Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - INCOMPLETE: Denver Broncos 2025 Rookie NFL Draft Class Revisited

Starting point is 00:00:00 When it comes to the Denver Broncos 2025 rookie draft class, the feeling was incomplete. You are locked on Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. There's a lot of conversation surrounding the 2025 Denver Broncos rookie draft class. We have plenty of thoughts on that here. But welcome into another episode, Lockdown Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network where we know it is your team every day. the number one sports podcast network in the country.

Starting point is 00:00:38 Thanks to all you, every day is out there in Broncos country. Thanks for tuning in, making us your first listen, however you choose to do. So Sarah and I, we're going to debate and discuss the 2025 rookie draft class. And we're going to ask the question whether or not the Broncos got it right with rookie cornerback, Jada Barron, or also take a look at RJ Harvey, Pat Bryant, and the impact that they had this season in their roles. Plus, we'll look at some other rookies, including Jeremy Croshaw, who is a bright spot in this year's rookie draft class.

Starting point is 00:01:03 You get all that more here on today's episode of the. the show. I'm Cody Rourke, Credential Broncos reporter for Mile High. Sports joined as always by Sarah Bedinger, site expert of their predominantly orange.com. Today's show is brought to you by friends over there at crossover Thursday prize picks. Download the prize picks app today and use the code locked on NFL to get $50 in lineups if you play your first $5 lineup. Sarah, let's get into this, man. Look, after a season, I think one thing we see everybody do, they hand out grades. I'm not much of a guy for handing out grades. I'm more so of a guy who's just going to evaluate everything about those players. I think grades attaching the grade on a rookie

Starting point is 00:01:39 draft class, I think after the first year is a content fodder practice, but more so I think that's more valid to probably do after three years of play, so to speak. So let's talk about the rookie draft class here today. There's been a lot of discussion on social media about it, been a lot of debate. And I think maybe one of the bigger questions that Broncos country certainly has is did the Broncos make a mistake with going with Jada Barron in round number one. I want to preface this by saying not looking at it from the standpoint that Jade is not a good player. I think Jade is a very good young player.

Starting point is 00:02:12 He'll be a very good player in the league. But was it the right move for the Broncos? I think that's probably the more reasonable question to ask here. I want to start off with your thoughts today. Yeah, I don't think it was the right move for the Broncos. I mean, obviously we talked about it at the time, how awesome it was to maybe get a player that you can't pass up on, right? who is maybe a top 10 player on your board,

Starting point is 00:02:32 potentially the number one corner in the entire draft. And I get the process behind that, right? You're talking about a premium position and you're talking about the opportunity to create a secondary that really nobody can throw on. But for the Broncos context, I mean, obviously had the reigning defensive player of the year, Pat Sertan. You had somebody else on the other side that you really believe in in Riley Moss.

Starting point is 00:02:52 And then in the slot, J-Quain Macmillan, I guess kind of after that Joday Barron pick, everybody's kind of saying, well, shoot, was, was Jayquan's year last year bad enough that the Broncos felt like they had to replace him? And then you talk about Chris Abrams drain, right? And the fact that he played really well when he got an opportunity after the Levi Wallace debacle against the Cleveland Browns. And so from a on paper standpoint, drafting a corner was early or at all was something that you and I had talked about in the lead up to last year's draft. Like the Broncos

Starting point is 00:03:24 probably don't need to really focus on that. But, then the Jada Baron situation changed everything because he was so high on their board. So I think we've explained it. We've talked through it. We've walked through it. And now that we've seen a season in which he barely played, and I think he only played five snaps, Cody, in the AFC championship game in total. Shoot, I mean, you can't help but feel like the Broncos whiffed in the first round of the

Starting point is 00:03:49 2025 draft. Like you said, not necessarily an indictment on Jada Baron as a player or prospect in this league. but a bad process for building the team. Your first round pick should all make a significant impact, in my opinion. Unless it's a quarterback that's going to be sitting for a year, I think your first round pick should always make immediate impact, and that was not the case with Jaude A Barron in Denver in year one. I did like his role that they did at times this season kind of carve out for him as this tight end stopper,

