who on, you know, game one, game. two of the preseason. Let's say he's on kickoff or punt. He runs down field and blast somebody. It's going to be hard to ignore him getting some playing time, at least on special teams as a rookie this upcoming season. But Broncos country, we want to know your thoughts here on Q Robinson, maybe his projected fit with the Broncos already having four passersers who played quite a bit
Starting point is 00:10:41 in totality last season. Can he crack the lineup in your opinion? Make sure you let's know here on today's episode of the show. But we're not done yet, Brockos country. Still got a lot to discuss here. We'll tell you exactly why some of the strengths that Q Robinson has could be a for the Broncos defense if there is an injury and he does find himself into the rotation. We'll break that down and much more on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos. Today's episode of Lockdown Broncos is brought to you by Skylight. Say goodbye to the sticky notes, the scribbled plans on the fridge and overlapping calendar invites because the Skylight calendar, it's here and it's going to bring clarity to the chaos
Starting point is 00:11:16 and help your family stay organized without the stress. This sleek digital display sinks with your existing calendar. like Google Calendar, Apple, Outlook, and so much more, and makes it simple to track appointments, practices, dinners, and reminders all in one easy-to-see place. Well, I just got a Skylight calendar just this past week, and I tell you the thing I like about it, my fiance and I, we've got a wedding coming up,
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Starting point is 00:12:38 you're one snap away from seeing out there on the field in today's NFL. And the Denver Broncos, they have a plethora of talent off the edge. Q Robinson is just the latest. Cody and I are going to tell you exactly what strengths he has in his game that make maybe Broncos coaching staff confident if they need to utilize him for an extensive period this coming season. But Broncos country, before we talk any more about Q Robinson, I want to say thank you to every single one of you that makes us your first listening
Starting point is 00:13:04 of the day every single day. If you haven't already done so, go ahead, take a couple seconds, hit subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts, and especially if you haven't already done so on YouTube, go ahead and join the growing community over there as well. We appreciate you for doing that. Let's talk about the strengths for Q Robinson. This is a guy that George Payton was kind of gushing over
Starting point is 00:13:24 after the Broncos selected him. The Broncos only had that one high pick on day three of the draft. And I say high, relatively speaking. I think he was picked like 134, something like that. And so it was kind of deep into the fourth round. But they still, they stayed put. They took a guy that this wasn't a position that was really on anybody's radar, right? Going into the draft of saying, hey, in your mock draft, you better include an edge guy.
Starting point is 00:13:48 The Broncos obviously felt strongly about Q Robinson, Cody. What did you see when watching him that? probably made them lean this direction. I mean, he's very, he's lengthy. You know, as a stand-up pass rusher, he moves well laterally. I think he's a smart football player. And the one thing I saw when doing my film breakdowns on him when I'm watching him here is that he does a really good job of keeping contain, right?
Starting point is 00:14:11 As an edge rusher, it's one of the more prominent responsibilities that you have is not getting too far upfield in your pass-rush. I think he finds a happy medium between I'm rushing upfield, but I'm not giving up so much ground outside where I'm just staying base. here. If a quarterback slides underneath, I can step down and make a play. He did that. He was working against obviously the Missou offensive tackle, Armand Membow, who went to the New York Jets. Obviously, the Bronco is going to play the Jets this upcoming season, but he's put together some really good work against some quality tackles that, you know, we saw get drafted in the NFL draft. And obviously,
Starting point is 00:14:45 last season, his year was really cut short due to a, you know, really bad elbow injury that ended his year. He finished the season, though, in just nine games, sir, 23 total tackles, seven TFLs behind the line of scrimmage and four sacks, one fumble recovery and one force fumble. This is a player when you watch him, and I always want to preface this by saying, if you watch edge rushers, Sarah, sometimes the tape can be a little bit boring because they're seeing a lot of action go away from them. They're seeing a lot of dive action go there, but when a guy flashes on tape, you have to pay attention. He's athletic. he's rangy he's got that length as I mentioned there at six foot five and he's got a high motor
Starting point is 00:15:26 that's another thing that stands out the Broncos love high motor guys there's a lot to like here about Q Robinson and the player that I think he can become here in the NFL the one trait that keeps getting talked about with Q Robinson seems to be that he's twitchy right and you love that and your edge guys is what does that mean that means that this guy's got that that burst the get off he's got the ability to create that tight arc around the tackle to get to the quarterback as quickly as possible, get dip the shoulder around there. You've got the ability to utilize that length for speed to power and to be able to get your hands on offensive linemen to set the edge there.
