Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - Levelle Bailey STEALING a Starting Job at Denver Broncos Training Camp?

Episode Date: July 29, 2025

Levelle Bailey could steal a starting LB job at Denver Broncos training camp. RJ Harvey standing out early, and Troy Franklin keeps stacking days. 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!GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime. FanDuelRight now, new customers can get $150 in BONUS BETS when your first $5 BET WINS! Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNFL at monarchmoney.com/lockedonnfl for 50% off your first year. 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.

Former undrafted free agent, Lavelle Bailey, might be on his way to stealing a starting job for the Denver Broncos defense. We'll tell you all about it coming up 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. Troy Franklin keeps on stacking the days. RJ Harvey, of course we knew when the pads came on, he'd be drawing some raised eyebrows around Denver Broncos training camp. and Lavelle Bailey, could he be in line to steal a starting job for this vaunted Denver Broncos defense in 2025? We've got a lot to talk about on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos and everybody out there.

Thank you so much for making us your first listen of the day. Every single day, we appreciate you so much. My name is Sayre Bedinger, co-hosts here of Lockdown Broncos as well as the site expert at predominantly orange.com alongside Cody Roark, the OG, the absolute legend over the there, mile high sports covering the team every single day. And we appreciate you all so much for making us part of your day. However, you choose to do so, Cody, I know that you got off the red eye and went straight to Denver Broncos practice where you saw Lavel Bailey. You got red eyes for the red eye, you know, absolutely. But it's great to hear that players are stepping up in the wake of a couple of injuries that it's sad to say, I don't like putting it this way, that we saw these things

coming because we talk about this kind of stuff in the off season and you just sort of plan for every eventuality. But it is great to hear about young players stepping up. I think the story of the day is Lavelle Bailey getting first team reps with that defense out there, the 2024 undrafted free agent. He's got a big opportunity ahead of him. Yeah, he does. And look, injuries afford guys, the opportunities to step up.

And really it's about making the most of those opportunities. And I would say Lavelle Bailey, going back to last year in the Broncos, bottom on of the roster and undrafted rookie free agent. I think he made the most of those opportunities last year. I thought he had an impressive preseason. Obviously, he secured a roster spot in that final preseason game. But I mean, on my honeymoon, Sarah, it's 7 o'clock p.m. You know, when everything's going on, when practice is going on,

I'm scrolling Twitter with a glass of wine. And I'm seeing, oh, Drew Sanders suffered an injury. I'm like, oh, no, that's not great. And obviously, I kept up with your amazing coverage. You did so great holding down the four, bringing Broncos country the best coverage possible on that. And then you have the injury to Alex. Singleton, which isn't as big when we talk about severity.

We'll obviously dive deep in that. But when you have guys that are in the rotation at a position, I think you and I were both in agreeance. We didn't feel great about in terms of the question marks there. There was a lot of uncertainty. These injuries have now presented an opportunity for a guy like Lavelle Bailey to come in and obviously make some hay, some other undrafted guys to get some reps.

Lavelle Bailey seems like the one guy who's standing out. And that certainly was the case on Tuesday when I had a chance to go to practice and watch there, him getting reps a lot. alongside Drake, Greenlaw. I think they just play well off of one another, but Lavelle is piecing things together. You can tell he's getting more comfortable here with Vance's defensive scheme.

And that's a good opportunity for him. He drew some praise from Sean Payton and the post-practice presser. Yeah, and Sean had said he's had a few good days, real good days he emphasized. And he said he looks like an NFL linebacker too, which that's obviously a big part of it is, you know, the physical presence that you bring to the table out there. We thought maybe last year there was a,

a chance that Lavelle could potentially develop into this role a bit quicker than he did, which I think, you know, after what we saw in the preseason, it was a bit surprising, wasn't it, that the Broncos didn't turn to him when they had injury A, injury B, injury C, like all the way down the line, they're signing these guys off the street. They're claiming Christian Welch off of waivers. I was honestly pretty shocked that he didn't at least get an opportunity. Now I know that when you have the number one defense in the league, as the Broncos did for a good amount of last season that you're not necessarily trying to throw an undrafted rookie into the mix