Starting point is 00:04:23 a guy who can cover these tight ends. I mean, we saw him cover Travis Kelsey in that first. game here. I've seen the Mile High City. And then we also saw him kind of a race, Jake Ferguson, who was on a little bit of a heater when the Broncos had played the Cowboys, he had an interception in that game. It's just, I think, personnel-wise, Denver, and George Peyton said this at his end of the press conference, you know, it was tough for Jaude, because he was drafted into the deepest cornerback room in the NFL and the best cornerback room in the NFL. Those were his words on that. I think he's going to be a really good player

Starting point is 00:04:55 in this league. But I think now that we've had a whole entire year to look back at, you know, even the Broncos offense, so to speak, right? Everybody and, and this is where I'm going to counter. You have so many people saying the Broncos should have drafted Omerian Hanton. In my opinion, here's my thought process on it, Sarah. Omerian Hanton would not have made a difference with the run game struggles. You and I have talked about this. I like R.J. Harvey. I think fans need to be paged with him. But drafting Omerian Hanton wouldn't have changed a lot of things. I think the Broncos issue offensively, when it comes to the run game, Sarah, I I think it has something to do with personnel at some points,

Starting point is 00:05:28 but I think it relatively, it's scheme, scheme related here. It's no coincidence. Giovante Williams leaves, goes to the Dallas Cowboys, and plays better, right? It's not like anything drastic change. Javante was in a scheme where he could hit downhill versus, hey, I have to stretch it and maybe find a cutback. Javante was a hard, hard hole hitting guy. Like, hey, we're going to hit the egg up and we're going to get four or five yards. it's not a surprise that the Broncos offense struggled this season with running the ball consistently

Starting point is 00:05:58 and Giovante goes out there and he thrives. Whereas I think you can look at R.J. Harvey. You can look at the Broncos run game with J.K. Dobbins say, hey, no disrespect to Javent. But from a formula standpoint, those guys seem like better overall runners and better overall scheme fits. The scheme might be the problem here in Denver. Now, here comes the second question, right? you've shared your thoughts on that. I think in hindsight, if the Broncos could go back,

Starting point is 00:06:24 I think just knowing what we've seen around the NFL with some of the players picked before, there are only two players I wish the Broncos would have drafted with their pick. Now, obviously, one of them was out of their control because it was right before the Broncos pick. A Mecca Egg Buka, who went to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, I think he would have been a very good addition to the wide receiver room for the Broncos. But I think tight end, I mean, it was probably the one position that Denver should have drafted in the first round, right? There were rumors about them looking to trade up for Colston Loveland, Tyler Warren maybe being in that. Knowing what we know now, man, if the Broncos had to pick anybody in the first round,

Starting point is 00:06:56 I would have hoped that they would have tried to trade up for either one of Colston Loveland or Tyler Warren. 100%. And I was looking at the 2025 NFL draft listing, Cody, there were no picks that were traded in the first round after the Jacksonville deal to move up for Travis Hunter. So there were no picks traded in between there. and then the next trade was, it looks like the giants moving up to get Jackson Dart. So that's the interesting factor here. I think it's easy to sit here and say,

Starting point is 00:07:26 the Broncos should have traded up to get Colson Loveland or Tyler Warren or even just a few spots to get Emeka, but it takes two to tango when it comes to making those trades. And so with no picks in between there that were traded, you have to wonder where all these teams kind of just like, hey, we have very few overall first round grades. We're going to stick with our board. we're going to pick our guy.

Starting point is 00:07:48 Like, I wonder if that was just the case with this past year's draft. And so the Broncos had to probably feel pretty good. Like if they were trying to move up a spot or two or if they were trying to make a bold move up the board, there were reports that they were trying to go up and get Colston Loveland, right? So we heard about that at the time of the draft. I do think that they maybe should have been a bit more aggressive to try and get Tyler Warren after that. This is the interesting thing.