Starting point is 00:16:02 So the twitchy aspect of his game, Cody, I really like. And I think playing special teams a lot helps a guy like this and not just getting on the field, but in everything that you do, taking angles, reading the field, seeing how, you know, how fast guys are at the NFL speed. I mean, that's going to help him get on the field. I think early on. And I'm interested to find out what's the Broncos plan for developing a guy like this? Because last year, they took Jonah Ellis, who was one of the youngest prospects in the draft.
Starting point is 00:16:31 And now you take this guy who played less than 400 total snaps in terms of defense for Alabama, which is fascinating to me. So I can't wait to see how the Broncos deploy these strengths that he has in his game, how quickly he can adapt to NFL, you know, offensive lines. because that's one of the other biggest keys is, okay, you've got the Twitch, you've got the athletic traits, you're showing that you have the bend around the edge, can you do it against NFL offensive tackles?
Starting point is 00:17:00 Do you have those secondary moves? And that's where he's probably going to need to be coached up the most, right? And where guys like Jamar Kane come into the mix, because you want to get this guy a developed plan as a pass rusher. And that's probably the number one thing that I think guys who they just win with athleticism at the college level, that's probably the number one thing they struggle with, transitioning to the NFL. Well, you mentioned it there. I'd say the obstacle that a lot of
Starting point is 00:17:25 players face and even experienced pass rushers at the NFL level, you know, it's different than college. You know, sometimes at college, you're just better than the offensive tackle that you're going against. And you can blow by him with speed. The thing I like about Q, he's got a variety of speed rush to him. He has some power. I think he's got a pretty wide, I'd say, skill set of pass rush moves that are in his repertoire that he's going to continue to develop and expand on here. But the number one thing I say you probably have to watch out for at the NFL level is you have your initial rush, right?
Starting point is 00:17:56 But let's say one of these offensive tackles because look, the league, you have to have good offensive tackles in today's NFL with the state of quarterback play where it's at right now. You got to be able, once an offensive lineman gets latched on to you, it's can you keep your legs going, right? That was one thing that Baron Browning told me was a big adjustment from, you know, his rookie season to his next season. He said, just people don't understand when you.
Starting point is 00:18:18 rush your first time and you get like you're engaging with contact what are you doing on your second rush move you can't just have one move you have to have a wide variety of them because if somebody latches onto you it's over you have to be able to still move even when there's contact that i think is going to be a fun transition to see it you know when i watched him on this college tape here at alabama he's just a guy who's constantly moving so that helps right sometimes you see rush up field they'll get engaged with and then they'll just say ah you know i was blocked Q is a guy who even if there's contact made on him, he's moving, he's clubbing,
Starting point is 00:18:52 he's trying to fight his way because he doesn't want to get taken out of a play. That's what stands out to me about his game. And once again, I think you look at Jonah Ellis. There's a little bit of elusiveness there with Jonah, but primarily I think Jonah is a power rusher, more so than he is a speed rusher,
Starting point is 00:19:09 and he's very disciplined. Whereas Q, I think has a combo of a little bit of power, but I think he's primarily a speed rusher that has a, like I said, a wide variety of pass rush moves already. And maybe that's where the Broncos feel like he brings a bit of variance to the group, right? Because Dondre Tillman is another powerful guy. I think Jonathan Cooper is another really strong dude who can win with both speed and power. Nick Benito is really the only guy that's truly known for, hey, this is a speed rusher.
Starting point is 00:19:35 Like he has one of the best getoffs out of any edge player in the NFL. I think it was even comparable or even slightly faster than Von Miller's coming out when he was coming out of Oklahoma, like a 151, 10-yard split or some just explosive. So this is a guy that you want to see utilize that explosiveness to your advantage because of those guys that will play next to him on the defensive line, right? If you are creating problems with your speed and your explosiveness off the snap, you open things up for the defensive linemen that playing next to you, right? Because those guys are going to get more favorable matchups.
Starting point is 00:20:11 This guy's got to pay attention to you. He's got to set a deep pocket. that frees up Zach Allen or John Franklin Myers to go one-on-one against a guard and take their outside shoulder and cause havoc, right? So everything plays off of each other when it comes to the pass rush. And that's one of the reasons why I think it's so much fun to include everyone in that group. And we saw that from the Broncos last year, right? Vance Joseph and the whole pass rush plan, it included everyone.