and say, hey, go ahead, sink or swim, see what happens. Now, you might prefer the veteran options there, but at the same time, I feel like Lavelle Bailey was kind of the natural guy to turn to in that situation. I was surprised to see that then Broncos didn't do that. And so it's just, it's now the opportunity must be right for him. And obviously, Sean Payton likes what he's been seeing out there in the Broncos, they have potentially an in-house solution. You and I talked about who's going to be that next Wesley Woodyard, who's going to be that next Todd Davis, that next player that just comes out of nowhere, the next Brandon Marshall, right, that player that comes out of nowhere to potentially be an impact starter for your defense.

It could very well be LaVelle Bailey. And look, with Singleton missing time, which is we got the confirmation from Sean Payton. He had surgery on the broken finger that he had. And Sean went into great leagues of saying, you know, he's going to miss more than, you know, probably just a week, you know, a week, maybe a little bit over a week at this point where the real issue and obstacle is where you have the incision, right? Because they make the cut, they fix everything and then you stitch it up. You don't want to rip your sutures, you know, you don't want to do anything like that. So it's about letting that heal. And then I imagine maybe clubbing up the hand, which Singleton's played with the club on his hand before there.

But I think the question here, Sarah, where we go from here is, okay, Alex Singleton's. is in the last year of his deal. He's obviously a guy that the Broncos view very highly is a team captain, guy that plays with tremendous heart. Because he's on the last year of his deal, like at this juncture of training camp, is it important, I think, or is it valid enough to say or maybe ask the question here,

is Lavelle Bailey in a position right now because of these situations where if they like what they see from Lavelle, even though that you know what you're getting from Singleton, you see some potential here with Bailey. Is that enough for them to make a move? do you think, like, would you be shocked that the Broncos ended up making a move at some point? Not right now, but maybe when roster cuts happen to where maybe they make the shocking move and go with the younger guy, that's a big investment.

That's a lot of faith for Sean Payton to put in a second year undrafted guy. It is, especially because then you would still just be one injury away, right, from potentially being in another really rough situation. But of course, like, we've seen the team do this in the past. We saw them do it last year with Tim Patrick. We've seen the Broncos do it in the middle of the season when they cut Frank Clark, right? So they've had vet. And I know that those situations are all very different, of course.

And it's not, we talked about early in the offseason, Alex Singleton could potentially be a salary cap casualty, right? It's somebody that this team could look at and say, hey, we feel coming off the injury into his 30s now. We feel like he could potentially be somebody that we look to move on from and look to upgrade that position. And they definitely did upgrade the position with Drey Greenlaw. coming in, but they kept Singleton around. And just a couple days ago before the broken finger or broken thumb, Sean Payton was talking about how he believes these two guys can mesh really well on the field together, how they have such complimentary skill sets.

So that's the intriguing part to me now is that there's a tension between, okay, if you keep Singleton on the roster, you leave that temptation to turn to him if things with LaVelle Bailey don't go well right away, but do you just want to dive head first into the Lavelle Bailey, you know, experiment and see what happens there and just kind of put all your chips or all your eggs in that basket? It's tough to say because, I mean, while you want to see a young guy with upside, have a chance, do you, at the risk of maybe taking a step back or adding more questions your position, is that the right move for Denver?

I think the right move is, why can't you find in the first few weeks of the regular season, and why can't you find a little bit of a role here for a guy like Lavel Bailey? Can you rotate these guys, right? Because we knew coming into trendy camp, like Alex Singleton had competition. Justin Sternod still in the mix there. He's obviously involved in that. Probably isn't getting talked about as much as he should be with the Drew Sanders injury, with Singleton and things like that.

But very much so. Like, can you find a role here for Lovell Bailey defensively in the rotation to see what's like? And also, if Singleton's out, does that mean that a guy like Dre Greenlaw plays more of that Mike, you know, whereas Sean outlined the vision for those two guys, if healthy, where Singleton's the mic, and then Drey Greenlaw is kind of that weak side, that will, that Moe linebacker that move around a little bit. How does that change with Alex Singleton out? Like, does that, I don't know.