Starting point is 00:08:11 Sean Payton's the guy who said that the number one must have was a joker this past off season. And then to settle with that only player being Evan Ingram, I feel like was a mistake, right? I mean, you had a chance in a draft where there might not be a ton of high first round graded players. You had a chance with both Tyler Warren and Colson Loveland who looked like Joker types players, right? I mean, certainly the Broncos found that out with Tyler Warren, who was a huge difference maker in their game against the Colts. And then we saw in the playoffs and late in the regular season, Colson Loveland, I mean, that guy is outstanding. So that is a, you know, man, you feel like you missed out on those guys in this draft class where you felt like the must have in the off season was that difference maker at tight end or running back.

Starting point is 00:08:57 I still think the Broncos would have been better off just taking Trayvion Henderson. Cody, I know that people are hung up on a Marion Hampton, but Trayvion Henderson feels like that was the guy that you and I said like, hey, if there's a no-brainer pick, culture fit, positional fit. So, you know, it's, you can't go back and change anything. So there's no sense crying over spilled milk, right? But process, it does have to change maybe going forward where the Broncos can't just sit there and say, hey, we have the luxury of taking a corner in round one. Well, if another corner is the top guy on your board here in this year's draft, I'd say you probably go a different direction than that and pick somebody who's actually going to play and contribute to what we hope is a Super Bowl winning team.

Starting point is 00:09:38 I'm sure the Broncos, too, when they have their staff meetings, We know they're going to be aggressive. George and Sean both told us that. But maybe this year, especially with the capital that they have in the first, what, four or five rounds, they have quite a bit of it. This is the year to say, hey, you know what? Because of the roster that we have, if we have to trade up from 30, by the way, they're at 30 this year, folks.

Starting point is 00:09:58 The Broncos need to find a way to do that if they can get a premium level player that could have that type of impact like Tyler Warren or Colston Loveland had. Look, I don't think Kenyon Sadeek is going to be there. But then again, Stranger Things have certainly happened around the, NFL, but we know that the Broncos will be aggressive here. And they were aggressive, so to speak, in terms of adding their second and third round picks in this past year's NFL draft. It will highlight RJ Harvey and Pat Bryan and why they proved themselves in the 2025 NFL season. Today shows brought to you of our friends over there at Rocket Money. Let's

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Starting point is 00:12:02 Visit turbotax.com slash local to book your appointment today. The Denver Broncos got some big time contributions from second and, And third round picks RJ Harvey and Pat Bryant in the 2025 season. A couple of sleepers in the draft process that ended up playing pretty substantial roles in the offense. We're going to recap the season that was and what we expect going forward from those two young promising players. But Broncos Country, thanks so much for making us your first listen of the day every single day. For all you every day listeners of the show, Cody and I want to invite you to join the Every Day or All Access Club. You're going to get an ad-free episode of the podcast every single day by becoming a member.

Starting point is 00:12:40 as well as a ton of other bonus content and feature. So check out the link in the show notes for that. Cody, let's talk about day two picks, RJ Harvey, and Pat Bryant. Obviously, on day two of the draft,

Starting point is 00:12:53 it felt like everybody was expecting, hey, the Broncos, they're going to go be aggressive in getting some offensive weapons, right? Luther Burden was still there. I think at the time,

Starting point is 00:13:02 obviously, Trayvion Henderson was even still out there. Quin Sean Judkins, all these guys that have been talked about in the pre-draft process, and fans were dreaming big. Like, okay, we got Jada Baron in round one. You kind of are fortunate that all these other playmakers are still there in the second round.