Starting point is 00:20:37 And they brought guys in waves. And that's just, that's how you maximize the skill set, I think, of the, playmakers that you have in that unit. I'm very curious to see how the Broncos envisioned Q playing, maybe defense in year one. You know, if he does get snaps on the field, look, you're always one injury away from having your developmental plan,
Starting point is 00:20:56 accelerated a little bit further, right? We call it the trial by fire. I think Nick Benito, his rookie year, that was a great example. This is a guy who got thrown into the fire as a rookie, had to have that trial by fire moment, and he's grown from it. I mean, in two years after that,
Starting point is 00:21:10 back to back, really productive seasons emerging as a young Star Rusher in the National Football League. You love to be able to see that. But we're going to continue our conversation here on Q Robinson on today's episode of the show. Are his injuries a little bit of a concern that he's had? Is this something that will follow him into the NFL? We'll debate and discuss that here on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos.
Starting point is 00:21:31 Today's episode Lockdown Broncos is brought to you by friends over there at Fandul. And as you all know, Fandu is America's number one sportsbook. In the NBA playoffs, they're in full swing with round number two ongoing. And every night delivers highlight worthy performance. performances, major momentum shifts, and can't miss moments. Whether it's a game winning shot or a breakout player, there's never been a better time to get in on the action. Well, and as if the NBA playoffs being in full swing didn't make it easy enough,
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Starting point is 00:23:05 draft rookie profile series highlighting each and every single one of the Broncos, 2025 picks here in the draft. your commentary, it means everything. You make the show exactly what it is. All right, Sarah, let's get in maybe some of the perceived weaknesses here of Q Robinson. We will look at his scouting profile coming into the National Football League. The number one thing I think some people are going to talk about is he was just coming off of a season ending injury last year at Alabama. He suffered a very bad elbow injury in the team's win against LSU.
Starting point is 00:23:37 And that ended his season abruptly. But this is a guy who despite that injury, you know, he's still, found a way to get drafted. There's a lot of upside with what he brings to the table. Is there anything that concerns you about this injury that he's coming off of or anything in general that you feel like might be a challenge for him in the National Football League? I think injuries are always a concern when you talk about guys coming in, especially players who haven't played a ton, which I think is the other big knock against Q Robinson,
Starting point is 00:24:05 right? As we mentioned, less than 400 snaps according to pro football focus defensively. And where does that play against you in a lot of ways? Well, I think when it comes to play recognition, Cody, that's probably the biggest thing is you don't have time on task. You're not necessarily going to be great at play recognition, which as we saw with other rookies in this Denver Bronco system over the last handful of years. Like that has caused a lot of guys to flounder early on, right?
Starting point is 00:24:32 That doesn't mean they don't have the potential to. Let's talk about all these guys, right? Jonathan Cooper flashes as a rookie, but looked like he was, you know, a fish out of water. times as well. Nick Bonito, we had conversations about, is this guy even going to make the team in year two because his rookie season was that rough? And then obviously now after watching Jonah Ellis play last year, you have some similar types of concerns. These guys are taking jumps after the second year, adjusting to the NFL speed. That's the one thing with, I think, a guy like Hugh Robinson,
Starting point is 00:25:04 it's okay, you love the twitch, you love the upside, you love the juice as a pass rusher. That can be effective in situations, but are you going to be able to recognize, you know, different run option, things like that? Are you going to get sucked in? Are you going to get washed out of a play? You know, those sorts of things. That's where rookie pass rushers in general struggle, but especially maybe a guy that hasn't even played 400 total snaps. Well, and the speed level is very different. Look, Q Robinson's a fast guy, as I mentioned. I think he moves well laterally, but, you know, there is that adjustment period. And we see it all the time with edge rushers, rookie edge rushers. seen it with historically great edge rushers as well when they come into the league is that,
Starting point is 00:25:43 oh, there is an adjustment period, you know, and I think a lot more now, you're going to face bigger offensive linemen primarily than maybe you faced at the college level. I mean, for example, thank goodness the Broncos. I mean, this season, they're going to have their hands full in terms of who they face, but it's like you face a big offensive line like they ran into against Buffalo, right? That was a huge issue. What happened to Jonah Ellis in that game? I mean, Dionne Dawkins, I think pulls from the left side tight.