I'm very curious, but it seems like early on here, LaVelle Bailey getting his first shot, will we see if Justin Sternod tomorrow on day three of the pads, will he get his shot to start alongside Drake Greenlaw for practice? I think it's very interesting. curious for your thoughts on it. Like, do you think that's what the Broncos should do here with Singleton? Or do you think that it is important for them to keep him in the mix? I, because I still think it's risky to move on from a guy like that at a position where you have obviously needs and questions. It is risky. But if you feel like Lavelle Bailey can be a starter for you,

and you saw last year that Justin Sernod can play, if those guys are your top three, what would concern me is how quickly is Drew Sanders coming back and contributing on special teams, and or who's going to contribute on special teams at that position or do you keep Singleton around just for that or, you know, whatever, whatever that whole dynamic of off the field and, and cutting a guy like that, I know, Sean, like we said, not been afraid of doing that stuff in the past. If he can do it with Tim Patrick, I don't think Alex Singleton is off the table because how much do those guys in the locker room love Tim Patrick? And they still went out last year and won 10 games, made it to the playoffs. We talk all about the great locker room culture. I think at the end,

end of the day, these guys do understand that it's a business and the business side of these things can be ugly. And it could also be viewed in a way as doing right by the player, right? Because if Singleton is not going to start, he probably wants to play going into his 30s in a contract year. Like the Broncos aren't just going to say, all right, you can be a core special teams guy for us and, you know, occasional starter. So I could see justifications either way. But I do believe if the Bron, is it a thing where the Broncos, If they're going to keep Singleton, he has to start. That's going to be the interesting thing to find out here, Broncos country. But of course, this is not the only ongoing battle at Denver Broncos training camp.

The battle continues on at the running back position where we're looking for standouts at practice. Now that the pads are on, second round pick RJ Harvey. He's already bouncing off tacklers and drawing some ooze and odds from those in attendance. We'll tell you about RJ Harvey's big day at practice coming up on today's episode, lockdown Broncos. Today's show is brought to you by Game Time. We've all been there, right? Logging on early and waiting forever for concert tickets to go on sale, only to lose your spot for a show that you've been dying to see.

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Terms apply again, create an account and redeem code L-O-C-K-E-D-O-N NFL for $20 off. Download the game time app today. Last minute tickets, lowest price, guaranteed. Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton said that second round pick, R.J. Harvey, he's looking exceptional. He's doing exceptional out there is what Sean Payton had to say. And of course, Cody was out there at practice getting a firsthand look at everything. Broncos country, the exciting update that you've been waiting for on the rookie running back, I believe is finally here.

So we're going to talk about RJ Harvey. Also got some positive news today from Audrick Estimate, plenty of other players at practice as well. But Cody, let's talk about this because I think everybody that's listening has been eager for these updates. since OTAs. You know, it's kind of been, oh, well, how are the running backs looking? How's everybody? Well, the pads aren't on. And that's what Sean Payton has said repeatedly, right?

Is that you can't really evaluate these guys when they don't have the pads on, but when the pads do come on, they're like the easiest position on the field to evaluate. And clearly, what did the team say about RJ Harvey Harvey when he came in? Vision, arguably the best of this year's draft class. He's pretty much showing that with the pads on now for the, last couple of days. Yeah, and look, that's the transition. You always want to see a player make is, all right, you can look great with a helmet

and jersey and shorts, but when the pads come on and you have to work against the Broncos defensive line that is, you know, ferocious. I mean, and then you got a linebacker like Trey Greenlaw. You got a safety like Talano, Hufong, and a safety like Brandon Jones that come downhill. That's a tough challenge here for this Broncos offense, which ultimately I think will make them better. R.J. Harvey, he sprung off an impressive run, you know, during the day where, where he made kind of like this side step movement.