Starting point is 00:13:20 They were not aggressive, Cody. They were not. They traded back multiple times before ultimately taking R.J. Harvey, and he was not in a lot of Broncos mock drafts. Let's just be fair about that. I mean, certainly not in the second round. But he played a big role in his rookie season, 12 total touchdowns. He carved out. I think, you know, Sean Peyton said we haven't given him his Joker wings quite yet,

Starting point is 00:13:43 but I think that's on the near horizon. Yeah, I think it is. And that's going to continue to evolve. And look, we've talked about as well, the JK Dobbins injury that impacted a lot for RJ and thrust more onto RJ's plate. And look, we know Sean Payton's offense is very difficult to learn. There are so many different concepts and things that guys have to pick up. And for the running backs, it's also very complex here. But with that said, I think a lot of people are overreacting on on R.J. Harvey. I think there was some frustration that, man, he just couldn't hit the hole. He couldn't be productive in the AFC championship game. R.J. is going to grow and be just fine. I think the fact of what you've seen, how Sean used him in certain games, and I'm going to go back to the Houston game on the road, Sarah, where I felt like, man, this is why you got a guy like R.J. Harvey, you got a guy like R.J. Harvey, that's going to go against the most aggressive defense, the best defense in the NFL and the Houston Texans.

Starting point is 00:14:32 they're going to isolate RJ Harvey one-on-one against the linebacker. You've got the perfect coverage and you got the perfect play that's going to beat him. And now you score a touchdown. That helps you win this game on the road and hostile territory against that Houston Texans team. To me, it's like that's why you get a guy like RJ Harvey. The Broncos haven't had a guy like this at running back. And gosh, I don't even know how long. I mean, Sarah, from a utilization standpoint, who is the last Broncos running back

Starting point is 00:14:59 that really kind of compares to RJ Harvey from a. a stylistic standpoint. I can't even go back. I'm not even going to say Ronnie Hillman in 2015. I'm not even say we go that far back. It has been a long time. I don't think it's been to the magnitude here, right? The way that RJ Harvey is being utilized is kind of like how Alvin Camara certainly was in New Orleans. Denver hasn't had that, right? And that role is going to only continue to grow and evolve for him. I think the RJ's continuing to develop. He's going to be a very good player in this league. I think fans need to be patient with him. I think the scheme can adjust a little bit that will help him have more success, especially as a runner in between the tackles

Starting point is 00:15:37 and on the outside. But man, I'm not sour on RJ Harvey whatsoever. No, I'm not either. And I think like when when I look back at this season, I think the one thing that I want to see going forward is all those snaps that went to Tyler Badee in third down situations or obvious passing situations. Every single one of those snaps need to go to RJ Harvey next year. Broncos have three backs that you're like, dang, like they need to play these guys. I don't think that was the case in 2025. I don't think there was any sort of real need to include Badee. And that's with all respect to Badee.

Starting point is 00:16:13 I know that he's made some big plays throughout the course of his career. And I know that Sean Payton and the staff, they obviously like him a lot. But I think all of his snaps that he played this past year have to go to R.J. Harvey going forward and how the Broncos build the running game around that is going to be fascinating to see because the question now becomes, okay, do you pair him up with J.K. Dobbins again and try to run it back with those guys, knowing that I know J.K. Dobbins will not say that he's injury prone, and I don't like that term either. I think it's unfair when guys are suffering freak injuries in a physical game, but J.K. has suffered a lot of significant injuries, and I don't know if

Starting point is 00:16:51 the Broncos can really rely on that being the duo. So what is the expectation for Harvey going forward? Is it going to be to be in tandem with somebody? And if it is, who do you pair him up with? So that's what I'm fascinated to see. But yeah, you're right. The after contact abilities, how many plays did not only RJ Harvey create something out of nothing,

Starting point is 00:17:11 but man, he made some big plays out of the game this season, the bills game. I mean, he came through clutch in a lot of situations for this team where you're like, dang like I'm glad number 12 is on our team. Even if he wasn't the most refined overall running back,

Starting point is 00:17:26 he was a big play threat that the Broncos absolutely had to have during this huge run that they had in 2025. He's going to get that single digit number next year to watch, guarantee it, just watch. He's going to get that. Let's talk about Pat Bryant, man. Initially, Pat was a pick that a lot of people were saying, why did they get this guy?