Starting point is 00:26:09 down the line of scrimmage and Jonah who's doing a great job he's squeezing it down hill line depth he gets popped in the shoulder has an injury right but there's just a there was a size differential that mattered there you can overcome certain sizes with speed here but there's an adjustment there's a learning curve that's going to take place and I'm curious to see how he does in practice against guys like garret bulls Mike McGlinchy you're going to see these guys working there and he's going to work a lot you know against the second team office the third team offense there's going to be a lot of reps to be had with these younger guys. And I would say that's the benefit of having a first team defense and a couple of guys
Starting point is 00:26:45 you already know who are solidified in your rotation that are going to rotate in with that first team defense because that means your second team defense and your third team defense and training camp in the preseason, there's more reps for these younger guys, these depth options who are going to be developmental players right now to get more of an opportunity to kind of get acclimated. The structure of the NFL is a lot different. But then again, I think a guy like Q coming out of a program like Alabama, Grant, that this past year. It was not Nick Saven's show. Nick Savenn obviously stepped away.
Starting point is 00:27:12 Katelyn DeBore came over from Washington, but he has played for a coach like Nick Saven. And we know, Sean Payton, he coaches hard like Nick Saven does a lot of times. So I think that's something he's going to be used to. He's going to be ready for. But what does the learning curve of going from the college game to the NFL look like for a guy like Q Robinson who is not expected to see a lot of defensive snaps right away? That is the question mark. Does that hinder development or is that something that you can learn or gain in practice or just the preseason in general. Well, and I think to that point, the Broncos really have to be careful about what
Starting point is 00:27:46 their plan is with this guy, because if you're any, any level of concerned about the number of snaps that he played at the college level, and he's not going to play as a rookie, that's tough because you want him to develop as a pass rush. There's only so many reps and snaps to go around during practice. So I would expect that we're going to see a ton of this guy in the preseason. and I would expect that the Broncos are going to try to figure out what's that balance look like. Like I said, situationally, defensively. Let him go out there and, you know, just be licking his chops as a pass rusher when it's third and 18.
Starting point is 00:28:20 You're up by 10 points or 14 points or something like that. Hopefully there's a lot of situations like that this coming year for the Denver Broncos. But that's the other thing is like Sean Payton has said confidence is bred from demonstrated ability, right? And so if this guy didn't get a chance to play much at Alabama, are you doing him a disservice by not getting him some snaps? And I think that's the tension, right? As you drafted a guy who didn't play a lot of snaps, you love the upside, but you also need to find ways to develop him outside of just throwing him to the wolves on a Sunday. That's going to be the tough aspect that the Broncos coaching staff and Jamar Kane and obviously defensive coordinator, Vance Joseph, they have to have the right plan for this guy and see what can he. handle. What packages can we include him in because it's not just utilizing your speed.
Starting point is 00:29:10 It's can you get off a block instead of avoiding blockers like you will on special teams? There's a lot of questions with a guy like this, but you love the juice off the edge. And that's what the Broncos hopefully are going to get to see as a rookie here. Well, the Broncos have a couple of guys in this year's rookie draft class that don't have a lot of snaps in totality. You talk about Q Robinson, Caleb Loner, obviously the tight end that you got in round number seven, he's also another one of those players. So is this more so the Broncos throwing darts and taking a chance on what they feel like could be high reward type of players where in their idea, in their mind is, you know,
Starting point is 00:29:46 worst case scenario, you get high value special teams upside. You know, we know how much Sean Payton values special teams. Even if, let's say, Q Robinson doesn't factor in on defense, let's say early on here in his career, if you're getting impact production on special teams, you're going to live with that. You're going to be okay with that because he's got the chance. chance to maybe develop into that or get opportunities if there ever is an injury or if a guy moves on in free agency or if there's a trade.
Starting point is 00:30:10 You know, so much of that could influence the Broncos decision making in the next handful of years here. But I'm excited to see how Q's going to fit into everything here. We're going to get a first look at him this week here at Broncos rookie minicamp. I'll be at practice. I can't wait to share my thoughts and observations on what we're going to see. Even though you're not going to be able to draw much in terms of conclusions from it, it's just our first look.
Starting point is 00:30:31 It's instructional. It's educational. There's no competitive periods where it's offense versus defense. That's not part of the phases of the offseason program just yet. But Broncos country, we are excited about Q Robinson. We're also excited about tomorrow's episode of the show because Sarah and I, we're going to break down two of the final players in the Broncos rookie draft class. We're going to talk about the competition with Jeremy Croshaw.
Starting point is 00:30:53 It's Croshaw, not Crenshaw. Croshaw has the upper hand right now against Matt Hack, a veteran punter as Denver prepares for training camp. Plus, Caleb Loner, low risk, high reward potential to tight-end position for Sean Payton and the Broncos. We'll break down the Broncos final two rookies in this year's NFL draft on tomorrow's episode, Lockdown Broncos. We'll see you then.

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