But then he was able to outrun everybody, right? That explosiveness, which that is something that has not been a part of the Broncos offense in the run game for, I'd say a handful of years. We haven't seen many 20-plus yard runs. Well, RJ Harvey would have had a big one if this transition into a game. And look, obviously, like, this is practice. We're just evaluating things that we see here. All right, that's one of the important aspects is you're seeing what the Broncos

drafted Harvey to do. You're seeing him explode. you know, in the open field. You love that. But pass protection, that's obviously one thing that is going to be emphasized for him. I think as you go forward,

Sarah, just because, you know, his height there, but he's got weight to him. He's got the bulky legs. He's got the ability to get lower than anybody. He, I think today was one of those days

where he kind of had his, welcome to the NFL rookie moments from Jonathan Cooper in past protection. Jonathan Cooper on one play, RJ Harvey went to go set his, you know, his anchor and kind of get his feet down. Jonathan Cooper blew him up,

big time and a force Bo Nix to scramble. I would say if we have to highlight anything about the offense, it was a quiet day for the offense outside of Harvey's run. We'll talk about Troy Franklin here in a little bit. But really for Bo Nix and the offense, there wasn't anything bad. There just wasn't, it was a quiet day, so to speak. I would say Bo scrambled for big gains quite a bit because coverage was really good.

But then you got, I think, more of an emphasis in these first couple of days of pads where they want to run the football. And that's something obviously Quinn Miners has highlighted. Garrett Bulls kind of let the cat out of the bag about the outside zone being something that they're really, really working on. And so Sean kind of emphasized that in today's presser as well. And RJ Harvey, you can see why I think he's a great fit for that. And that's something as Sean highlighted really with, I think, the new pieces. He said the new guys to that room that bring that to the table here.

Yeah. And Sean also did say a couple of days ago that the team is still in their installation phase. So maybe that's the reason why it's not necessarily situational football or who knows what I mean, obviously you would know being out there what they're exactly practicing. I know you can only say so much. But at the same time, it's one of those things to where, okay, if the offense has a down day, I also kind of wonder too with the reports of the wide receivers getting the upper hand

during one-on-ones, did the defensive backs like Michael Jordan. You know, I took that person, you know. I think that, you know, there's maybe an element of that out there. But I love Cody. I love that Jonathan Cooper went and smacked R.J. Harvey in the mouth and knocked him over. because that's how rookies are going to learn. Like, this ain't UCF anymore. You're not playing against guys who are going to be going and doing something other

than football after they graduate college. Like you're going against the big dogs. You're going against a guy who just got a contract extension last year. So if you want to bring something weak in pass protection, here's what's going to happen. And ultimately, it's going to make the team better because they're going to either know, A, for a fact, like we can't have him out there in these situations

or B, he's going to figure out how he can be out there in those situations and really get better leverage or get a better anchor or whatever it may be. I, for one, am not concerned about the long-term prognosis with R.J. Harvey and past protection. I think that's always a work in progress for guys. Giovante Williams, outstanding in past protection. Guy can't run the ball. The Broncos need running backs that can run the ball. And I think that they believe in a guy like J.K. Dobbins' past probability. I mean, Sean's been very candid and open about that.

He mentioned that specifically a couple of days ago that we already know what we're getting from JK and Passport. We know he excels in it. Something he does really well. Whereas they need, like Sean said that they need to be able to run the ball. They need to be able to be more explosive on that side offensively. And they believe they have two guys that can do it. Now, a guy who's really kind of been under the microscope, really all OTAs in the offseason coming in at a training camp facing a lot of pressure. Adric Estimate also thought had himself a pretty solid day.

He had a couple of big runs from what I had gathered and what I watched in a couple of team periods there. But there was even one play, too, where he's in Sam Ellinger's at quarterback. Ellinger's going to throw and his arm gets hit, but he gets it off just in time. Estime with a defender behind him, a defender in front of him cracked it. Like didn't lose folks of it caught a very tough pass down the left sideline there for a big play. So, you know, Estimate, maybe his style is going to be angry, right? I think that's what he needs to channel here. But with all the pressure surrounding him,

it was good to see him have the kind of day that he had here. Now can you stack it, right? I think stacking is very important. A guy can have a really good day one day. Can he stack it? That's what the coaching staff wants to see from every player. Yeah, absolutely, especially after some reports came out, maybe this little bit of a fire under him, Cody.