Starting point is 00:17:44 His 40-yard dash speed, man, I tell you what, Pat Bryant, in my opinion, as the season progressed, I felt like really established himself as a guy who could be a number two, right, in terms of how he was, the reliability, the clutch factor, so to speak. The biggest thing with Pat that impacted him this season, Sarah, injuries, the concussions, unfortunately, and obviously a hamstring injury in the AFC championship, certainly hurt. And he had a hamstring injury early on the season, but man,

Starting point is 00:18:10 did Pat showcase he could be a reliable guy here for Bonex? I have no bad things to say about Pat Bryant. No, I don't either. I think the way that they game planned to get him so heavily involved in the divisional round is sort of, you know, an indicator of what we can expect in the future for Pat Bryant. I feel like he's going to be a big piece of this offense along with Troy Franklin. And we'll see what happens elsewhere at that position, right? I think those two guys, we heard both Sean and George Peyton say, like, hey, we believe in our young

Starting point is 00:18:41 guys at receiver. And I have no problem with that. I think as the offseason goes along, I like the fact that, you know, Marvin Mims, Troy Franklin, Pat Bryant. I'm interested by all those guys. Now, will any of them be a trade piece in a move to get somebody bigger? That's maybe a different discussion, but we saw the hands on display for Pat Bryant. We saw the after the catch ability. What I want to see more of going forward, Cody, is that, you know, the one touchdown that he had this past season was a beautiful catch against Dallas on a deep ball down the left sideline. I want to see more of the vertical

Starting point is 00:19:14 passing game available in terms of how they use Pat Bryant. So against the chiefs. Yeah, against the chiefs. They utilized it as well. I feel like he's just going to be a, I don't know if it's, if I want to call him just a role player going forward, but I feel like he's got such a nice, he's got the quintessential. You put it all on paper, ideal wide receiver two skill set, doesn't he? I mean, he's got strong hands.

Starting point is 00:19:42 He runs good routes. He wins after the catch. He's reliable. He can run the full route tree. He blocks. I think he's kind of the ideal wide receiver two type. So we'll see how high he climbs in terms of that overall target share. I'm with you.

Starting point is 00:19:56 And look, Broncos country, want to hear from you as well. I mean, those two picks, RJ Harvey, Pat Bryan, they were big for the Broncos this season. Guys who are thrust into larger roles as the season progressed. Make sure you let's know your thoughts on them and where you want to see them grow going into their second season in the NFL. Coming up next, Sarah and I, we're going to dive deeper into the rest of the Broncos, 2025 rookie draft class. We'll highlight someone who has the most upside,

Starting point is 00:20:18 according to George Payton. Plus, we'll talk about Crosha and how he became a weapon for the Broncos down the stretch. Today's show is brought to you by friends over there at Indeed. If you've ever hired someone who looked good on paper but wasn't the right fit, you know how important that is. When you want candidates who truly match what you're looking for, trust indeed, sponsored jobs. Hiring, Indeed, is all you need.

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Starting point is 00:22:32 that are not necessarily promising. But as we said, I think it's a little harsh to grade after just one year. But we can look at the impact that they had in their rookie season. We'll go through the remainder of the Broncos rookie draft class. Real quick, want to say thanks to everyone in for tuning in, for tuning in, making us your first listen. And even older, the season is over, there is never an offseason here at Lockdown Broncos. Five days a week, you're going to get a brand new episode of the show.

Starting point is 00:22:55 You'll get breaking news as it comes. You'll get free agency deep dives, mock drafts, draft previews, recaps and all that. You get so much here. That is our promise to you every single day all year long. Nobody else does it quite like we do. We appreciate you. Sir, let's go into the rest of the Broncos,

Starting point is 00:23:11 draft class. We've talked about Jadae Barron, R.J. Harvey, Pat Bryan. But you look at the other players that were certainly drafted here in a 2025 NFL draft. I think we've got to talk about Q Robinson to start off here. I felt like Q. Even though he was buried in one of the deeper outside linebacker pass rush rooms in the league, every time Q Robinson's number got called to be active on game day, we've seen him take advantage of it and make plays. And he even made a big play in the AFC championship game against Drake Main, then where he broke off. They tried to bring a chip block.