I know former Broncos running back, Philip Lindsay was saying some stuff about Adric Estomay. I don't have it verbatim in front of me, what he said. But since we're talking about him, it reminded me that I think, I think Phil was kind of calling Audric out for potentially having a bad attitude on the practice field and that's dating back to last year been an issue and those sort of things. So really interesting comments from Philip Lindsay for a young running back like Audric Estimate. It's just, I don't know, kind of rubbed me the wrong way to hear that. I don't know what was your take on that. I just, you know, you really hope that

Adric Estabay can step up and stack the days and become an asset to this team. He's the youngest player on the team and he's very talented. He can break tackles. He's the only guy that I think you could say if J.K. Dobbins gets hurt. He's going to be able to bring that power for you on a consistent basis. Yeah. And with the attitude thing, I don't, I never want to speak out on that because I think what we see

sometimes, right, I could tell clearly when a guy's got bad body language or when a guy's got a bad attitude. I don't think that Audrick has ever really had a bad attitude, like a perceived bad attitude. Audrick, I think, is just, he's got this locked in, like, angry look on his face, which I like that. I think that's a good thing to have. Now, I think if he was like punting football is the way that Brandon Marshall used to do at practice, you know, when Josh McDaniels came to town, and I'd say that'd be a little more problematic. But I don't think Audrey's the type of guy to do that. I think he's emotionally mature young man. I think he's also, we've got to keep in mind one of the youngest, if not the youngest player on the roster right now for Denver.

So he's got potential. He definitely has taken his personal, which you hope you want him to, right? But like for Phil, I love Phil. Bill even went on the record not long, like a couple weeks ago, even talking about how when they brought in Melvin Gordon, he had a really bad attitude like Phil did. So I don't know. It's like, is that Phil trying to maybe light a fire like motivationally?

I don't know. But I haven't seen that with Adrick. I've seen a guy who just looks angry, which is good. I think that's a good thing. Yeah, he's definitely going to be one of those types of guys that you feel like could be in that segment of good morning football, right, with the angry runs. He could drag defenders. So looking forward to hopefully seeing him stack days, but you know who's already been

stacking days for the Denver Broncos, not just a training camp, but dating back to mandatory minicamp and OTAs is Troy Franklin. The second year wide receiver is due for a big time breakout. and he's making a habit of making deep plays down the field. We'll tell you all about it coming up on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos. This episode is presented by Yahoo Fantasy. Fantasy football is back. So fire up the group chat, get your draft board ready, and buckle up for a season filled with breakouts, busts, and all the overreactions we live for.

It's all going down on Yahoo Fantasy. This year, me and Cody, we're going to be playing on Yahoo Fantasy, and you should too, whether you're a first-timer or if you're a veteran, making your millionth league. Well, whether your SEAL Team Nix or your big Nix energy, whatever your fantasy football name is, Yahoo is the perfect place to get involved on the action. And to celebrate 28 years of fantasy greatness,

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Last season when the football was in the air, deep down field to Troy Franklin, we were all holding our breath and worried whether or not it was going to come down in his hands. But this year, sounds like a completely different story. Troy Franklin seems to be catching everything thrown his way, especially deep down the field and had another big play at Denver Broncos training camp on Tuesday. country once again before we talk about Troy Franklin, other standouts at practice, just want to say thank you to all of you that make us your first listen of the day.

Every single day, we appreciate you so much for rocking with us here at Lockdown Broncos. And look, everyone's been excited to hear about Troy Franklin, right? Cody, I know you had mentioned he looked really good out there at OTA's mandatory minicamp. Now getting the chance to see him at training camp, what were your observations? I know he had another big play today deep down the field, which has become a pattern And Sean Payton even said, you guys, back at mandatory minicamp, he's like, you guys haven't even been able to see all the big plays that he's made. Really exciting developments here from number 11.

Yeah, and you're seeing just a new level of confidence here with Troy that I didn't feel like was present last year, especially early on, you know, buried on the depth chart a little bit. You're on the 53 man roster, but you're buried a little bit beyond guys like Josh Reynolds. You have Cortland Sutton, Marvin Mims, Devon Bailey getting a little more run last year. So it was hard for Troy to be like Troy was inactive for a good portion of the early parts of the season. season. It was a game day and active there. But, you know, for Troy, he's, he's got this confidence level to him right now that is standing out in a big way. Now, you mentioned that downfield play. We know Troy can get behind defenses, burn them with his speed and catch touchdowns, right? But one thing I want to continue to see is like, how can we see Troy evolve? Well, I thought today

was a perfect example on a three-plus yard pass downfield. This was one where Jared Steader, no, Sam Ellinger was rolling out to his right. There was pressure, you know, you had pressure from the safety coming down. You had a linebacker blitzing trying to get into the face of the quarterback. And Ellinger just launched it downfield. And look, that ball's traveling high. It's traveling a little far there. You've got a corner underneath trailing him. You've got a safety playing over the top. And Troy, like this one where Troy's going to have to come back and fight for the ball, right? It's kind of one of those high underthrown ones that often at times you see defensive pass interference get drawn on. Troy doesn't wait for the ball to come to him.

Troy goes up and he fights through it, goes up and catches it and hauls it in. between two defenders, like we're talking about body positioning, not boxing a guy out, but going up and wanting it a little bit more, right? That to me is an exciting development, right? Because I think it kind of can kill that narrative that, oh, you know, all Troy is, is he's just a guy that gets behind defenses. I think Troy can be a guy that can make some contested catches, but I also want to see him use more in the short to intermediate, those crossing patterns.

So we're starting to say, think the development of all around Troy, right? The short, intermediate, deep ball can go up and fight for the football as well. these are exciting developments. And if it all clicks here, it's fun. It's exciting. There's good things ahead with, you know, with this wide receiving core. And Troy is a big part of that.

Yeah. And speaking to your point, too, about using him, I guess, to all levels of the field. I know Sean Payton had said earlier this offseason that one of the underrated skills that he has, that they believe that they can utilize more this year

is his ability after the catch. And that's a really exciting thing for a guy that can take top off the defense, but also win after the. the catch, that just goes to show like you're not going to be able to play him super off coverage when you're, if you're getting beat deep, right? I mean, that's kind of the adjustment defensive backs have to make is you give him a little bit more cushion. So then he starts taking stuff underneath and making plays after the catch. It really feels like he's shaping up to be somebody of the Broncos are going to be able to rely upon here in 2025 quite a bit more than we saw last year,

which obviously last year was kind of a frustrating failing forward sort of situation. You're learning a thousand ways how not to make the light bulb, right? So I think with Troy Franklin, it's one of those breakthrough situations that there's some hype there, but there's some substance to the hype. There's where there's smoke, there's fire. So definitely some fire for him. Anybody else really stand out to you today in terms of the practice on either side of the ball? I know if we're sticking to the team of wide receiver,

We mentioned on yesterday's show that Trent Shelfield might have a bit more of an underrated role than M.T.I. What are your thoughts on that? You're seeing it. I mean, this is a guy who's catching everything. He's running routes, I think, to a level in which I think the coaching staff, like we talk. You hear Sean talk so much about landmarks, right? Trent Shurfield's a guy who's hitting landmarks. I think he doesn't have to be a featured guy is like, hey, you're going to get 40, you know, catches, 40 targets in a year.

But let's say he gets 20. he's going to make the most of all 20 of those targets and those reps there. I mean, this guy I think he's very underrated as a route runner, catches everything, which is good, right? You want that type of depth there. He's been a standout there, and he's going to bring you immediate value on special teams as a core four specialist, which I like and I admire that. And the more I think about it, I do see the Broncos.