Starting point is 00:23:44 He destroyed the chip block and he sacked to Drake made. I love what I've seen from Q Robinson. And George Peyton himself said he believes he has the most upside of it. Everybody that they drafted in 2025. He's really something else, Cody. I mean, he only played seven total games this past year. But he finished with one and a half sacks. He finished with four tackles for loss.

Starting point is 00:24:05 And he also had four quarterback hits. And so when you combine what he was able to do, in such a limited number of snaps. I mean, we're talking about 150 total snaps. And he produced, I mean, every time he was out there, I think he kind of flashed. And in the preseason, that was also the case. His athleticism, I don't know that there's a more athletic group of pass rushers in the NFL than what the Broncos have.

Starting point is 00:24:29 I mean, we saw what Nick Benito did flipping around and dropping into coverage and a running back in the playoffs. We've seen Jonah Ellis, his athleticism is freaky. And Q Robinson, I mean, he might be the first. freakiest of them all. Cody, the closing speed, like you said, that he showed on that sack against Drake May and the AFC championship. Outstanding stuff, going to be fascinated to see what is the progression for him in year two? Because that's part of the issue with these guys, right? This draft class, why you said at the beginning of the show, it's incomplete, right? Well,

Starting point is 00:25:01 because a guy like Q Robinson, who's that talented, he only played in seven total games, including the playoffs. So there was not a spot for him behind Cooper, but, Nito Ellis and obviously Dondray Tillman out there. So now you got to figure out what's your rotation going to look like. How do you boost his role going forward? But he's too talented and we've seen it repeatedly to keep on the sideline. Yeah, he is. And I'm very curious to see what his role is going to be like next year.

Starting point is 00:25:28 I don't imagine he's going to be inactive on game day as much. I think they'll find a way to get him on the field, not only because of what he can do in the defensive rotation, but also I think you talk about special teams impact as well. We've seen Q make several big plays on kickoff and punt coverage. I want to see that continue here. Let's go to another player here. Savian Jones, who didn't really see much playing time at all this year.

Starting point is 00:25:50 He was one of those guys. When he got in, he had a couple of plays. If I'm not mistaken, he had a fumble recovery this season after, I think, you know, he had a couple of strip sacks that happened defensively. He's where the football is. You know, that defensive line room was very good for Denver this year. When you factor in JFM and you factor in I, Yoma, Uwasarrique, and the other guys rotating in.

Starting point is 00:26:09 And Savion Jones is the type of guy that if the Broncos don't in fact bring back JFM, I think it increases his workload next season in the defensive rotation. This is also an incomplete evaluation as well. We didn't get to see as much. But man, you could see the flashes with him certainly. Yeah, definitely. He's a talented player. And a guy the Broncos traded up to get, right?

Starting point is 00:26:30 I mean, I think it's easy to forget. He was at the back half of that third round late on day two. And the Broncos swooped in and picked him up. So they obviously, as a scouting department and front office and coaching staff, they really like his potential. And as you mentioned, it would be difficult to see John Franklin Myers leave, but it does feel like the Broncos have their plan in place between, you know, obviously Savian Jones, but also Inoma Uwasrike, who is still under contract, by the way,

Starting point is 00:26:56 this coming year. So Inyoma steps into the JFM role. Savian Jones steps into the Inyoma role. I mean, that's kind of what it seems like is working out on paper. Yeah. You have to put your faith in some of these young. guys sometimes to be able to build elsewhere on the roster. So I don't mind that scenario for the Broncos.

Starting point is 00:27:14 What about Jeremy Croshaw, Cody? Obviously, the rookie punter, the only punter drafted in this year's class. He was pretty darn good for the Broncos in his rookie season. I think you could be critical of some aspects. Notably, I would say the fact that he was third in the NFL in total punts, that's not the stat that I think. 75 to be exact. Yeah, that's, come on, guys.