If you're carrying the wide receivers that do, Cortland Sutton, obviously the new money man there, Marvin Mims, Troy Franklin, Devon, Valey, Pat Bryan, Trent Sherfield. Those, in my opinion, are six guys right now that are locks. at wide receiver, I think six would be the final number for them. I think they keep those six. Unless they feel like with Sherfield, they can do what they did with Little Jordan Humphrey last year and Michael Burton really at the roster cut portion and then bring them back.

But we're ways away from that. But Trent Sherfield, obviously, fitting in the mix. Chris Abrams-drain stood out. He had a past breakup on the day against Evan Ingraham. You know, when Jared Stidham was getting second team, QB reps throwing the ball his way. That was nice to see Abrams Drain making some plays. They're having that confidence. Jonah Ellis having a few pressure moments where he would have blown up some plays.

Jonathan Cooper stood out there. But I would say there's one guy that we haven't talked about as much, Riley Moss. Riley Moss continues to have a strong training camp and gets a bulk of the reps opposite of Pat on the outside. And then there are times where they rotate Jadae in, but Jada is probably playing primarily inside the nickel rotating with J-Quain. That's where the bulk has been. And that's where it was on day two of pads in Dove Valley. And it seems to speak to the idea that we've had this offseason that there's really not going to be a significant competition for his job. I think the Broncos internally really believe that he is a stud out there on the outside.

And like the perception of him shifted so dramatically after the Cincinnati game from the fan base or from many in the fan base. I feel like he's become known for that, which is unfortunate because he was, remember just before that game, we talk about this quite frequently. that just before that game, everybody was so worried about him not playing because of how good he had been for the entire season up to that point. So definitely feel like Riley Moss is one of those guys that's entrenched in the lineup as opposed to fighting for his place in the lineup too, Cody. And I wanted to get your thoughts too because you and I haven't really discussed much other than the fact that it happened.

But the Cortland Sutton deal, we heard him speak to the media today. What were your impressions on the four-year $92 million? deal signed by Cortland Sutton as we round out today's show. Just, you know, for me, having the chance to have been around Cortland, talking to him in the locker room and seeing him over the last handful years, I'm just proud of the guy, you know, because this is the guy, I think he, and I know he's close with Jerry, but I think you look at mindset was the biggest thing, I think that separates Cortland from Jerry, right?

Jerry had all the talent in the world, has all the tools and has all the talent. But like in Denver, he just, he didn't have the mindset that I think that Cortland has. like Cortland has been through some things. Like he's, how many quarterbacks have thrown the pall to Cortland over that last half of years? Like we talk about that carousel number. It's very close to what that final number was at for the total number of, you know,

guys on the carousel for the Broncos. Now they luckily have Bow Nix. But this is a guy who's been through the quarterback carousel, suffered a torn ACL after having the best year of his career in 2019, went through the ups and downs, was constantly talked about by national media members as like, hey, teams are interested. do they want to trade for Cortland or the Broncos going to trade him.

His mindset has never changed him. I think Sean Payton said something that stood out to me in Cortland. You see it in the way he carries himself. John said something along the lines like when things are going bad and things aren't going your way, he's the type of guy you want in your locker room because he's never going to change. He's never going to buckle under the pressure of that. And I think 2023 is a great example with all the stuff going on, you know, with Russ. So with everything there, Cortland was very stable with all that.

With all the changes that this team has gone through, It's just proud of Corlin. I mean, this is a guy who deserves it. He does 100%. I agree with you and really excited to have him locked in for the long term. We talked about it on yesterday's show. Man, if you're resigning guys like this at the rate the Broncos currently are, it means the team is having success.

If you're not having success as a team, you're probably getting rid of guys like this. So Cortland Sutton's deal, if nothing else is a great sign that the team is having a lot of success right now. And of course, we'll be covering every single step of the way as this Broncos team approaches their first preseason game, which is not far off. The NFL Hall of Fame game also not far off. It's going to be a fun season here, Broncos Country.

So make sure you're tapped in every single day here at Lockdown Broncos. We appreciate you so much for tuning in today. We'll catch you on the next one.