Starting point is 00:27:37 offense. That's if you need more evidence of why the Broncos are making changes to the offensive staff, there you have it right there. Third in the NFL and total punts this season. But Crossshot was a good punter, a good pick for the Broncos. His longest punt of the season two was an absolute boma. 76 yards against the Houston, Texas, which, I mean, that's crazy. But let's take a look. I want to go through some of his longest punts here, obviously down the stretch of the season. I mean, 76 against Houston, 54 against the Raiders, 58 against the Chiefs. But then he had a stretch where it was 58 against Kansas City on Christmas, 54 against the Chargers, a 65-yarder against the Buffalo Bills

Starting point is 00:28:15 and a 60-yarder against the New England Patriots. I mean, his placement, pinning guys and pinning teams inside the 10-yard line, sometimes in the five, that was the most impressive thing. But, I mean, we'll go back to the Buffalo Divisional game where he pinned them in overtime. He pinned them all the way back inside their own five-yard line, that if the refs would have called a holding that was there on DJ Jones on the bills, the game would have resulted in a safety, and Cross Shaw would have been largely responsible for setting that possibility up there. And then once again, I thought he did a really good job despite the conditions of pinning the Patriots and the AFC championship game inside the 10 and inside the five a few times.

Starting point is 00:28:52 Crossaw was really fun to watch, especially after he overcame the ground win game against the Raiders on Thursday night football. His worst game of his career, he still didn't let that affect him. And man, he got better. He got better and he was one of the more consistent guys here for Denver. I'm with you on Jeremy Crosho. Let's talk about maybe one of the more intriguing names here as well. Caleb Loner, you see some people saying, oh, this is an F grade. You don't grade it after a year.

Starting point is 00:29:19 Here's the thing with Caleb that maybe most Broncos fans don't know because he doesn't play on Sundays. He is actively a major part of the scout team and has won countless scout team player of the weeks from the organization, the teams and the coaches they like how he's developed. I've talked to a handful of players that have also said, hey, he's taking big strides here. I think the expectation he was going to have this large role as a rookie would have been exciting on paper because it was Sean Payton said they liked about him. But man, it was always unrealistic.

Starting point is 00:29:50 But the idea is, I think going into 2026, Sarah, we at least want to see him get on the field on the game day, at least several times or at least maybe half the season going into 2026. Yeah, give us some red zone packages for the guy who only caught scoring plays. at the college level, right? I think what he had four catches in college and they were all touchdowns and then I think you maybe had one more catch that was a two point conversion. So only 59 snaps in college, you let that guy marinate on the practice squad, let him learn your offense, let him get to go up against top tier NFL players in practice

Starting point is 00:30:24 every single day, give him a chance to grow, give him a chance to learn. I'll be interested to see what he can do in year two. But yeah, I mean, to go back all the way to circle to our first round discussion. I think that's where the frustration stems from is the fact that Caleb was the tight end they took, as opposed to these guys who are like Colson Loveland and Tyler Warren, right, who are making big time plays. So

Starting point is 00:30:45 that's where Broncos fans are upset. And I get that, but you know, let's see what this guy can do. He can be a package player. He can be a red zone threat. He can do some things for you in year two. We'll find out if he's going to be, uh, or I guess I I'm excited to see how much he's developed. I mean, preseason, he looked really raw, Cody. We saw that. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:31:03 Let's see what he can do here in year two. Yeah, he's going to have to make those strides in training camp. Obviously, the team signed him to a futures deal. So he will be around for the offseason program, OTAs, and it ensures him at least a guaranteed appearance in training camp, or he's probably going to have to turn heads. I'm wondering what that tied in room is going to look like for the Broncos going into training camp, maybe how different it may be based on the off season. We'll have to see here.

Starting point is 00:31:25 But Broncos country that I wrap up today's episode of the show. Thanks for rocking with us here today. For all you every day, here's what you can expect on tomorrow's show, Sarah and I, We're going to sit down. We're going to talk about the Broncos three biggest free agency signings from 2025, Tallanoa, Hufanga, Drake Greenlaw, and Evan Ingram, where they could obviously grow and improve and maybe the impact going forward as to what they could do here in 2026. We'll look at that more. On tomorrow's episode, Lockdown Broncos.

Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - INCOMPLETE: Denver Broncos 2025 Rookie NFL Draft Class Revisited

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